Bill Text: TX SB269 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to a foster children's bill of rights.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-01-31 - Referred to Health & Human Services [SB269 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-SB269-Introduced.html
| 82R1939 MAW-F | ||
| By: Uresti | S.B. No. 269 | |
|
|
||
|
|
||
| relating to a foster children's bill of rights. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 263, Family Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 263.007 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 263.007. FOSTER CHILDREN'S BILL OF RIGHTS. (a) In | ||
| this section: | ||
| (1) "Agency foster group home," "agency foster home," | ||
| "facility," "foster group home," and "foster home" have the | ||
| meanings assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code. | ||
| (2) "Foster care" means the placement of a child who is | ||
| in the conservatorship of the department or an authorized agency | ||
| and in care outside the child's home in an agency foster group home, | ||
| agency foster home, foster group home, foster home, or another | ||
| facility licensed or certified under Chapter 42, Human Resources | ||
| Code, in which care is provided for 24 hours a day. | ||
| (3) "Foster children's bill of rights" means the | ||
| rights described by Subsection (b). | ||
| (b) It is the policy of this state that each child in foster | ||
| care be informed of the child's rights provided by state or federal | ||
| law or policy that relate to: | ||
| (1) abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, and | ||
| harassment; | ||
| (2) food, clothing, shelter, and education; | ||
| (3) medical, dental, vision, and mental health | ||
| services, including the right of the child to consent to treatment; | ||
| (4) emergency behavioral intervention, including what | ||
| methods are permitted, the conditions under which it may be used, | ||
| and the precautions that must be taken when administering it; | ||
| (5) placement with the child's siblings and contact | ||
| with members of the child's family; | ||
| (6) privacy and searches, including the use of storage | ||
| space, mail, and the telephone; | ||
| (7) participation in school-related extracurricular | ||
| or community activities; | ||
| (8) interaction with persons outside the foster care | ||
| system, including teachers, church members, mentors, and friends; | ||
| (9) contact and communication with caseworkers, | ||
| attorneys ad litem, guardians ad litem, and court-appointed special | ||
| advocates; | ||
| (10) religious services and activities; | ||
| (11) confidentiality of the child's records; | ||
| (12) job skills, personal finances, and preparation | ||
| for adulthood; | ||
| (13) participation in a court hearing that involves | ||
| the child; | ||
| (14) participation in the development of service and | ||
| treatment plans; | ||
| (15) if the child has a disability, the advocacy and | ||
| protection of the rights of a person with that disability; and | ||
| (16) any other matter affecting the child's ability to | ||
| receive care and treatment in the least restrictive environment | ||
| that is most like a family setting, consistent with the best | ||
| interests and needs of the child. | ||
| (c) The department shall provide a written copy of the | ||
| foster children's bill of rights to each child placed in foster care | ||
| in the child's primary language, if possible, and shall inform the | ||
| child of the rights described by the foster children's bill of | ||
| rights: | ||
| (1) orally in the child's primary language, if | ||
| possible, and in simple, nontechnical terms; or | ||
| (2) for a child who has a disability, including an | ||
| impairment of vision or hearing, through any means that can | ||
| reasonably be expected to result in successful communication with | ||
| the child. | ||
| (d) A child placed in foster care may, at the child's | ||
| option, sign a document acknowledging the child's understanding of | ||
| the foster children's bill of rights after the department provides | ||
| a written copy of the foster children's bill of rights to the child | ||
| and informs the child of the rights described by the foster | ||
| children's bill of rights in accordance with Subsection (c). If a | ||
| child signs a document acknowledging the child's understanding of | ||
| the foster children's bill of rights, the document must be placed in | ||
| the child's case file. | ||
| (e) An agency foster group home, agency foster home, foster | ||
| group home, foster home, or other facility in which a child is | ||
| placed in foster care shall provide a copy of the foster children's | ||
| bill of rights to a child on the child's request. The foster | ||
| children's bill of rights must be printed in English and in a second | ||
| language. | ||
| (f) The department shall promote the participation of | ||
| foster children and former foster children in educating other | ||
| foster children about the foster children's bill of rights. | ||
| (g) The department shall develop and implement a policy for | ||
| receiving and handling reports that the rights of a child in foster | ||
| care are not being observed. The department shall inform a child in | ||
| foster care and, if appropriate, the child's parent, managing | ||
| conservator, or guardian of the method for filing a report with the | ||
| department under this subsection. | ||
| (h) This section does not create a cause of action. | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2011. | ||
