Bill Text: TX HB1633 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Engrossed


Bill Title: Relating to creating an advisory committee to study child abuse and neglect fatalities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-05-10 - Referred to Health & Human Services [HB1633 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB1633-Engrossed.html
 
 
  By: Dukes, et al. H.B. No. 1633
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to creating an advisory committee to study child abuse and
  neglect fatalities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  PROTECT OUR KIDS COMMISSION. (a) The Protect Our
  Kids Commission is composed of the following members:
               (1)  six members appointed by the governor;
               (2)  three members appointed by the lieutenant
  governor;
               (3)  three members appointed by the speaker of the
  house of representatives;
               (4)  one member with experience in behavioral health
  and substance abuse appointed by the commissioner of the Department
  of State Health Services;
               (5)  one member who represents the Department of Family
  and Protective Services appointed by the commissioner of the
  department; and
               (6)  one member who represents the Office of Title V and
  Family Health of the Department of State Health Services appointed
  by the office director.
         (b)  The appropriate appointing authority shall appoint the
  members to the commission not later than December 31, 2013.
         SECTION 2.  QUALIFICATIONS.  Each member appointed to the
  commission must have experience in one or more of the following
  areas:
               (1)  child welfare administration;
               (2)  child welfare research;
               (3)  child development;
               (4)  legislation, including legislation involving
  child welfare matters;
               (5)  trauma and crisis intervention;
               (6)  pediatrics;
               (7)  psychology and mental health;
               (8)  emergency medicine;
               (9)  neonatology;
               (10)  forensic pathology or medical investigation of
  injury and fatality;
               (11)  social work, with field experience;
               (12)  child protective services, with field
  experience;
               (13)  law enforcement, with experience handling child
  abuse and neglect matters;
               (14)  civil law, with experience handling child abuse
  and neglect matters;
               (15)  criminal law, with experience handling child
  abuse and neglect matters;
               (16)  substance abuse treatment;
               (17)  provision of services to families who had a child
  die of sudden infant death syndrome;
               (18)  provision of services to or advocacy for victims
  of family violence;
               (19)  service on a task force for reducing child abuse
  and neglect and improving child welfare;
               (20)  education at an elementary school or secondary
  school;
               (21)  education at an institution of higher education;
               (22)  epidemiology; or
               (23)  computer science or software engineering, with a
  background in interoperability standards.
         SECTION 3.  DIVERSITY OF QUALIFICATIONS.  In making
  appointments to the commission, each appointing authority shall
  make every effort to select individuals:
               (1)  whose qualifications are not already represented
  by other members of the commission; and
               (2)  who reflect the geographical, cultural, racial,
  and ethnic diversity of the state.
         SECTION 4.  PRESIDING OFFICER. The governor shall designate
  one of the governor's appointees as presiding officer of the
  commission.
         SECTION 5.  VACANCY. A vacancy on the commission shall be
  filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
         SECTION 6.  MEETINGS. (a) Not later than the 30th day after
  the date on which a majority of the members of the commission have
  been appointed, the commission shall hold its first meeting.
         (b)  The commission shall meet at least once each calendar
  quarter and at other times as necessary at the call of the presiding
  officer.
         (c)  The commission may take testimony and receive evidence
  the commission considers advisable to carry out its duties.
         SECTION 7.  COMPENSATION. Members of the commission serve
  without compensation and are not entitled to reimbursement for
  expenses.
         SECTION 8.  DUTIES OF COMMISSION. The commission shall
  study the relationship between child protective services and child
  welfare services and the rate of child abuse and neglect
  fatalities. As part of the study, the commission shall:
               (1)  evaluate current programs and prevention efforts,
  and recommend a comprehensive statewide strategy to reduce and
  prevent fatalities from child abuse and neglect; and
               (2)  review:
                     (A)  current research, including the National
  Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and research and
  recommendations from the United States Government Accountability
  Office, to identify lessons, solutions, and needed improvements
  related to reducing fatalities from child abuse and neglect;
                     (B)  the effectiveness of child protective
  services and child welfare services in preventing child fatalities
  that are intentionally caused or that occur due to negligence,
  neglect, or a failure to exercise proper care;
                     (C)  the effectiveness of the Department of Family
  and Protective Services' policies and systems aimed at collecting
  accurate, uniform data on child fatalities in a coordinated
  fashion, including the identification of the most and least
  effective policies and systems in practice;
                     (D)  any existing barriers to preventing
  fatalities from child abuse and neglect, and how to improve child
  welfare outcomes;
                     (E)  trends in demographic and other risk factors
  that may predict or that are related to child abuse, including age
  of the child, child behavior, family structure, parental stress,
  and poverty;
                     (F)  methods of prioritizing child abuse and
  neglect prevention for families with the highest need; and
                     (G)  methods of improving data collection and use,
  including increasing interoperability among state, local, and
  other data systems.
         SECTION 9.  RECOMMENDATIONS. The commission shall:
               (1)  identify promising practices and evidence-based
  strategies to address and reduce fatalities from child abuse and
  neglect;
               (2)  develop recommendations and identify resources
  necessary to reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect for
  implementation by state and local agencies and private sector and
  nonprofit organizations, including recommendations to implement a
  comprehensive statewide strategy for reducing those fatalities;
               (3)  develop guidelines for ensuring that each county
  in the state is covered by a child fatality review team created
  under Subchapter F, Chapter 264, Family Code, and provide specific
  recommendations for a child fatality review team investigating a
  child fatality that is caused by abuse or neglect; and
               (4)  develop guidelines for the types of information
  that should be tracked to improve interventions to prevent
  fatalities from child abuse and neglect.
         SECTION 10.  GIFTS.  The commission may accept gifts and
  grants of money, property, and services from any source to be used
  to conduct a function of the commission.
         SECTION 11.  REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2015, the
  commission shall submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, and
  speaker of the house of representatives a report containing:
               (1)  the commission's findings and recommendations;
               (2)  a complete explanation of each of the commission's
  recommendations;
               (3)  proposed legislation necessary to implement the
  recommendations made in the report; and
               (4)  any administrative recommendations proposed by
  the commission.
         SECTION 12.  APPLICATION OF LAW GOVERNING ADVISORY
  COMMITTEES. The commission is not subject to Chapter 2110,
  Government Code.
         SECTION 13.  EXPIRATION DATE. The Protect Our Kids
  Commission is abolished and this Act expires December 31, 2015.
         SECTION 14.  EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
  September 1, 2013.
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