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House Bill 1549 |
House Author: Burkett et al. |
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Effective: 9-1-17 |
Senate Sponsor: Kolkhorst et al. |
House Bill 1549 amends Family Code and Human Resources Code provisions relating to the provision of child protective services and early intervention services by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Among other provisions, the bill requires DFPS to designate employees to serve specifically as investigators and responders for after-hours reports of child abuse or neglect in certain areas, revises requirements applicable to DFPS in assessing the needs of a child in foster care, and provides for a foster care capacity needs plan. Additionally, the bill sets out provisions regarding the collection and reporting of child fatality and near fatality data and revises provisions relating to the child fatality review team committee and certain child fatality review teams.
House Bill 1549 sets out provisions relating to improving the provision and the evaluation of prevention and early intervention services, establishes a program to provide ongoing support to caseworkers who experience secondary trauma resulting from exposure to trauma in the course of employment, requires DFPS to collect and report on specified DFPS data on the state and county level, and provides for a caseload management system for child protective services caseworkers and managers. The bill also creates the Prevention Task Force to make recommendations to DFPS for changes to law, policy, and practices regarding the prevention of child abuse and neglect and the implementation of the bill and of DFPS's five-year strategic plan for prevention and early intervention services.