Bill Text: TX HB3691 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Relating to the statewide implementation of community-based foster care by the Department of Family and Protective Services.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-05-26 - Placed on intent calendar [HB3691 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB3691-Comm_Sub.html
By: Frank, Gates, Minjarez | H.B. No. 3691 | |
(Senate Sponsor - Kolkhorst) | ||
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 17, 2021; | ||
May 17, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on Health & | ||
Human Services; May 21, 2021, reported favorably by the following | ||
vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0; May 21, 2021, sent to printer.) | ||
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relating to the statewide implementation of community-based foster | ||
care by the Department of Family and Protective Services. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 264.151, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.151. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. (a) It is the intent of | ||
the legislature that the department contract with community-based | ||
nonprofit and local governmental entities that have the ability to | ||
provide child welfare services. The services provided by the | ||
entities must include direct case management to prevent entry into | ||
substitute care, reunify and preserve families, and ensure child | ||
safety, permanency, and well-being, in accordance with state and | ||
federal child welfare goals. | ||
(b) It is the intent of the legislature that the provision | ||
of community-based care for children be implemented with measurable | ||
goals relating to: | ||
(1) the safety of children in placements; | ||
(2) the placement of children in each child's home | ||
community; | ||
(3) the provision of services to children in the least | ||
restrictive environment possible and with [ |
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[ |
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(4) the reduction of the time a child is in the | ||
conservatorship of the department and placed in substitute care; | ||
(5) the maintenance of contact between children and | ||
their families and other important persons; | ||
(6) the placement of children with siblings, when | ||
possible; | ||
(7) the provision of services that respect each | ||
child's culture; | ||
(8) the preparation of children and youth in foster | ||
care for adulthood; | ||
(9) the provision of opportunities, experiences, and | ||
activities for children and youth in foster care that are available | ||
to children and youth who are not in foster care; | ||
(10) the participation by children and youth in making | ||
decisions relating to their own lives; | ||
(11) the reunification of children with the biological | ||
parents of the children when possible; [ |
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(12) the promotion of the placement of children with | ||
relative or kinship caregivers if reunification is not possible; | ||
and | ||
(13) the preservation of families to avoid placing | ||
children in foster care. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 264.152, Family Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subdivisions (2) and (4) and adding Subdivisions (5), (6), | ||
(7), and (8) to read as follows: | ||
(2) "Case management" means the provision of case | ||
management services to a child for whom the department has been | ||
appointed temporary or permanent managing conservator or to the | ||
child's family, a young adult in extended foster care, a relative or | ||
kinship caregiver, or a child who has been placed in the catchment | ||
area through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, | ||
and includes: | ||
(A) caseworker visits with the child; | ||
(B) family and caregiver visits; | ||
(C) convening and conducting permanency planning | ||
meetings; | ||
(D) the development and revision of child and | ||
family plans of service, including a permanency plan and goals for a | ||
child or young adult in care; | ||
(E) the coordination and monitoring of services | ||
required by the child and the child's family; | ||
(F) the assumption of court-related duties | ||
regarding the child, including: | ||
(i) providing any required notifications or | ||
consultations; | ||
(ii) preparing court reports; | ||
(iii) attending judicial and permanency | ||
hearings, trials, and mediations; | ||
(iv) complying with applicable court | ||
orders; and | ||
(v) ensuring the child is progressing | ||
toward the goal of permanency within state and federally mandated | ||
guidelines; [ |
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(G) the placement of children in the | ||
conservatorship of the department with relative or kinship | ||
caregivers as described by Section 264.107 and the monitoring of | ||
those placements; and | ||
(H) any other function or service that the | ||
department determines or a single source continuum contractor | ||
proposes is necessary to allow the [ |
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contractor to assume responsibility for case management under the | ||
terms of a contract executed by the department and the contractor. | ||
(4) "Community-based care" means the provision of | ||
child welfare services in accordance with state and federal child | ||
welfare goals by a community-based nonprofit or a local | ||
governmental entity under a contract that includes direct case | ||
management to: | ||
(A) prevent entry into foster care; | ||
(B) reunify and preserve families; | ||
(C) ensure child safety, permanency, and | ||
well-being; and | ||
(D) reduce future referrals of children or | ||
parents to the department [ |
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(5) "Child who is a candidate for foster care" means a | ||
child who is at imminent risk of being removed from the child's home | ||
and placed into the conservatorship of the department because of a | ||
continuing danger to the child's physical health or safety caused | ||
by an act or failure to act of a person entitled to possession of the | ||
child but for whom a court of competent jurisdiction has issued an | ||
order allowing the child to remain safely in the child's home or in | ||
a kinship placement with the provision of family preservation | ||
services. | ||
(6) "Family preservation service" means a | ||
time-limited, family-focused service, including a service subject | ||
to the Family First Prevention Services Act (Title VII, Div. E, Pub. | ||
L. No. 115-123), provided to the family of a child who is: | ||
(A) a candidate for foster care to prevent or | ||
eliminate the need to remove the child and to allow the child to | ||
remain safely with the child's family; or | ||
(B) a pregnant or parenting foster youth. | ||
(7) "Family preservation services plan" means a | ||
written plan, based on a professional assessment, listing the | ||
family preservation services, including services subject to the | ||
Family First Prevention Services Act (Title VII, Div. E, Pub. L. No. | ||
115-123), to be provided to the family of a child who is: | ||
(A) a candidate for foster care; or | ||
(B) a pregnant or parenting foster youth. | ||
(8) "Foster care services" means substitute care as | ||
defined by Section 263.001 and includes the assessment and referral | ||
of children into a residential placement outside the child's home | ||
and the assessment and referral of a child for adoption. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 264.153, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.153. COMMUNITY-BASED CARE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. | ||
(a) The department shall develop and maintain a plan for | ||
implementing community-based care. The plan must: | ||
(1) define [ |
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goals, and statewide strategic plan for [ |
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community-based care and the method the department uses to | ||
determine the cost of implementing community-based care, including | ||
the department resources used to provide community-based care; | ||
(2) include a timeline for implementing | ||
community-based care throughout this state, the specific order and | ||
rationale for implementing community-based care in the catchment | ||
areas of this state where community-based care will expand, any | ||
limitations related to the implementation, and a progressive | ||
intervention plan and a contingency plan to provide continuity of | ||
the delivery of foster care services and services for relative and | ||
kinship caregivers if a contract with a single source continuum | ||
contractor ends prematurely; | ||
(3) delineate and define the case management roles and | ||
responsibilities of the department and the department's | ||
contractors, [ |
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will be transferred to the contractor by the department, and the | ||
method for determining the state-level and catchment-level | ||
resources to be transferred; | ||
(4) identify any training needs and include long-range | ||
and continuous plans for training and cross-training staff, | ||
including plans to train caseworkers using the standardized | ||
curriculum created by the human trafficking prevention task force | ||
under Section 402.035(d)(6), Government Code, as that section | ||
existed on August 31, 2017; | ||
(5) include a plan for evaluating the costs of and | ||
tasks associated with each contract procurement, including the | ||
initial and ongoing contract costs for the department and | ||
contractor; | ||
(6) include [ |
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method of monitoring contracts and includes an evaluation of each | ||
contractor conducted by an entity based in this state independent | ||
of the department that: | ||
(A) assesses the effectiveness of the transfer of | ||
responsibilities to each contractor; | ||
(B) measures [ |
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and contract outcomes of each contractor; and | ||
(C) compares the outcomes in the contractor's | ||
catchment area to the outcomes in: | ||
(i) that same catchment area before | ||
community-based care was implemented; | ||
(ii) other catchment areas in which | ||
community-based care has been implemented; and | ||
(iii) other department regions in which the | ||
department is providing services [ |
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(7) include a report on [ |
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impede transition to community-based care; | ||
(8) include an evaluation of each contractor's | ||
processes and fiscal and qualitative outcomes concerning the | ||
children and families in its care conducted by an entity based in | ||
this state that is independent of the department and has | ||
demonstrated expertise in statistical, financial, actuarial, | ||
logistical, and operational analysis; | ||
(9) require the department to transmit immediately on | ||
receipt all reports and evaluations required under this subsection | ||
immediately to the relevant standing committees of the legislature | ||
and the office of the governor; and | ||
(10) include a specific implementation plan for each | ||
catchment area identified for expansion of community-based care | ||
that includes a timeline for the transfer of services as described | ||
by Section 264.155 developed after consulting with local | ||
stakeholders, as appropriate, including stakeholders listed in | ||
Section 264.155(a)(8) and other stakeholders identified as | ||
significant in a particular catchment area [ |
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(b) Not later than August 31 each year, the [ |
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shall [ |
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(1) update the implementation plan developed under | ||
this section and post the updated plan on the department's Internet | ||
website; and | ||
(2) provide a copy of the plan to the governor, | ||
lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and | ||
presiding officer of each standing committee of the legislature | ||
with jurisdiction over matters involving the department [ |
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SECTION 4. Section 264.154, Family Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a) To enter into a contract with the commission or | ||
department to serve as a single source continuum contractor to | ||
provide services under this subchapter [ |
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(1) a nonprofit entity that has: | ||
(A) an organizational mission focused on child | ||
welfare; and | ||
(B) a majority of the entity's board members | ||
residing in this state; or | ||
(2) a governmental entity. | ||
(c) The department shall request local stakeholders in a | ||
catchment area, including those listed in Section 264.155(a)(8), to | ||
provide any necessary information about the catchment area that | ||
will assist the department in: | ||
(1) preparing the department's request for bids, | ||
proposals, or other applicable expressions of interest to provide | ||
community-based care in the catchment area; and | ||
(2) selecting a single source continuum contractor to | ||
provide community-based care in the catchment area. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 264.155, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.155. REQUIRED CONTRACT PROVISIONS. (a) A | ||
contract with a single source continuum contractor to provide | ||
[ |
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catchment area must include provisions that: | ||
(1) establish a timeline for the implementation of | ||
community-based care in the catchment area, including a timeline | ||
for implementing: | ||
(A) case management services for children, | ||
families, and relative and kinship caregivers receiving services in | ||
the catchment area; [ |
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(B) family reunification support services to be | ||
provided after a child receiving services from the contractor is | ||
returned to the child's family; and | ||
(C) family preservation services; | ||
(2) establish conditions for the single source | ||
continuum contractor's access to [ |
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require the participation of the contractor in the data access and | ||
standards governance council created under Section 264.159; | ||
(3) require the single source continuum contractor to | ||
create a single process for the training and use of alternative | ||
caregivers for all child-placing agencies in the catchment area to | ||
facilitate reciprocity of licenses for alternative caregivers | ||
between agencies, including respite and overnight care providers, | ||
as those terms are defined by department rule; | ||
(4) require the single source continuum contractor to | ||
maintain a diverse network of service providers that offer a range | ||
of foster capacity options and that can accommodate children from | ||
diverse cultural backgrounds; | ||
(5) allow the department to conduct a performance | ||
review of the contractor beginning 18 months after the contractor | ||
has begun providing case management and family reunification | ||
support services to all children and families in the catchment area | ||
and determine if the contractor has achieved any performance | ||
outcomes specified in the contract; | ||
(6) following the review under Subdivision (5), allow | ||
the department to: | ||
(A) impose financial penalties on the contractor | ||
for failing to meet any specified performance outcomes; or | ||
(B) award financial incentives to the contractor | ||
for exceeding any specified performance outcomes; | ||
(7) require the contractor to give preference for | ||
employment to employees of the department: | ||
(A) whose position at the department is impacted | ||
by the implementation of community-based care; and | ||
(B) who are considered by the department to be | ||
employees in good standing; | ||
(8) require the contractor to provide preliminary and | ||
ongoing community engagement plans to ensure communication and | ||
collaboration with local stakeholders in the catchment area, | ||
including any of the following: | ||
(A) community faith-based entities; | ||
(B) the judiciary; | ||
(C) court-appointed special advocates; | ||
(D) child advocacy centers; | ||
(E) service providers; | ||
(F) foster families; | ||
(G) biological parents; | ||
(H) foster youth and former foster youth; | ||
(I) relative or kinship caregivers; | ||
(J) child welfare boards, if applicable; | ||
(K) attorneys ad litem; | ||
(L) attorneys that represent parents involved in | ||
suits filed by the department; and | ||
(M) any other stakeholders, as determined by the | ||
contractor; [ |
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(9) require that the contractor comply with any | ||
applicable court order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction | ||
in the case of a child for whom the contractor has assumed case | ||
management responsibilities or an order imposing a requirement on | ||
the department that relates to functions assumed by the contractor; | ||
(10) identify the employees and other resources to be | ||
transferred to the contractor for the purpose of providing | ||
necessary implementation, case management, operational, and | ||
administrative functions and outline the methodology for | ||
determining the resources to be transferred; | ||
(11) create a risk-sharing funding model that | ||
strategically and explicitly balances financial risk between the | ||
state and the contractor and mitigates the financial effects of | ||
significant unforeseen changes in the contractor's duties and | ||
responsibilities or its contract population; and | ||
(12) require the annual review and adjustment of the | ||
funding based on updated cost and finance methodologies, including | ||
changes in policy, foster care rates, and regional service usage. | ||
(b) A contract with a single source continuum contractor | ||
under this subchapter must be consistent with the requirements of | ||
applicable law and may only include terms authorized by the laws or | ||
rules of this state. | ||
(c) In regions identified for implementing community-based | ||
care and in regions where community-based care has been | ||
implemented, a contractor may apply to the department for a waiver | ||
from any statutory and regulatory requirement to increase | ||
innovation and flexibility for achieving contractual performance | ||
outcomes. | ||
SECTION 6. Sections 264.156(a), (b), and (d), Family Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) The department shall develop and apply standard | ||
criteria [ |
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source continuum contractor to satisfy the responsibilities and | ||
administrative requirements of delivering services under this | ||
subchapter [ |
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provide: | ||
(1) case management services for children and | ||
families; | ||
(2) evidence-based, promising practice, or | ||
evidence-informed services [ |
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and | ||
(3) sufficient available capacity for inpatient and | ||
outpatient services and supports for children at all service levels | ||
who have previously been placed in the catchment area. | ||
(b) As part of the readiness review process, the single | ||
source continuum contractor must prepare a report that defines: | ||
(1) the practice model and process the contractor will | ||
use to meet contractual performance outcomes and requirements; and | ||
(2) the methods the contractor will use to eliminate | ||
conflicts of interest, including financial incentives for a single | ||
source continuum contractor that refers a child for foster care | ||
services to itself or to a subcontractor in which that contractor | ||
has a majority financial stake [ |
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(d) If after conducting the review process developed under | ||
Subsection (a) the department determines that a single source | ||
continuum contractor is able to adequately deliver services | ||
described by this subchapter [ |
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stated in the timeline included in the contract with the | ||
contractor, the department may adjust the timeline to allow for an | ||
earlier transition of service delivery to the contractor. | ||
SECTION 7. Sections 264.157(a), (b), and (c), Family Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Not later than the last day of the state fiscal biennium | ||
[ |
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(1) identify the [ |
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in the state where the department will implement [ |
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(2) following the implementation of community-based | ||
care services in those catchment areas, retain an entity based in | ||
this state that is independent of the department to conduct an | ||
evaluation of [ |
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source continuum contractor performance in each catchment area. | ||
(b) Notwithstanding the process for the expansion of | ||
community-based care described in Subsection (a), [ |
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department shall accept and evaluate unsolicited proposals [ |
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provide community-based care services in a geographic service | ||
[ |
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implemented community-based care. An entity that submits a proposal | ||
to provide community-based care services must ensure that it meets | ||
all criteria outlined by this subchapter and must demonstrate | ||
established connections to the area the entity proposes to | ||
serve. The Health and Human Services Commission in conjunction with | ||
the department shall adopt rules to ensure that proposals submitted | ||
under this subsection comply with state procurement laws and rules. | ||
(c) In expanding community-based care, the department may | ||
change the geographic boundaries of catchment areas as necessary to | ||
align with specific communities or to enable satisfactory | ||
unsolicited proposals for community-based care services to be | ||
accepted and implemented. | ||
SECTION 8. The heading to Section 264.158, Family Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.158. TRANSFER OF [ |
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SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTOR. | ||
SECTION 9. Section 264.158, Family Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(a) In each [ |
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care has been implemented or a contract with a single source | ||
continuum contractor has been executed [ |
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the department shall transfer to the single source continuum | ||
contractor [ |
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(1) the case management of children, relative and | ||
kinship caregivers, and families receiving services from that | ||
contractor; [ |
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(2) foster care services; and | ||
(3) family preservation services [ |
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(d) A single source continuum contractor may implement its | ||
own procedures to execute the department's statutory duties the | ||
contractor assumes and is not required to follow the department's | ||
procedures to execute the department duties the contractor assumes. | ||
SECTION 10. Section 264.159, Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.159. DATA ACCESS AND STANDARDS GOVERNANCE COUNCIL. | ||
(a) The department shall create a data access and standards | ||
governance council to develop protocols for the interoperable | ||
electronic transfer of data from single source continuum | ||
contractors to the department to allow the contractors to perform | ||
case management functions and additional contracted services by the | ||
department. | ||
(b) The council shall develop protocols for the access, | ||
management, and security of case data that is electronically shared | ||
between [ |
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department. | ||
(c) The council shall develop protocols for the access, | ||
management, and security of data shared with an independent entity | ||
retained to conduct the independent evaluations required under this | ||
subchapter. The protocols shall ensure the entity has full, | ||
unrestricted access to all relevant data necessary to perform an | ||
evaluation. | ||
(d) The council consists of single source continuum | ||
contractors with active contracts and department employees who | ||
provide data, legal, information technology, and child protective | ||
services. The council shall meet at least quarterly during each | ||
calendar year. | ||
SECTION 11. Section 264.161, Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.161. STATUTORY DUTIES ASSUMED BY CONTRACTOR. | ||
Except as provided by Section 264.163, a single source continuum | ||
contractor providing the services described by this subchapter | ||
[ |
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subcontractors, assume the statutory duties of the department in | ||
connection with the delivery of [ |
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area. The department shall enumerate in its contract with a single | ||
source continuum contractor all duties the single source continuum | ||
contractor will assume. | ||
SECTION 12. Section 264.162, Family Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.162. REVIEW AND MONITORING OF CONTRACTOR | ||
PERFORMANCE. (a) The department shall implement [ |
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[ |
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continuum contractor's performance in achieving contract outcomes | ||
[ |
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(b) The contract performance outcomes specified in a | ||
contract under this subchapter must be consistent with the purposes | ||
described by Section 264.151. The contract must allow the | ||
contractor operational discretion in meeting performance outcomes. | ||
(c) The department shall regularly report on the | ||
department's and each single source continuum contractor's | ||
performance in providing services based on the performance outcomes | ||
described by Subsection (b). The report must: | ||
(1) be readily accessible to and understandable by a | ||
member of the public and include the following information: | ||
(A) a comparison of the single source continuum | ||
contractor's performance in a catchment area with the department's | ||
performance in that same area during the 10 years preceding the date | ||
the contractor began providing services in the area; and | ||
(B) a comparison of the performances of service | ||
providers for each region of this state for the time covered by the | ||
report; | ||
(2) include information provided by single source | ||
continuum contractors; | ||
(3) to the greatest extent feasible, be prepared using | ||
existing data sources and department resources; and | ||
(4) be published on the schedule determined | ||
appropriate by the department but not less than annually. | ||
(d) The contract must clearly define the manner in which the | ||
contractor's performance will be measured and identify the | ||
information sources the department and, if applicable, the | ||
independent evaluator will use to evaluate the performance. | ||
SECTION 13. Section 264.156(c), Family Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 14. Not later than October 1, 2022, the Department | ||
of Family and Protective Services shall publish the initial report | ||
required by Section 264.162(c), Family Code, as added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 15. The changes in law made by this Act apply only | ||
to a contract for foster care services entered into or renewed on or | ||
after the effective date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
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