Bill Text: TX HB249 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to investigations of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation and to child protective services functions of the Department of Family and Protective Services.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-15 - Effective on 9/1/17 [HB249 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB249-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 249 |
|
||
relating to investigations of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation | ||
and to child protective services functions of the Department of | ||
Family and Protective Services. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 71.004, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 71.004. FAMILY VIOLENCE. "Family violence" means: | ||
(1) an act by a member of a family or household against | ||
another member of the family or household that is intended to result | ||
in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that | ||
is a threat that reasonably places the member in fear of imminent | ||
physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does | ||
not include defensive measures to protect oneself; | ||
(2) abuse, as that term is defined by Sections | ||
261.001(1)(C), (E), (G), (H), (I), (J), [ |
||
member of a family or household toward a child of the family or | ||
household; or | ||
(3) dating violence, as that term is defined by | ||
Section 71.0021. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 261.001, Family Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subdivisions (1), (4), and (5) and adding Subdivision (3) | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(1) "Abuse" includes the following acts or omissions | ||
by a person: | ||
(A) mental or emotional injury to a child that | ||
results in an observable and material impairment in the child's | ||
growth, development, or psychological functioning; | ||
(B) causing or permitting the child to be in a | ||
situation in which the child sustains a mental or emotional injury | ||
that results in an observable and material impairment in the | ||
child's growth, development, or psychological functioning; | ||
(C) physical injury that results in substantial | ||
harm to the child, or the genuine threat of substantial harm from | ||
physical injury to the child, including an injury that is at | ||
variance with the history or explanation given and excluding an | ||
accident or reasonable discipline by a parent, guardian, or | ||
managing or possessory conservator that does not expose the child | ||
to a substantial risk of harm; | ||
(D) failure to make a reasonable effort to | ||
prevent an action by another person that results in physical injury | ||
that results in substantial harm to the child; | ||
(E) sexual conduct harmful to a child's mental, | ||
emotional, or physical welfare, including conduct that constitutes | ||
the offense of continuous sexual abuse of young child or children | ||
under Section 21.02, Penal Code, indecency with a child under | ||
Section 21.11, Penal Code, sexual assault under Section 22.011, | ||
Penal Code, or aggravated sexual assault under Section 22.021, | ||
Penal Code; | ||
(F) failure to make a reasonable effort to | ||
prevent sexual conduct harmful to a child; | ||
(G) compelling or encouraging the child to engage | ||
in sexual conduct as defined by Section 43.01, Penal Code, | ||
including compelling or encouraging the child in a manner that | ||
constitutes an offense of trafficking of persons under Section | ||
20A.02(a)(7) or (8), Penal Code, prostitution under Section | ||
43.02(b), Penal Code, or compelling prostitution under Section | ||
43.05(a)(2), Penal Code; | ||
(H) causing, permitting, encouraging, engaging | ||
in, or allowing the photographing, filming, or depicting of the | ||
child if the person knew or should have known that the resulting | ||
photograph, film, or depiction of the child is obscene as defined by | ||
Section 43.21, Penal Code, or pornographic; | ||
(I) the current use by a person of a controlled | ||
substance as defined by Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a | ||
manner or to the extent that the use results in physical, mental, or | ||
emotional injury to a child; | ||
(J) causing, expressly permitting, or | ||
encouraging a child to use a controlled substance as defined by | ||
Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code; | ||
(K) causing, permitting, encouraging, engaging | ||
in, or allowing a sexual performance by a child as defined by | ||
Section 43.25, Penal Code; [ |
||
(L) knowingly causing, permitting, encouraging, | ||
engaging in, or allowing a child to be trafficked in a manner | ||
punishable as an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(5), (6), (7), or | ||
(8), Penal Code, or the failure to make a reasonable effort to | ||
prevent a child from being trafficked in a manner punishable as an | ||
offense under any of those sections; or | ||
(M) forcing or coercing a child to enter into a | ||
marriage. | ||
(3) "Exploitation" means the illegal or improper use | ||
of a child or of the resources of a child for monetary or personal | ||
benefit, profit, or gain by an employee, volunteer, or other | ||
individual working under the auspices of a facility or program as | ||
further described by rule or policy. | ||
(4) "Neglect": | ||
(A) includes: | ||
(i) the leaving of a child in a situation | ||
where the child would be exposed to a substantial risk of physical | ||
or mental harm, without arranging for necessary care for the child, | ||
and the demonstration of an intent not to return by a parent, | ||
guardian, or managing or possessory conservator of the child; | ||
(ii) the following acts or omissions by a | ||
person: | ||
(a) placing a child in or failing to | ||
remove a child from a situation that a reasonable person would | ||
realize requires judgment or actions beyond the child's level of | ||
maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities and that results | ||
in bodily injury or a substantial risk of immediate harm to the | ||
child; | ||
(b) failing to seek, obtain, or follow | ||
through with medical care for a child, with the failure resulting in | ||
or presenting a substantial risk of death, disfigurement, or bodily | ||
injury or with the failure resulting in an observable and material | ||
impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child; | ||
(c) the failure to provide a child | ||
with food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain the life or | ||
health of the child, excluding failure caused primarily by | ||
financial inability unless relief services had been offered and | ||
refused; | ||
(d) placing a child in or failing to | ||
remove the child from a situation in which the child would be | ||
exposed to a substantial risk of sexual conduct harmful to the | ||
child; or | ||
(e) placing a child in or failing to | ||
remove the child from a situation in which the child would be | ||
exposed to acts or omissions that constitute abuse under | ||
Subdivision (1)(E), (F), (G), (H), or (K) committed against another | ||
child; [ |
||
(iii) the failure by the person responsible | ||
for a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to | ||
return to the child's home without arranging for the necessary care | ||
for the child after the child has been absent from the home for any | ||
reason, including having been in residential placement or having | ||
run away; or | ||
(iv) a negligent act or omission by an | ||
employee, volunteer, or other individual working under the auspices | ||
of a facility or program, including failure to comply with an | ||
individual treatment plan, plan of care, or individualized service | ||
plan, that causes or may cause substantial emotional harm or | ||
physical injury to, or the death of, a child served by the facility | ||
or program as further described by rule or policy; and | ||
(B) does not include the refusal by a person | ||
responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the | ||
child to remain in or return to the child's home resulting in the | ||
placement of the child in the conservatorship of the department if: | ||
(i) the child has a severe emotional | ||
disturbance; | ||
(ii) the person's refusal is based solely on | ||
the person's inability to obtain mental health services necessary | ||
to protect the safety and well-being of the child; and | ||
(iii) the person has exhausted all | ||
reasonable means available to the person to obtain the mental | ||
health services described by Subparagraph (ii). | ||
(5) "Person responsible for a child's care, custody, | ||
or welfare" means a person who traditionally is responsible for a | ||
child's care, custody, or welfare, including: | ||
(A) a parent, guardian, managing or possessory | ||
conservator, or foster parent of the child; | ||
(B) a member of the child's family or household | ||
as defined by Chapter 71; | ||
(C) a person with whom the child's parent | ||
cohabits; | ||
(D) school personnel or a volunteer at the | ||
child's school; [ |
||
(E) personnel or a volunteer at a public or | ||
private child-care facility that provides services for the child or | ||
at a public or private residential institution or facility where | ||
the child resides; or | ||
(F) an employee, volunteer, or other person | ||
working under the supervision of a licensed or unlicensed | ||
child-care facility, including a family home, residential | ||
child-care facility, employer-based day-care facility, or shelter | ||
day-care facility, as those terms are defined in Chapter 42, Human | ||
Resources Code. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 261.101(b), Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) If a professional has cause to believe that a child has | ||
been abused or neglected or may be abused or neglected, or that a | ||
child is a victim of an offense under Section 21.11, Penal Code, and | ||
the professional has cause to believe that the child has been abused | ||
as defined by Section 261.001 [ |
||
make a report not later than the 48th hour after the hour the | ||
professional first suspects that the child has been or may be abused | ||
or neglected or is a victim of an offense under Section 21.11, Penal | ||
Code. A professional may not delegate to or rely on another person | ||
to make the report. In this subsection, "professional" means an | ||
individual who is licensed or certified by the state or who is an | ||
employee of a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the | ||
state and who, in the normal course of official duties or duties for | ||
which a license or certification is required, has direct contact | ||
with children. The term includes teachers, nurses, doctors, | ||
day-care employees, employees of a clinic or health care facility | ||
that provides reproductive services, juvenile probation officers, | ||
and juvenile detention or correctional officers. | ||
SECTION 4. Sections 261.301(b) and (c), Family Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) A state agency shall investigate a report that alleges | ||
abuse, [ |
||
operated, licensed, certified, or registered by that agency as | ||
provided by Subchapter E. In conducting an investigation for a | ||
facility operated, licensed, certified, registered, or listed by | ||
the department, the department shall perform the investigation as | ||
provided by: | ||
(1) Subchapter E; and | ||
(2) the Human Resources Code. | ||
(c) The department is not required to investigate a report | ||
that alleges child abuse, [ |
||
other than a person responsible for a child's care, custody, or | ||
welfare. The appropriate state or local law enforcement agency | ||
shall investigate that report if the agency determines an | ||
investigation should be conducted. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 261.401(b), Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(b) Except as provided by Section 261.404 and Section | ||
531.02013(1)(D), Government Code, a state agency that operates, | ||
licenses, certifies, registers, or lists a facility in which | ||
children are located or provides oversight of a program that serves | ||
children shall make a prompt, thorough investigation of a report | ||
that a child has been or may be abused, neglected, or exploited in | ||
the facility or program. The primary purpose of the investigation | ||
shall be the protection of the child. | ||
SECTION 6. Sections 261.405(a) and (c), Family Code, are | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Notwithstanding Section 261.001, in [ |
||
(1) "Abuse" means an intentional, knowing, or reckless | ||
act or omission by an employee, volunteer, or other individual | ||
working under the auspices of a facility or program that causes or | ||
may cause emotional harm or physical injury to, or the death of, a | ||
child served by the facility or program as further described by rule | ||
or policy. | ||
(2) "Exploitation" means the illegal or improper use | ||
of a child or of the resources of a child for monetary or personal | ||
benefit, profit, or gain by an employee, volunteer, or other | ||
individual working under the auspices of a facility or program as | ||
further described by rule or policy. | ||
(3) "Juvenile justice facility" means a facility | ||
operated wholly or partly by the juvenile board, by another | ||
governmental unit, or by a private vendor under a contract with the | ||
juvenile board, county, or other governmental unit that serves | ||
juveniles under juvenile court jurisdiction. The term includes: | ||
(A) a public or private juvenile | ||
pre-adjudication secure detention facility, including a holdover | ||
facility; | ||
(B) a public or private juvenile | ||
post-adjudication secure correctional facility except for a | ||
facility operated solely for children committed to the Texas | ||
Juvenile Justice Department; and | ||
(C) a public or private non-secure juvenile | ||
post-adjudication residential treatment facility that is not | ||
licensed by the Department of Family and Protective Services or the | ||
Department of State Health Services. | ||
(4) [ |
||
or department operated wholly or partly by the juvenile board or by | ||
a private vendor under a contract with a juvenile board that serves | ||
juveniles under juvenile court jurisdiction. The term includes: | ||
(A) a juvenile justice alternative education | ||
program; | ||
(B) a non-residential program that serves | ||
juvenile offenders under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court; | ||
and | ||
(C) a juvenile probation department. | ||
(5) "Neglect" means a negligent act or omission by an | ||
employee, volunteer, or other individual working under the auspices | ||
of a facility or program, including failure to comply with an | ||
individual treatment plan, plan of care, or individualized service | ||
plan, that causes or may cause substantial emotional harm or | ||
physical injury to, or the death of, a child served by the facility | ||
or program as further described by rule or policy. | ||
(c) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall make a | ||
prompt, thorough [ |
||
chapter if that department receives a report of alleged abuse, | ||
neglect, or exploitation in any juvenile justice program or | ||
facility. The primary purpose of the investigation shall be the | ||
protection of the child. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 531.02013, Government Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 531.02013. FUNCTIONS REMAINING WITH CERTAIN | ||
AGENCIES. The following functions are not subject to transfer | ||
under Sections 531.0201 and 531.02011: | ||
(1) the functions of the Department of Family and | ||
Protective Services, including the statewide intake of reports and | ||
other information, related to the following: | ||
(A) child protective services, including | ||
services that are required by federal law to be provided by this | ||
state's child welfare agency; | ||
(B) adult protective services, other than | ||
investigations of the alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an | ||
elderly person or person with a disability: | ||
(i) in a facility operated, or in a facility | ||
or by a person licensed, certified, or registered, by a state | ||
agency; or | ||
(ii) by a provider that has contracted to | ||
provide home and community-based services; [ |
||
(C) prevention and early intervention services; | ||
and | ||
(D) investigations of alleged abuse, neglect, or | ||
exploitation occurring at a child-care facility, as that term is | ||
defined in Section 40.042, Human Resources Code; and | ||
(2) the public health functions of the Department of | ||
State Health Services, including health care data collection and | ||
maintenance of the Texas Health Care Information Collection | ||
program. | ||
SECTION 8. (a) Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources | ||
Code, is amended by adding Sections 40.039, 40.040, 40.041, and | ||
40.042 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 40.039. REVIEW OF RECORDS RETENTION POLICY. The | ||
department shall periodically review the department's records | ||
retention policy with respect to case and intake records relating | ||
to department functions. The department shall make changes to the | ||
policy consistent with the records retention schedule submitted | ||
under Section 441.185, Government Code, that are necessary to | ||
improve case prioritization and the routing of cases to the | ||
appropriate division of the department. The department may adopt | ||
rules necessary to implement this section. | ||
Sec. 40.040. CASE MANAGEMENT VENDOR QUALITY OVERSIGHT AND | ||
ASSURANCE DIVISION; MONITORING OF CONTRACT ADHERENCE. (a) In this | ||
section, "case management," "catchment area," and "community-based | ||
care" have the meanings assigned by Section 264.151, Family Code. | ||
(b) The department shall create within the department the | ||
case management services vendor quality oversight and assurance | ||
division. The division shall: | ||
(1) oversee quality and ensure accountability of any | ||
vendor that provides community-based care and full case management | ||
services for the department under community-based care; and | ||
(2) monitor the transfer from the department to a | ||
vendor of full case management services for children and families | ||
receiving services from the vendor, including any transfer | ||
occurring under a pilot program. | ||
(c) The commission shall contract with an outside vendor | ||
with expertise in quality assurance to develop, in coordination | ||
with the department, a contract monitoring system and standards for | ||
the continuous monitoring of the adherence of a vendor providing | ||
foster care services under community-based care to the terms of the | ||
contract entered into by the vendor and the commission. The | ||
standards must include performance benchmarks relating to the | ||
provision of case management services in the catchment area where | ||
the vendor operates. | ||
(d) The division shall collect and analyze data comparing | ||
outcomes on performance measures between catchment areas where | ||
community-based care has been implemented and regions where | ||
community-based care has not been implemented. | ||
Sec. 40.041. OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS. The department | ||
shall create an office of data analytics. The office shall report | ||
to the deputy commissioner and may perform any of the following | ||
functions, as determined by the department: | ||
(1) monitor management trends; | ||
(2) analyze employee exit surveys and interviews; | ||
(3) evaluate the effectiveness of employee retention | ||
efforts, including merit pay; | ||
(4) create and manage a system for handling employee | ||
complaints submitted by the employee outside of an employee's | ||
direct chain of command, including anonymous complaints; | ||
(5) monitor and provide reports to department | ||
management personnel on: | ||
(A) employee complaint data and trends in | ||
employee complaints; | ||
(B) compliance with annual department | ||
performance evaluation requirements; and | ||
(C) the department's use of positive performance | ||
levels for employees; | ||
(6) track employee tenure and internal employee | ||
transfers within both the child protective services division and | ||
the department; | ||
(7) use data analytics to predict workforce shortages | ||
and identify areas of the department with high rates of employee | ||
turnover, and develop a process to inform the deputy commissioner | ||
and other appropriate staff regarding the office's findings; | ||
(8) create and monitor reports on key metrics of | ||
agency performance; | ||
(9) analyze available data, including data on employee | ||
training, for historical and predictive department trends; and | ||
(10) conduct any other data analysis the department | ||
determines to be appropriate for improving performance, meeting the | ||
department's current business needs, or fulfilling the powers and | ||
duties of the department. | ||
Sec. 40.042. INVESTIGATIONS OF CHILD ABUSE, NEGLECT, AND | ||
EXPLOITATION. (a) In this section, "child-care facility" includes | ||
a facility, licensed or unlicensed child-care facility, family | ||
home, residential child-care facility, employer-based day-care | ||
facility, or shelter day-care facility, as those terms are defined | ||
in Chapter 42. | ||
(b) For all investigations of child abuse, neglect, or | ||
exploitation conducted by the child protective services division of | ||
the department, the department shall adopt the definitions of | ||
abuse, neglect, and exploitation provided in Section 261.001, | ||
Family Code. | ||
(c) The department shall establish standardized policies to | ||
be used during investigations. | ||
(d) The commissioner shall establish units within the child | ||
protective services division of the department to specialize in | ||
investigating allegations of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation | ||
occurring at a child-care facility. | ||
(e) The department may require that investigators who | ||
specialize in allegations of child abuse, neglect, and exploitation | ||
occurring at child-care facilities receive ongoing training on the | ||
minimum licensing standards for any facilities that are applicable | ||
to the investigator's specialization. | ||
(f) After an investigation of abuse, neglect, or | ||
exploitation occurring at a child-care facility, the department | ||
shall provide the state agency responsible for regulating the | ||
facility with access to any information relating to the | ||
department's investigation. Providing access to confidential | ||
information under this subsection does not constitute a waiver of | ||
confidentiality. | ||
(g) The executive commissioner or the commissioner of the | ||
department, as appropriate, may adopt rules to implement this | ||
section. | ||
(b) As soon as possible after the effective date of this | ||
Act, the commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective | ||
Services shall establish the office of data analytics required by | ||
Section 40.041, Human Resources Code, as added by this section. The | ||
commissioner and the executive commissioner of the Health and Human | ||
Services Commission shall transfer appropriate staff as necessary | ||
to conduct the duties of the office. | ||
SECTION 9. Section 40.051, Human Resources Code, is amended | ||
to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 40.051. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR DEPARTMENT. The department | ||
shall develop a departmental strategic plan based on the goals and | ||
priorities stated in the commission's coordinated strategic plan | ||
for health and human services. The department shall also develop | ||
its plan based on: | ||
(1) furthering the policy of family preservation; | ||
(2) the goal of ending the abuse and neglect of | ||
children in the conservatorship of the department; and | ||
(3) the goal of increasing the capacity and | ||
availability of foster, relative, and kinship placements in this | ||
state. | ||
SECTION 10. (a) Section 40.058(f), Human Resources Code, | ||
is amended to read as follows: | ||
(f) A contract for residential child-care services provided | ||
by a general residential operation or by a child-placing agency | ||
must include provisions that: | ||
(1) enable the department and commission to monitor | ||
the effectiveness of the services; | ||
(2) specify performance outcomes, financial penalties | ||
for failing to meet any specified performance outcomes, and | ||
financial incentives for exceeding any specified performance | ||
outcomes; | ||
(3) authorize the department or commission to | ||
terminate the contract or impose monetary sanctions for a violation | ||
of a provision of the contract that specifies performance criteria | ||
or for underperformance in meeting any specified performance | ||
outcomes; | ||
(4) authorize the department or commission, an agent | ||
of the department or commission, and the state auditor to inspect | ||
all books, records, and files maintained by a contractor relating | ||
to the contract; and | ||
(5) are necessary, as determined by the department or | ||
commission, to ensure accountability for the delivery of services | ||
and for the expenditure of public funds. | ||
(b) The Health and Human Services Commission shall, in a | ||
contract for residential child-care services between the | ||
commission and a general residential operation or child-placing | ||
agency that is entered into on or after the effective date of this | ||
section, including a renewal contract, include the provisions | ||
required by Section 40.058(f), Human Resources Code, as amended by | ||
this section. | ||
(c) The Health and Human Services Commission shall seek to | ||
amend contracts for residential child-care services entered into | ||
with general residential operations or child-placing agencies | ||
before the effective date of this section to include the provisions | ||
required by Section 40.058(f), Human Resources Code, as amended by | ||
this section. | ||
(d) The Department of Family and Protective Services and the | ||
Health and Human Services Commission may not impose a financial | ||
penalty against a general residential operation or child-placing | ||
agency under a contract provision described by Section 40.058(f)(2) | ||
or (3), Human Resources Code, as amended by this section, until | ||
September 1, 2018. | ||
SECTION 11. (a) Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 40.0581 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 40.0581. PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR CERTAIN SERVICE | ||
PROVIDER CONTRACTS. (a) The commission, in collaboration with the | ||
department, shall contract with a vendor or enter into an agreement | ||
with an institution of higher education to develop, in coordination | ||
with the department, performance quality metrics for family-based | ||
safety services and post-adoption support services providers. The | ||
quality metrics must be included in each contract with those | ||
providers. | ||
(b) Each provider whose contract with the commission to | ||
provide department services includes the quality metrics developed | ||
under Subsection (a) must prepare and submit to the department a | ||
report each calendar quarter regarding the provider's performance | ||
based on the quality metrics. | ||
(c) The commissioner shall compile a summary of all reports | ||
prepared and submitted to the department by family-based safety | ||
services providers as required by Subsection (b) and distribute the | ||
summary to appropriate family-based safety services caseworkers | ||
and child protective services region management once each calendar | ||
quarter. | ||
(d) The commissioner shall compile a summary of all reports | ||
prepared and submitted to the department by post-adoption support | ||
services providers as required by Subsection (b) and distribute the | ||
summary to appropriate conservatorship and adoption caseworkers | ||
and child protective services region management. | ||
(e) The department shall make the summaries prepared under | ||
Subsections (c) and (d) available to families that are receiving | ||
family-based safety services and to adoptive families. | ||
(f) This section does not apply to a provider that has | ||
entered into a contract with the commission to provide family-based | ||
safety services under Section 264.165, Family Code. | ||
(b) The quality metrics required by Section 40.0581, Human | ||
Resources Code, as added by this section, must be developed not | ||
later than September 1, 2018, and included in any contract, | ||
including a renewal contract, entered into by the Health and Human | ||
Services Commission with a family-based safety services provider or | ||
a post-adoption support services provider on or after January 1, | ||
2019, except as provided by Section 40.0581(f), Human Resources | ||
Code, as added by this section. | ||
SECTION 12. Section 42.002(23), Human Resources Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(23) "Other maltreatment" means: | ||
(A) abuse, as defined by Section 261.001 [ |
||
|
||
(B) neglect, as defined by Section 261.001 [ |
||
|
||
SECTION 13. Section 42.044(c-1), Human Resources Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
(c-1) The department: | ||
(1) shall investigate a listed family home if the | ||
department receives a complaint that: | ||
(A) a child in the home has been abused or | ||
neglected, as defined by Section 261.001 [ |
||
(B) otherwise alleges an immediate risk of danger | ||
to the health or safety of a child being cared for in the home; and | ||
(2) may investigate a listed family home to ensure | ||
that the home is providing care for compensation to not more than | ||
three children, excluding children who are related to the | ||
caretaker. | ||
SECTION 14. Section 261.401(a), Family Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 15. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply | ||
only to a report of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a | ||
child that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. A | ||
report of suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation that is made | ||
before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the | ||
report was made, and that law is continued in effect for that | ||
purpose. | ||
(b) Notwithstanding any provision of Subchapter A-1, | ||
Chapter 531, Government Code, or any other law, the responsibility | ||
for conducting investigations of reports of abuse, neglect, or | ||
exploitation occurring at a child-care facility, as that term is | ||
defined in Section 40.042, Human Resources Code, as added by this | ||
Act, may not be transferred to the Health and Human Services | ||
Commission and remains the responsibility of the Department of | ||
Family and Protective Services. | ||
(c) As soon as possible after the effective date of this | ||
Act, the commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective | ||
Services shall transfer the responsibility for conducting | ||
investigations of reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation | ||
occurring at a child-care facility, as that term is defined in | ||
Section 40.042, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, to the | ||
child protective services division of the department. The | ||
commissioner shall transfer appropriate investigators and staff as | ||
necessary to implement this subsection. | ||
(d) The Department of Family and Protective Services shall | ||
implement the standardized definitions and policies required under | ||
Sections 40.042(b) and (c), Human Resources Code, as added by this | ||
Act, not later than December 1, 2017. | ||
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 249 was passed by the House on April | ||
28, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 0, 2 present, not | ||
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
No. 249 on May 26, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 3 | ||
present, not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 249 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
amendments, on May 24, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays | ||
0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |