Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2902 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	By: Bowers H.B. No. 2902
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the establishment of the Supported Independent Living
9	9	Program.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Section 264.133 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 264.133. SUPPORTED INDEPENDENT LIVING PROGRAM. The
14	14	department shall establish the supported independent living
15	15	program to assist young adults interested in transitioning to
16	16	voluntary extended foster care by:
17	17	(1) providing the young adult with an independent
18	18	living placement that includes case management and support services
19	19	with limited supervision; and
20	20	(2) assisting the young adult with becoming
21	21	self-sufficient through:
22	22	(A) achieving identified educational and
23	23	employment goals;
24	24	(B) accessing community resources;
25	25	(C) receiving training in life skills; and
26	26	(D) establishing important relationships.
27	27	SECTION 2. Section 264.121(i), Family Code, is amended to
28	28	read as follows:
29	29	(i) The department shall ensure that the transition plan for
30	30	each youth 16 years of age or older includes provisions to assist
31	31	the youth in managing the youth's housing needs after the youth
32	32	leaves foster care, including provisions that:
33	33	(1) identify the cost of housing in relation to the
34	34	youth's sources of income, including any benefits or rental
35	35	assistance available to the youth;
36	36	(2) if the youth's housing goals include residing with
37	37	family or friends, state that the department has addressed the
38	38	following with the youth:
39	39	(A) the length of time the youth expects to stay
40	40	in the housing arrangement;
41	41	(B) expectations for the youth regarding paying
42	42	rent and meeting other household obligations;
43	43	(C) the youth's psychological and emotional
44	44	needs, as applicable; and
45	45	(D) any potential conflicts with other household
46	46	members, or any difficulties connected to the type of housing the
47	47	youth is seeking, that may arise based on the youth's psychological
48	48	and emotional needs;
49	49	(3) inform the youth about emergency shelters and
50	50	housing resources, including supported [supervised] independent
51	51	living and housing at colleges and universities, such as
52	52	dormitories;
53	53	(4) require the department to review a common rental
54	54	application with the youth and ensure that the youth possesses all
55	55	of the documentation required to obtain rental housing; and
56	56	(5) identify any individuals who are able to serve as
57	57	cosigners or references on the youth's applications for housing.
58	58	SECTION 3. Sections 264.1214(a) and (f), Family Code, are
59	59	amended to read as follows:
60	60	(a) For a youth who will voluntarily enter extended foster
61	61	care on the youth's 18th birthday, the youth's caseworker shall, not
62	62	later than six months before the youth's 18th birthday, complete
63	63	any necessary transitional living or supported [supervised]
64	64	independent living paperwork to ensure the youth has housing on the
65	65	date the youth enters extended foster care. Not later than the 90th
66	66	day before the youth's 18th birthday, the caseworker shall review
67	67	the qualifications and requirements for the youth's housing.
68	68	(f) The department shall assist a youth living in a
69	69	supported [supervised] independent living program arrangement to
70	70	develop a rental history by allowing the youth to cosign the lease
71	71	for the youth's housing provided the property owner does not
72	72	object.
73	73	SECTION 4. Section 411.114(a)(3), Government Code, is
74	74	amended to read as follows:
75	75	(3) In addition to the criminal history record
76	76	information the Department of Family and Protective Services or the
77	77	Health and Human Services Commission is required to obtain under
78	78	Subdivision (2), the Department of Family and Protective Services
79	79	or the Health and Human Services Commission, as applicable, is
80	80	entitled to obtain criminal history record information as provided
81	81	by Subdivision (4) that relates to a person who is:
82	82	(A) an applicant for a position with the
83	83	Department of Family and Protective Services or the Health and
84	84	Human Services Commission regardless of the duties of the position,
85	85	including a position described by Subdivision (2)(D);
86	86	(B) a Department of Family and Protective
87	87	Services employee or a Health and Human Services Commission
88	88	employee regardless of the duties of the employee's position,
89	89	including an employee described by Subdivision (2)(H);
90	90	(C) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with the
91	91	Department of Family and Protective Services or the Health and
92	92	Human Services Commission regardless of the duties to be performed,
93	93	including a registered volunteer;
94	94	(D) an employee of, an applicant for employment
95	95	with, or a volunteer or an applicant volunteer with an entity or
96	96	person who contracts with the Department of Family and Protective
97	97	Services or the Health and Human Services Commission, as
98	98	applicable, and has access to confidential information in that
99	99	department's or commission's records, if the employee, applicant,
100	100	volunteer, or applicant volunteer has or will have access to that
101	101	confidential information;
102	102	(E) a person living in the residence in which the
103	103	alleged victim of the report resides, including an alleged
104	104	perpetrator in a report described by Subdivision (2)(I);
105	105	(F) a person providing, at the request of the
106	106	child's parent, in-home care for a child who is the subject of a
107	107	report alleging the child has been abused or neglected;
108	108	(G) a person providing, at the request of the
109	109	child's parent, in-home care for a child only if the person gives
110	110	written consent to the release and disclosure of the information;
111	111	(H) a child who is related to the caretaker, as
112	112	determined under Section 42.002, Human Resources Code, or any other
113	113	person who resides in, is present in, or has unsupervised access to
114	114	a child in the care of a facility or family home;
115	115	(I) a relative of a child in the care of the
116	116	Department of Family and Protective Services or the Health and
117	117	Human Services Commission, as applicable, to the extent necessary
118	118	to comply with Section 162.007, Family Code;
119	119	(J) a person providing or applying to provide
120	120	in-home, adoptive, or foster care for children to the extent
121	121	necessary to comply with Subchapter B, Chapter 162, Family Code;
122	122	(K) a person who volunteers to supervise
123	123	visitation under Subchapter B, Chapter 263, Family Code;
124	124	(L) an employee of or volunteer at, or an
125	125	applicant for employment with or to be a volunteer at, an entity
126	126	that provides supported [supervised] independent living services
127	127	to a young adult receiving extended foster care services from the
128	128	Department of Family and Protective Services or the Health and
129	129	Human Services Commission, as applicable;
130	130	(M) a person 14 years of age or older who will be
131	131	regularly or frequently working or staying in a host home that is
132	132	providing supported [supervised] independent living services to a
133	133	young adult receiving extended foster care services from the
134	134	Department of Family and Protective Services or the Health and
135	135	Human Services Commission, as applicable;
136	136	(N) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with a
137	137	local affiliate in this state of Big Brothers Big Sisters of
138	138	America;
139	139	(O) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with an
140	140	organization that provides court-appointed volunteer advocates for
141	141	abused or neglected children; or
142	142	(P) an employee, volunteer, or applicant
143	143	volunteer of a children's advocacy center under Subchapter E,
144	144	Chapter 264, Family Code, including a member of the governing board
145	145	of a center.
146	146	SECTION 5. Section 40.081(a), Human Resources Code, is
147	147	amended to read as follows:
148	148	(a) In furtherance of department duties under Section
149	149	40.002(d), the department shall to the greatest extent possible
150	150	develop capacity for placement settings that are eligible for
151	151	federal financial participation under 42 U.S.C. Section 672,
152	152	including settings:
153	153	(1) specializing in providing prenatal, postpartum,
154	154	or parenting support for youth;
155	155	(2) providing high-quality residential care and
156	156	supportive services to children and youth who this state has
157	157	reasonable cause to believe are, or who are at risk of being, sex
158	158	trafficking victims in accordance with 42 U.S.C. Section
159	159	671(a)(9)(C);
160	160	(3) providing supported [supervised] independent
161	161	living for young adults;
162	162	(4) offering residential family-based substance abuse
163	163	treatment as described by 42 U.S.C. Section 672(j); and
164	164	(5) serving as a qualified residential treatment
165	165	program.
166	166	SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2026, the Department of
167	167	Family and Protective Services shall change any informational
168	168	materials related to the supervised independent living program to
169	169	reflect the supported independent living program name.
170	170	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.