|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to procedures in certain suits affecting the parent-child |
|
relationship and the operation of the child protective services and |
|
foster care systems. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 261, Family Code, is |
|
amended by adding Section 261.3013 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 261.3013. CASE CLOSURE AGREEMENTS PROHIBITED. |
|
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), on closing a case, the |
|
department may not enter into a written agreement with a child's |
|
parent or another adult with whom the child resides that requires |
|
the parent or other adult to take certain actions after the case is |
|
closed to ensure the child's safety. |
|
(b) This section does not apply to an agreement that is |
|
entered into by a parent or other adult: |
|
(1) following the removal of a child and that is |
|
subject to the approval of a court with continuing jurisdiction |
|
over the child; |
|
(2) as a result of the person's participation in family |
|
group conferencing; or |
|
(3) as part of a formal case closure plan agreed to by |
|
the person who will continue to care for a child as a result of a |
|
parental child safety placement. |
|
(c) The department shall develop policies to guide |
|
caseworkers in the development of case closure agreements |
|
authorized under Subsections (b)(2) and (3). |
|
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 262, Family Code, is |
|
amended by adding Section 262.010 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 262.010. CHILD WITH SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE. |
|
(a) If during an investigation by the Department of Family and |
|
Protective Services the department discovers that a child younger |
|
than 11 years of age has a sexually transmitted disease, the |
|
department shall: |
|
(1) appoint a special investigator to assist in the |
|
investigation of the case; and |
|
(2) file an original suit requesting an emergency |
|
order under this chapter for possession of the child unless the |
|
department determines, after taking the following actions, that |
|
removing the child from the child's home is not necessary for the |
|
protection of the child: |
|
(A) reviewing the medical evidence to determine |
|
whether the medical evidence supports a finding that abuse likely |
|
occurred; |
|
(B) interviewing the child and other persons |
|
residing in the child's home; |
|
(C) conferring with law enforcement; |
|
(D) determining whether any other child in the |
|
home has a sexually transmitted disease and, if so, referring the |
|
child for a sexual abuse examination; |
|
(E) ensuring that each child alleged to have been |
|
abused undergoes a forensic interview by a children's advocacy |
|
center established under Section 264.402 or another professional |
|
with specialized training in conducting forensic interviews if a |
|
children's advocacy center is not available in the county in which |
|
the child resides; |
|
(F) consulting with a department staff nurse or |
|
other medical expert to obtain additional information regarding the |
|
nature of the sexually transmitted disease and the ways the disease |
|
is transmitted and an opinion as to whether abuse occurred based on |
|
the facts of the case; |
|
(G) contacting any additional witness who may |
|
have information relevant to the investigation, including other |
|
individuals who had access to the child; and |
|
(H) if the department determines after taking the |
|
actions described by Paragraphs (A)-(G) that a finding of sexual |
|
abuse is not supported, obtaining an opinion from the Forensic |
|
Assessment Center Network as to whether the evidence in the case |
|
supports a finding that abuse likely occurred. |
|
(b) If the department determines that abuse likely |
|
occurred, the department shall work with law enforcement to obtain |
|
a search warrant to require an individual the department reasonably |
|
believes may have sexually abused the child to undergo medically |
|
appropriate diagnostic testing for sexually transmitted diseases. |
|
SECTION 3. Section 262.1015, Family Code, is amended by |
|
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: |
|
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), if the Department of |
|
Family and Protective Services determines that a protective order |
|
issued under Title 4 provides a reasonable alternative to obtaining |
|
an order under that subsection, the department may: |
|
(1) file an application for a protective order on |
|
behalf of the child instead of or in addition to obtaining a |
|
temporary restraining order under this section; or |
|
(2) assist a parent or other adult with whom a child |
|
resides in obtaining a protective order. |
|
SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 264.118, Family Code, is |
|
amended to read as follows: |
|
(a) The department shall collect and report service and |
|
outcome information for certain current and former foster care |
|
youth for use in the National Youth in Transition Database as |
|
required by 42 U.S.C. Section 677(f) and 45 C.F.R. Section 1356.80 |
|
et seq [conduct an annual random survey of a sample of children from
|
|
each region of the state who are at least 14 years of age and who
|
|
receive substitute care services. The survey must include
|
|
questions regarding:
|
|
[(1)
the quality of the substitute care services
|
|
provided to the child;
|
|
[(2)
any improvements that could be made to better
|
|
support the child; and
|
|
[(3)
any other factor that the department considers
|
|
relevant to enable the department to identify potential program
|
|
enhancements]. |
|
SECTION 5. Subdivision (3), Subsection (a), Section |
|
411.114, Government Code, is amended to read as follows: |
|
(3) The Department of Family and Protective [and
|
|
Regulatory] Services is entitled to obtain from the department |
|
criminal history record information maintained by the department |
|
that relates to a person who is: |
|
(A) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with a |
|
local affiliate in this state of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of |
|
America; |
|
(B) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with the |
|
"I Have a Dream/Houston" program; |
|
(C) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with an |
|
organization that provides court-appointed special advocates for |
|
abused or neglected children; |
|
(D) a person providing, at the request of the |
|
child's parent, in-home care for a child who is the subject of a |
|
report alleging the child has been abused or neglected; |
|
(E) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with a |
|
Texas chapter of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of America; |
|
(F) a person providing, at the request of the |
|
child's parent, in-home care for a child only if the person gives |
|
written consent to the release and disclosure of the information; |
|
(G) a child who is related to the caretaker, as |
|
determined under Section 42.002, Human Resources Code, and who |
|
resides in or is present in a child-care facility, family home, or |
|
maternity home, other than a child described by Subdivision (2)(C), |
|
or any other person who has unsupervised access to a child in the |
|
care of a child-care facility, family home, or maternity home; |
|
(H) an applicant for a position with the |
|
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services, |
|
other than a position described by Subdivision (2)(D), regardless |
|
of the duties of the position; |
|
(I) a volunteer or applicant volunteer with the |
|
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services, |
|
other than a registered volunteer, regardless of the duties to be |
|
performed; |
|
(J) a person providing or applying to provide |
|
in-home, adoptive, or foster care for children to the extent |
|
necessary to comply with Subchapter B, Chapter 162, Family Code; |
|
(K) a Department of Family and Protective [and
|
|
Regulatory] Services employee, other than an employee described by |
|
Subdivision (2)(H), regardless of the duties of the employee's |
|
position; |
|
(L) a relative of a child in the care of the |
|
Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] Services, to |
|
the extent necessary to comply with Section 162.007, Family Code; |
|
(M) a person, other than the subject of a report |
|
described in Subdivision (2)(I), living in the residence in which |
|
the alleged victim of the report resides; |
|
(N) a contractor or an employee of a contractor |
|
who delivers services to a ward of the Department of Family and |
|
Protective [and Regulatory] Services under a contract with the |
|
estate of the ward; |
|
(O) a person who seeks unsupervised visits with a |
|
ward of the Department of Family and Protective [and Regulatory] |
|
Services, including a relative of the ward; [or] |
|
(P) an employee, volunteer, or applicant |
|
volunteer of a children's advocacy center under Subchapter E, |
|
Chapter 264, Family Code, including a member of the governing board |
|
of a center; |
|
(Q) an employee of or volunteer at, or an |
|
applicant for employment with or to be a volunteer at, an entity |
|
that provides supervised independent living services to a young |
|
adult receiving extended foster care services from the Department |
|
of Family and Protective Services; or |
|
(R) a person 14 years of age or older who will be |
|
regularly or frequently working or staying in a host home that is |
|
providing supervised independent living services to a young adult |
|
receiving extended foster care services from the Department of |
|
Family and Protective Services. |
|
SECTION 6. Section 40.036, Human Resources Code, is amended |
|
to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 40.036. ENHANCED TRAINING OF CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES |
|
CASEWORKERS. To improve the quality and consistency of training |
|
provided to child protective services caseworkers, the department |
|
shall: |
|
(1) augment classroom-based training with a blended |
|
learning environment using computer-based modules, structured |
|
field experience, and simulation for skills development; |
|
(2) use a core curriculum for all new department |
|
caseworkers and specialized training for specific jobs; |
|
(3) require that department caseworkers transferring |
|
from one specialty to another must complete the core curriculum and |
|
advanced training for the new specialty before assuming their new |
|
responsibilities; [and] |
|
(4) centralize accountability and oversight of all |
|
department training in order to ensure statewide consistency; and |
|
(5) require department caseworkers to receive |
|
training relating to the benefits of using a protective order under |
|
Title 4, Family Code, to protect a child as an alternative to |
|
removing the child from the child's home. |
|
SECTION 7. Subchapter I, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, |
|
is amended by adding Section 521.1811 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 521.1811. WAIVER OF FEES FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTH. A |
|
person is exempt from the payment of any fee for the issuance of a |
|
driver's license, as provided under this chapter, if that person |
|
is: |
|
(1) younger than 18 years of age and in the managing |
|
conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective |
|
Services; or |
|
(2) at least 18 years of age, but younger than 21 years |
|
of age, and resides in a foster care placement, the cost of which is |
|
paid by the Department of Family and Protective Services. |
|
SECTION 8. (a) The Department of Family and Protective |
|
Services shall implement a redesign of the foster care system in |
|
accordance with the recommendations contained in the department's |
|
December 2010 Foster Care Redesign report submitted to the |
|
legislature. |
|
(b) The redesign of the foster care system shall be |
|
implemented with the understanding that the individual needs of a |
|
child are paramount and that not all indicators are appropriate for |
|
every child and shall include as goals for the redesign a system |
|
that ensures: |
|
(1) children are safe in their placements; |
|
(2) children are placed in their home communities; |
|
(3) children are appropriately served in the least |
|
restrictive environment that supports minimal moves for the child; |
|
(4) connections to family and other persons important |
|
to the child are maintained; |
|
(5) children are placed with siblings; |
|
(6) services respect the child's culture; |
|
(7) children and youth are fully prepared for |
|
successful adulthood through being provided opportunities, |
|
experiences, and activities similar to those experienced by |
|
children and youth who are not in foster care; and |
|
(8) children and youth are provided opportunities to |
|
participate in decisions that impact their lives. |
|
(c) The Health and Human Services Commission may use payment |
|
rates for foster care under the redesigned system that are |
|
different from those used on the effective date of this Act for |
|
24-hour residential child care. Payment rates for foster care |
|
under the redesigned system may include incentive payments for |
|
superior performance, as well as funding for additional services |
|
provided to families historically included in 24-hour residential |
|
child-care rates. Final implementation of the foster care redesign |
|
must include a payment system based on performance targets. |
|
Payment rates under foster care redesign may not result in total |
|
expenditures for any fiscal year during the 2012-2013 fiscal |
|
biennium that exceed the amounts appropriated by the 82nd |
|
Legislature for foster care and other purchased services, except to |
|
the extent that any increase in total foster care expenditures is |
|
the direct result of caseload growth. |
|
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
|
|
|
* * * * * |