Bill Text: TX HB6 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to the administration of services provided by the Department of Family and Protective Services, including foster care, child protective services, and prevention and early intervention services.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 21-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-05-11 - Postponed [HB6 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB6-Introduced.html

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85R8472 MK-D
By: Frank H.B. No. 6

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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 264.124, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) On receipt of the verification required under
Subsection (b), or as provided by Subsection (d), the department
shall provide monetary assistance to a foster parent for full-time
or part-time day care services for a foster child. The department
may not deny monetary assistance to the foster parent as long as the
foster parent is employed on a full-time or part-time basis.
SECTION 2. (a) Chapter 264, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER B-1. COMMUNITY-BASED FOSTER CARE
Sec. 264.151. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT. (a) The
legislature finds that:
(1) for more than 30 years, the child welfare system in
Texas has been centralized and managed by statutes and rules that
impose a uniform system on communities statewide and ignore the
fundamental differences between regions;
(2) in order for the department to effectively provide
child welfare services, as required by state and federal law,
fundamental structural changes to the provision of child protective
and welfare services are necessary;
(3) child welfare services that are community-based
and family-centered, are monitored by community stakeholders, and
have effective accountability standards regarding performance
outcomes and practices have been found to lead to better outcomes
for children who are victims of abuse and neglect;
(4) community-based care would align outcomes to
assist the state in achieving the state's goal of substantial gains
in comparison to other states under federal metrics regarding
outcomes in child safety, permanency, and well-being; and
(5) it should be a goal for the state to achieve a top
10 ranking in the key measures employed by the Administration for
Children and Families in the United States Department of Health and
Human Services after full implementation of community-based care.
(b) It is the intent of the legislature that the department
contract with community-based, nonprofit entities to provide child
welfare services, including providing direct case management to
ensure child safety, permanency, and well-being, in accordance with
state and federal child welfare goals.
(c) It is the intent of the legislature that the provision
of community-based foster 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 minimal placement
changes;
(4) the maintenance of contact between children and
their families and other important persons;
(5) the placement of children with siblings;
(6) the provision of services that respect each
child's culture;
(7) the preparation of children and youth in foster
care for adulthood;
(8) 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; and
(9) the participation by children and youth in making
decisions relating to their own lives.
Sec. 264.152. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Babysitter" means a person who is not the foster
parent of the child and who provides temporary care for the child
for not more than 12 hours.
(2) "Catchment area" means a geographic service area
for providing child protective services that is identified as part
of the community-based foster care redesign.
(3) "Community-based foster care" means the
redesigned foster care services system required by Chapter 598
(S.B. 218), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011.
(4) "Overnight care provider" means a person who is
not the foster parent of the child and who provides temporary care
for the child for more than 12 hours but not more than 72 hours.
(5) "Respite care provider" means a person who is not
the foster parent of the child and who provides the temporary care
for the child for more than 72 hours but less than 40 days unless the
care is provided during a department investigation of a service
provider for child abuse or neglect.
Sec. 264.154. STATEWIDE EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY-BASED
FOSTER CARE. (a) The department shall, as provided by this
section, expand community-based foster care until it has been
implemented throughout this state.
(b) Not later than December 31, 2019, the department shall:
(1) identify two catchment areas in the state that are
best suited to implement community-based foster care;
(2) create an implementation plan for those catchment
areas that includes a timeline for implementation and for the
transfer of case management services; and
(3) implement community-based foster care in those
catchment areas.
(c) Following the selection of the catchment areas under
Subsection (b), the department shall, not later than December 31 of
each year, and based on the availability of funding:
(1) identify at least one additional catchment area
that is prepared to implement community-based foster care;
(2) provide a report to the legislature that details
the selected catchment area; and
(3) begin implementing community-based foster care in
that area.
(d) In expanding community-based foster care, the
department may change the geographic boundaries of catchment areas
as necessary to align with specific communities.
(e) The department shall ensure the continuity of services
for children and families during the transition period to
community-based foster care in a catchment area.
Sec. 264.155. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OVERSIGHT GROUP. (a)
The department shall establish a community engagement oversight
group in each catchment area to assist with implementing
community-based foster care.
Sec. 264.156. QUALIFICATIONS OF SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM
CONTRACTOR. To be eligible to enter into a contract with the
commission to serve as a single source continuum contractor to
provide foster care service delivery, an entity must be a nonprofit
entity that:
(1) is licensed as a service provider by the
department;
(2) has an organizational mission focused on child
welfare; and
(3) has the ability to offer case management services.
Sec. 264.157. REQUIRED CONTRACT PROVISIONS. A contract
with a single source continuum contractor to provide foster care
services in a catchment area must include provisions that:
(1) specify performance outcomes and financial
incentives for exceeding any specified performance outcomes; and
(2) ensure that the single source continuum contractor
accurately determines the service level for each child receiving
services from the contractor and authorize the department to adjust
the daily residential payment rate, as necessary based on the
child's level of service.
Sec. 264.158. DUTIES OF SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTOR.
(a) A single source continuum contractor shall create a single
process for the training and use of respite care providers for all
child-placing agencies in a catchment area. The single process
must:
(1) use a single form for approving respite care
providers; and
(2) ensure that respite care providers meet the
minimum standards for providers specified by the department.
(b) A single source continuum contractor shall ensure that
babysitters and overnight care providers are able to provide
services to all child-placing agencies operating in the catchment
area. A babysitter or overnight care provider may not provide
services if, during the preceding three years, the babysitter or
overnight care provider has been the subject of any complaint or has
violated any licensing rules or standards.
(c) A single source continuum contractor that provides
foster care services in a catchment area may enter into memorandums
of understanding with single source continuum contractors
providing foster care services in other catchment areas to allow
respite care providers, babysitters, and overnight care providers
to provide services in multiple catchment areas.
Sec. 264.159. CONTINGENCY PLAN IN EVENT OF EARLY CONTRACT
TERMINATION. In each catchment area in which community-based
foster care is implemented, the department shall create a
contingency plan to ensure the continuity of services for children
and families in the catchment area in the event of an early
termination of the contract with the single source continuum
contractor providing foster care services in that catchment area.
Sec. 264.160. ANNUAL REPORTING. Not later than January 31
of each year, the department shall provide to the speaker of the
house, the lieutenant governor, the standing committees of the
legislature with jurisdiction over foster care, and the Legislative
Budget Board a report containing the data indicators submitted
during the previous calendar year to the United States Department
of Health and Human Services through the federal adoption and
foster care analysis and reporting system and the national child
abuse and neglect data system. The department shall also make the
data indicators available on the department's Internet website.
(b) Section 264.126, Family Code, is transferred to
Subchapter B-1, Chapter 264, Family Code, as added by this section,
redesignated as Section 264.153, Family Code, and amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.153 [264.126]. COMMUNITY-BASED FOSTER CARE
[REDESIGN] IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. (a) The department shall develop
and maintain a plan for implementing community-based [the] foster
care [redesign required by Chapter 598 (S.B. 218), Acts of the 82nd
Legislature, Regular Session, 2011]. The plan must:
(1) describe the department's expectations, goals, and
approach to implementing community-based foster care [redesign];
(2) include a timeline for implementing
community-based [the] foster care [redesign] throughout this
state, any limitations related to the implementation, and a
progressive intervention plan and a contingency plan to provide
continuity of foster care service delivery 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 and the duties, employees, and related funding that
will be transferred to the contractor by the department;
(4) identify any training needs and include long-range
and continuous plans for training and cross-training staff;
(5) include a plan for evaluating the costs and tasks
associated with each contract procurement, including the initial
and ongoing contract costs for the department and contractor;
(6) include the department's contract monitoring
approach and a plan for evaluating the performance of each
contractor and the community-based foster care [redesign] system as
a whole that includes an independent evaluation of processes and
outcomes; and
(7) include a report on transition issues resulting
from implementation of community-based [the] foster care
[redesign].
(b) The department shall annually:
(1) update the implementation plan developed under
this section and post the updated plan on the department's Internet
website; and
(2) post on the department's Internet website the
progress the department has made toward its goals for implementing
community-based [the] foster care [redesign].
SECTION 3. Section 40.032, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) In this subsection, "community-based foster care" has
the meaning assigned by Section 264.152, Family Code. The
department must collaborate with single source continuum
contractors to ensure that employees of the department who perform
case management functions are given preference for employment by
service providers under the community-based foster care service
system.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 40.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 40.039. FOSTER CARE SERVICES CONTRACT COMPLIANCE AND
OVERSIGHT DIVISION. (a) In this section "community-based foster
care" has the meaning assigned by Section 264.152, Family Code.
(b) The department shall create within the department the
foster care services contract compliance and oversight division.
The division shall oversee contract compliance and achievement of
performance-based outcomes by any vendor that provides foster care
services for the department under community-based foster care.
SECTION 5. Section 42.042, Human Resources Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (s) to read as follows:
(s) The department shall create and implement a process to
simplify and streamline the licensing and verification rules for
agency foster homes and child-placing agencies.
SECTION 6. 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 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.