Bill Text: TX HB3098 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to secondary trauma support, case assignment, and caseload management for child protective services caseworkers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-27 - Referred to Human Services [HB3098 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HB3098-Introduced.html
85R13072 MK-D | ||
By: Burkett | H.B. No. 3098 |
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relating to secondary trauma support, case assignment, and caseload | ||
management for child protective services caseworkers. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 261.301, Family Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsection (j) to read as follows: | ||
(j) In geographic areas with demonstrated need, the | ||
department shall designate employees to serve specifically as | ||
investigators and responders for after-hours reports of child abuse | ||
or neglect. | ||
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code, | ||
is amended by adding Section 40.038 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 40.038. SECONDARY TRAUMA SUPPORT FOR CASEWORKERS. (a) | ||
In this section, "secondary trauma" means trauma incurred as a | ||
consequence of a person's exposure to acute or chronic trauma. | ||
(b) The department shall develop and make available a | ||
program to provide ongoing support to caseworkers who experience | ||
secondary trauma resulting from exposure to trauma in the course of | ||
the caseworker's employment. The program must include critical | ||
incident stress debriefing. The department may not require that a | ||
caseworker participate in the program. | ||
SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code, | ||
is amended by adding Section 40.0529 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 40.0529. CASELOAD MANAGEMENT. (a) Subject to a | ||
specific appropriation for that purpose, the department shall | ||
develop and implement a caseload management system for child | ||
protective services caseworkers and managers that: | ||
(1) ensures equity in the distribution of workload, | ||
based on the complexity of each case; | ||
(2) calculates caseloads based on the number of | ||
individual caseworkers who are available to handle cases; | ||
(3) includes geographic case assignment in areas with | ||
concentrated high risk populations, to ensure that an adequate | ||
number of caseworkers and managers with expertise and specialized | ||
training are available; | ||
(4) includes a plan to deploy master investigators in | ||
anticipation of emergency shortages of personnel; and | ||
(5) anticipates vacancies in caseworker positions in | ||
areas of the state with high caseworker turnover to ensure the | ||
timely hiring of new caseworkers in those areas. | ||
(b) In calculating the caseworker caseload under Subsection | ||
(a)(2), the department: | ||
(1) may not count caseworkers who are on leave for four | ||
weeks or more as available caseworkers; | ||
(2) may not create fictive caseworkers to compensate | ||
for overtime hours worked by caseworkers; and | ||
(3) shall only count caseworkers who are on reduced | ||
caseloads at a value of 0.3 or less. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |