Bill Text: TX SB480 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the Preparation for Adult Living Program and other services for foster children transitioning to independent living.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-20 - Co-author authorized [SB480 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB480-Introduced.html
86R5119 MCK-D | ||
By: Watson | S.B. No. 480 |
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relating to the Preparation for Adult Living Program and other | ||
services for foster children transitioning to independent living. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 264.121, Family Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (a), (a-3), (a-5), (e), (e-1), (e-2), and (g) | ||
and adding Subsections (a-7), (a-8), (e-3), (e-4), (e-5), and (e-6) | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(a) The department shall address the unique challenges | ||
facing foster children in the conservatorship of the department who | ||
must transition to independent living by: | ||
(1) expanding efforts to improve transition planning | ||
and increasing the availability of transitional family group | ||
decision-making to each [ |
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department's permanent managing conservatorship, including | ||
enrolling the youth in the Preparation for Adult Living Program as | ||
soon as possible after the youth reaches 14 years of [ |
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age [ |
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(2) making appropriate accommodations to address any | ||
barrier to participation in the Preparation for Adult Living | ||
Program for a youth who has a disability to allow the youth to | ||
meaningfully participate in the program and documenting the | ||
accommodations in the youth's case file; | ||
(3) coordinating with the commission to obtain | ||
authority, to the extent allowed by federal law, the state Medicaid | ||
plan, the Title IV-E state plan, and any waiver or amendment to | ||
either plan, necessary to: | ||
(A) extend foster care eligibility and | ||
transition services for youth up to age 21 and develop policy to | ||
permit eligible youth to return to foster care as necessary to | ||
achieve the goals of the Transitional Living Services Program; and | ||
(B) extend Medicaid coverage for foster care | ||
youth and former foster care youth up to age 21 with a single | ||
application at the time the youth leaves foster care; and | ||
(4) [ |
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the Texas Workforce Commission and local workforce development | ||
boards to further the objectives of the Preparation for Adult | ||
Living Program. The department, the Texas Workforce Commission, | ||
and the local workforce development boards shall ensure that | ||
services are prioritized and targeted to meet the needs of foster | ||
care and former foster care children and that such services will | ||
include, where feasible, referrals for short-term stays for youth | ||
needing housing. | ||
(a-3) The department shall conduct an independent living | ||
skills assessment for all youth in the department's conservatorship | ||
not later than the 45th day after the date the youth reaches 14 [ |
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results in each youth's case file [ |
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(a-5) The department shall annually update the assessment | ||
for each youth assessed under Subsection [ |
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during the preceding year to ensure that the department's | ||
obligation to prepare the youth for independent living has been | ||
met. The department shall conduct the annual update through the | ||
youth's plan of service in coordination with the youth, the youth's | ||
caseworker, the staff of the Preparation for Adult Living Program, | ||
and the youth's caregiver. | ||
(a-7) Not later than the 45th day after the date a youth | ||
reaches 14 years of age, the department shall hold a transition | ||
planning meeting to prepare the youth's transition plan and assist | ||
the youth in developing skills to support the youth's specific | ||
strengths and address the youth's needs in preparation for | ||
independence. The department must hold additional transition | ||
planning meetings at least once every four months until the youth | ||
leaves foster care. | ||
(a-8) The department shall ensure that before a youth leaves | ||
foster care, each youth who is 14 years of age or older has an e-mail | ||
address through which the youth may receive encrypted copies of | ||
personal documents and records. | ||
(e) The department shall ensure that each youth, on or | ||
before the date on which the youth turns 16 years of age, acquires: | ||
(1) a copy and a certified copy of the youth's birth | ||
certificate; | ||
(2) [ |
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security card, as appropriate; | ||
(3) [ |
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under Chapter 521, Transportation Code; | ||
(4) a copy of the youth's most current high school | ||
transcript; | ||
(5) a copy of the record of the youth's most recent | ||
physical medical examination and dental examinations; | ||
(6) a copy of the youth's immunization record; and | ||
(7) a copy of any identifying information the youth | ||
needs to enroll in Medicaid. | ||
(e-1) The youth's caseworker shall assist the youth with | ||
developing a plan for keeping the documents described by Subsection | ||
(e) in a safe place. | ||
(e-2) The youth and the youth's caseworker shall sign a | ||
document acknowledging the youth's receipt of the documents | ||
described by Subsection (e) and describing the youth's plan | ||
developed under Subsection (e-1) for keeping the documents in a | ||
safe place. The department shall place the acknowledgment in the | ||
youth's case file[ |
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(e-3) The department shall designate one or more employees | ||
in the Preparation for Adult Living Program as the contact person to | ||
assist a youth who has not been able to obtain the documents | ||
described by Subsection (e) [ |
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from the youth's primary caseworker. The department shall ensure | ||
that: | ||
(1) all youth who are age 16 or older are provided with | ||
the contact information for the designated employees; and | ||
(2) a youth who misplaces a document provided under | ||
this subsection receives assistance in obtaining a replacement | ||
document or information on how to obtain a duplicate copy, as | ||
appropriate. | ||
(e-4) Before a youth leaves foster care, the department | ||
shall take all reasonable measures, including completing an | ||
application for the youth, to assist the youth in obtaining | ||
Medicaid coverage, and shall document those measures in the youth's | ||
case file. | ||
(e-5) [ |
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foster care, the youth is at least 18 years of age or has had the | ||
disabilities of minority removed, the department shall provide to | ||
the youth, not later than the 30th day before the date the youth is | ||
discharged from foster care, the following information and | ||
documents unless the youth already has the information or document: | ||
(1) the youth's birth certificate; | ||
(2) the youth's immunization records; | ||
(3) the information contained in the youth's health | ||
passport; | ||
(4) a personal identification certificate under | ||
Chapter 521, Transportation Code; | ||
(5) a social security card or a replacement social | ||
security card, if appropriate; [ |
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(6) a copy of the youth's most current high school | ||
transcript; and | ||
(7) proof of enrollment in Medicaid, if appropriate. | ||
(e-6) [ |
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required by Subsection (e-5) [ |
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the youth with a copy and a certified copy of the document or with | ||
the original document, as applicable. | ||
(g) For a youth taking prescription medication, the | ||
department shall ensure that the youth's transition plan includes | ||
provisions to assist the youth in managing the use of the medication | ||
and in managing the child's long-term physical and mental health | ||
needs after leaving foster care, including: | ||
(1) provisions that inform the youth about: | ||
(A) [ |
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(B) [ |
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assist the youth in managing the use of the medication; and | ||
(C) [ |
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medical care in accordance with Section 266.010(l); and | ||
(2) for each youth who is 17 years of age or older and | ||
preparing to leave foster care, a program supervised by a health | ||
care professional to assist the youth with independently managing | ||
the youth's medication. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 264.1211, Family Code, as added by | ||
Chapter 333 (H.B. 928), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular | ||
Session, 2017, is amended by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read | ||
as follows: | ||
(d) The department, in coordination with the Texas | ||
Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, | ||
shall annually collect information regarding the utilization of | ||
tuition and fee waivers, including the number of foster children or | ||
former foster children who: | ||
(1) are eligible for exemption from the payment of | ||
tuition and fees at an institution of higher education under | ||
Section 54.366, Education Code; | ||
(2) receive information developed under Section | ||
54.366(b), Education Code; and | ||
(3) are enrolled in an institution of higher education | ||
and are exempt from the payment of tuition and fees under Section | ||
54.366, Education Code. | ||
(e) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year, | ||
the department shall prepare and submit a biennial report with the | ||
information collected under Subsection (d) to the standing | ||
committees of the senate and house of representatives with | ||
jurisdiction over child protective services. | ||
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is | ||
amended by adding Sections 264.1214, 264.1215, 264.1216, and | ||
264.1217 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.1214. EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL OR JUVENILE RECORDS. | ||
(a) The department shall ensure that the caseworker for a youth in | ||
the managing conservatorship of the department, in consultation | ||
with the youth's attorney ad litem, develops a plan to facilitate | ||
the sealing or expungement of any eligible criminal or juvenile | ||
records for offenses for which the youth was adjudicated or | ||
convicted before the date the youth ages out of care. | ||
(b) The department shall record all actions taken under this | ||
section in the youth's case file. | ||
Sec. 264.1215. PLAN FOR ACCESSING BENEFITS FOR YOUTH AGING | ||
OUT OF FOSTER CARE. Not later than the day a youth in the managing | ||
conservatorship of the department turns 18 years of age, the | ||
youth's caseworker shall create a plan detailing the steps the | ||
youth will take to access benefits for which the youth is eligible | ||
after the youth leaves foster care, including the transitional | ||
living allowance, Social Security Disability Insurance benefits, | ||
aftercare room and board assistance, and education and training | ||
vouchers. The caseworker shall document the plan in the youth's | ||
case file. | ||
Sec. 264.1216. DRIVER'S EDUCATION. Subject to this | ||
section, the department shall develop a plan to ensure driver's | ||
education classes are provided to each youth in the managing | ||
conservatorship of the department who satisfies the minimum age | ||
requirements to receive a learner license and chooses to take | ||
driver's education. The department is not required to provide a | ||
driver's education class to a youth who is not physically, | ||
developmentally, or medically able to safely participate in | ||
driver's education. | ||
Sec. 264.1217. HOUSING FOR HOMELESS YOUTH AGING OUT OF | ||
FOSTER CARE. (a) The department shall ensure that homeless youth | ||
who have aged out of foster care receive aftercare housing and other | ||
benefits under the Preparation for Adult Living Program for not | ||
less than six months while the youth is actively seeking employment | ||
or prevocational or vocational training services or other | ||
educational services. | ||
(b) For a youth who will voluntarily enter extended foster | ||
care on the youth's 18th birthday, the youth's caseworker shall, not | ||
later than six months before the youth's 18th birthday, complete | ||
any necessary paperwork to ensure the youth has housing on the date | ||
the youth enters extended foster care. Not later than the 90th day | ||
before the youth's 18th birthday, the caseworker shall review the | ||
qualifications and requirements for the youth's housing. | ||
(c) If a youth intends to continue living with the youth's | ||
substitute care provider after the youth's 18th birthday, the | ||
department shall waive any background check otherwise required for | ||
the youth to remain living with the substitute care provider. | ||
(d) For a youth who continues living with the youth's | ||
substitute care provider after the youth's 18th birthday, the youth | ||
may share a bedroom with another youth who is 16 years of age or | ||
older provided the age difference between the youths does not | ||
exceed two years. | ||
(e) A substitute care provider who prohibits a youth from | ||
living in the facility after the youth's 18th birthday shall notify | ||
the youth and the youth's caseworker of that fact in writing not | ||
later than: | ||
(1) the 90th day before the youth's 18th birthday if | ||
the facility is a foster home; and | ||
(2) six months before the youth's 18th birthday if the | ||
facility is a residential treatment center or cottage home. | ||
(f) The department shall assist youth living in supervised | ||
independent living program arrangements to develop a rental history | ||
by allowing the youth to cosign the lease for the youth's housing | ||
provided the property owner does not object. | ||
(g) The department by rule shall establish a protocol that | ||
may be implemented for a youth to prevent the youth from aging out | ||
of a residential treatment center. The protocol must be | ||
implemented not later than the youth's 17th birthday. | ||
(h) The department annually shall conduct a study to: | ||
(1) determine the number of youth in voluntary | ||
extended foster care who are unable to obtain housing as part of the | ||
supervised independent living program; | ||
(2) determine the type of housing the youth are trying | ||
to obtain; and | ||
(3) analyze the housing options available for the | ||
youth. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 264.125, Family Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows: | ||
(e) The department shall include a provision in each | ||
contract with a residential child-care facility with which children | ||
in the conservatorship of the department are placed that requires | ||
the facility to provide those children with age-appropriate | ||
normalcy activities and experiential life skills. | ||
(f) Not later than the December 1 of each year, the | ||
department shall submit to the lieutenant governor, speaker of the | ||
house of representatives, and chairs of the standing committees of | ||
the senate and house of representatives having primary jurisdiction | ||
over child protection issues a report containing information | ||
relating to normalcy activities and experiential life skills | ||
provided to children in the conservatorship of the department. | ||
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 191, Health and Safety | ||
Code, is amended by adding Section 191.0049 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 191.0049. BIRTH RECORD ISSUED TO FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH | ||
OR HOMELESS OR UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH. On request of a child or youth | ||
described by this section, the state registrar, a local registrar, | ||
or a county clerk shall issue, without fee or parental consent, a | ||
certified copy of the child's or youth's birth record to: | ||
(1) a homeless child or youth or an unaccompanied | ||
youth as those terms are defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a; | ||
(2) a child in the managing conservatorship of the | ||
Department of Family and Protective Services; and | ||
(3) a young adult who: | ||
(A) is at least 18 years of age, but younger than | ||
21 years of age; and | ||
(B) resides in a foster care placement, the cost | ||
of which is paid by the Department of Family and Protective | ||
Services. | ||
SECTION 6. Subchapter E, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, | ||
is amended by adding Section 521.1015 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 521.1015. PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION CERTIFICATE ISSUED | ||
TO FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH, HOMELESS CHILD OR YOUTH, OR UNACCOMPANIED | ||
YOUTH. (a) In this section: | ||
(1) "Foster child or youth" means: | ||
(A) a child in the managing conservatorship of | ||
the Department of Family and Protective Services; or | ||
(B) a young adult who: | ||
(i) is at least 18 years of age, but younger | ||
than 21 years of age; and | ||
(ii) resides in a foster care placement, | ||
the cost of which is paid by the Department of Family and Protective | ||
Services. | ||
(2) "Homeless child or youth" has the meaning assigned | ||
by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a. | ||
(3) "Unaccompanied youth" has the meaning assigned by | ||
42 U.S.C. Section 11434a. | ||
(b) This section applies to the application for a personal | ||
identification certificate only for a foster child or youth, a | ||
homeless child or youth, or an unaccompanied youth. | ||
(c) Notwithstanding Section 521.101, Section 521.1426, or | ||
any other provision of this chapter, a child or youth described by | ||
Subsection (b) may, in applying for a personal identification | ||
certificate: | ||
(1) provide a copy of the child's or youth's birth | ||
certificate as proof of the child's or youth's identity and United | ||
States citizenship, as applicable; and | ||
(2) if the child or youth does not have a residence or | ||
domicile: | ||
(A) provide a letter certifying the child or | ||
youth is a homeless child or youth or an unaccompanied youth issued | ||
by: | ||
(i) the school district in which the child | ||
or youth is enrolled; | ||
(ii) the director of an emergency shelter | ||
or transitional housing program funded by the United States | ||
Department of Housing and Urban Development; or | ||
(iii) the director of: | ||
(a) a basic center for runaway and | ||
homeless youth; or | ||
(b) a transitional living program; or | ||
(B) use the address of the regional office where | ||
the Department of Family and Protective Services caseworker for the | ||
child or youth is based. | ||
(d) A child or youth described by Subsection (b) may apply | ||
for and the department may issue a personal identification | ||
certificate without the signature or presence of or permission from | ||
a parent or guardian of the child or youth. | ||
(e) A child or youth described by Subsection (b) is exempt | ||
from the payment of any fee for the issuance of a personal | ||
identification certificate under this chapter. | ||
SECTION 7. Section 521.1811, Transportation Code, is | ||
amended to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 521.1811. WAIVER OF FEES FOR FOSTER CHILD OR YOUTH, | ||
HOMELESS CHILD OR YOUTH, OR UNACCOMPANIED [ |
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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; [ |
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(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; or | ||
(3) a homeless child or youth or an unaccompanied | ||
youth as those terms are defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 11434a. | ||
SECTION 8. Sections 264.121(a-4) and (a-6), Family Code, | ||
are repealed. | ||
SECTION 9. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective | ||
date of this Act, the Department of Family and Protective Services | ||
shall identify all youth in the department's conservatorship who | ||
are 14 years of age or older who have not: | ||
(1) received a life skills assessment or a Circles of | ||
Support or Transition Plan Meeting; or | ||
(2) had the youth's transition plan updated: | ||
(A) within the preceding six months if the youth | ||
is 16 years of age or older; or | ||
(B) within the preceding 12 months if the youth | ||
is 14 years of age or older. | ||
(b) The Department of Family and Protective Services shall | ||
ensure that all youth who have been identified under Subsection (a) | ||
of this section immediately receive the required services. | ||
SECTION 10. As soon as practicable after the effective date | ||
of this Act, the Department of Family and Protective Services shall | ||
identify each youth in the department's permanent managing | ||
conservatorship who has not been assigned an attorney ad litem and | ||
request the court to appoint an attorney ad litem for the youth. | ||
SECTION 11. Not later than November 1, 2020, the Department | ||
of Family and Protective Services shall submit to the standing | ||
committees of the senate and house of representatives with | ||
jurisdiction over child protective services the initial report | ||
required by Section 264.1211(e), Family Code, as added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 12. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter | ||
191, Health and Safety Code, and Chapter 521, Transportation Code, | ||
apply to an application for a driver's license, personal | ||
identification certificate, or birth record submitted on or after | ||
the effective date of this Act. An application for a driver's | ||
license, personal identification certificate, or birth record | ||
submitted before the effective date of this Act is governed by the | ||
law in effect on the date the application was submitted, and the | ||
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |