1-1 By: Davila (Senate Sponsor - Ellis) H.B. No. 2485
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 17, 1993;
1-3 May 19, 1993, read first time and referred to Committee on Health
1-4 and Human Services; May 25, 1993, reported favorably by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 2; May 25, 1993, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE VOTE
1-7 Yea Nay PNV Absent
1-8 Zaffirini x
1-9 Ellis x
1-10 Madla x
1-11 Moncrief x
1-12 Nelson x
1-13 Patterson x
1-14 Shelley x
1-15 Truan x
1-16 Wentworth x
1-17 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-18 AN ACT
1-19 relating to the establishment and powers and duties of a healthy
1-20 start pilot program modeled after the Hawaii healthy start program.
1-21 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-22 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
1-23 amended by adding Chapter 45 to read as follows:
1-24 CHAPTER 45. HEALTHY START PILOT PROGRAM
1-25 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
1-26 Sec. 45.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-27 (1) "Program" means the healthy start pilot program
1-28 established under this chapter.
1-29 (2) "Family support worker" means a person providing
1-30 home-based family support services.
1-31 (3) "Home-based family support services" means
1-32 services to provide pregnant women and new parents with information
1-33 and access to health care, social services, and related services
1-34 through home visits by workers trained in the Hawaii healthy start
1-35 model.
1-36 (4) "High risk" means at risk of child abuse or
1-37 neglect as determined by a valid and reliable assessment
1-38 instrument.
1-39 Sec. 45.002. HEALTHY START PILOT PROGRAM. (a) The
1-40 department shall establish a healthy start pilot program modeled
1-41 after the Hawaii healthy start program to provide services to
1-42 families and children during the prenatal through preschool years.
1-43 (b) The goal of the program is to prevent child abuse and
1-44 neglect. The program shall be designed to:
1-45 (1) promote optimal child development;
1-46 (2) improve family coping skills and functioning; and
1-47 (3) promote positive parenting skills and
1-48 intrafamilial interaction.
1-49 (c) The program shall provide:
1-50 (1) prenatal to preschool family and children's
1-51 services;
1-52 (2) home-based family support; and
1-53 (3) referral to community services.
1-54 SUBCHAPTER B. PRENATAL TO PRESCHOOL FAMILY
1-55 AND CHILDREN'S SERVICES
1-56 Sec. 45.021. PRENATAL TO PRESCHOOL FAMILY AND CHILDREN'S
1-57 SERVICES PILOT PROJECT. (a) As part of the program, the
1-58 department shall establish a prenatal to preschool family and
1-59 children's services pilot project.
1-60 (b) The pilot project must begin operation not later than
1-61 January 1, 1994.
1-62 (c) The project shall be administered by a grant recipient
1-63 selected under Section 45.026.
1-64 Sec. 45.022. HEALTH FACILITIES SCREENING. (a) The prenatal
1-65 to preschool family and children's services pilot project shall
1-66 provide systematic clinic-based or hospital-based screening for
1-67 high-risk families of newborns in selected counties.
1-68 (b) Health facility screening shall be accomplished by a
2-1 family support worker, who shall examine patient records for
2-2 evidence of child abuse or neglect risk indicators.
2-3 (c) A family support worker shall interview a mother who is
2-4 a member of a high-risk family identified under Subsection (b) to
2-5 encourage participation in the program.
2-6 Sec. 45.023. FAMILY SUPPORT WORKER. (a) The prenatal to
2-7 preschool family and children's services pilot project shall
2-8 provide home-based family support services to families who accept
2-9 the services under Section 45.022.
2-10 (b) The services provided under this section shall include
2-11 home visits by a family support worker to assess the needs of the
2-12 family and to refer the family to appropriate services. The family
2-13 support worker shall identify the specific needs of the family to
2-14 ensure that appropriate services are used and that the services are
2-15 used with the appropriate frequency. The family support worker
2-16 shall coordinate the use of these services.
2-17 (c) The family support worker shall assist participating
2-18 families in selecting a primary health care provider to promote
2-19 preventive health care and positive child development. The family
2-20 support worker shall:
2-21 (1) monitor the scheduling and completion of health
2-22 care visits and the availability of transportation for the visits;
2-23 (2) review the results of the visits; and
2-24 (3) coordinate future visits or referrals to necessary
2-25 services.
2-26 (d) The family support worker shall provide continuous
2-27 follow-up with the family until the child born at the time the
2-28 family was identified as a high-risk family under Section 45.022
2-29 reaches the age of five.
2-30 Sec. 45.024. TRAINING PROGRAMS. The prenatal to preschool
2-31 family and children's services pilot project shall provide a
2-32 structured training program modeled after the Hawaii healthy start
2-33 training program. The training program shall establish uniform
2-34 standards for delivery of services under this subchapter.
2-35 Sec. 45.025. INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT. The department may
2-36 enter into an interagency agreement with other state agencies to
2-37 facilitate coordination and increase the likelihood of healthy
2-38 outcomes for families at high risk for abuse or neglect.
2-39 Sec. 45.026. ADMINISTRATION OF PILOT PROJECT. The board
2-40 shall adopt rules governing the establishment of a grant to a child
2-41 abuse prevention organization for the development and
2-42 implementation of the prenatal to preschool family and children's
2-43 services pilot project.
2-44 Sec. 45.027. DUTIES OF GRANT RECIPIENT. The recipient of
2-45 the grant under Section 45.026 shall:
2-46 (1) implement the prenatal to preschool family and
2-47 children's services pilot project as required by this subchapter;
2-48 and
2-49 (2) use existing programs and services to implement
2-50 the project.
2-51 SUBCHAPTER C. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM
2-52 Sec. 45.051. TERMINATION OF PILOT PROJECT. The pilot
2-53 project established under this chapter terminates August 31, 1999.
2-54 Sec. 45.052. REPORT. (a) The department shall prepare a
2-55 written report on the effectiveness of the pilot project and shall
2-56 file a copy of this report with the governor and each house of the
2-57 legislature not later than February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
2-58 (b) The department shall conduct or arrange for an
2-59 independent evaluation of the project based on the Hawaii healthy
2-60 start program evaluation guidelines. The department shall make
2-61 recommendations on further implementation of the healthy start
2-62 program.
2-63 (c) This chapter expires September 1, 1999.
2-64 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
2-65 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-66 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-67 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-68 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
2-69 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
2-70 passage, and it is so enacted.
3-1 * * * * *
3-2 Austin,
3-3 Texas
3-4 May 25, 1993
3-5 Hon. Bob Bullock
3-6 President of the Senate
3-7 Sir:
3-8 We, your Committee on Health and Human Services to which was
3-9 referred H.B. No. 2485, have had the same under consideration, and
3-10 I am instructed to report it back to the Senate with the
3-11 recommendation that it do pass and be printed.
3-12 Zaffirini,
3-13 Chair
3-14 * * * * *
3-15 WITNESSES
3-16 FOR AGAINST ON
3-17 ___________________________________________________________________
3-18 Name: Diana Davila x
3-19 Representing: Texas State Representative
3-20 City: Austin, Texas
3-21 -------------------------------------------------------------------
3-22 Name: Boyd Graves x
3-23 Representing: TX Dept. of Human Services
3-24 City: Austin, Texas
3-25 -------------------------------------------------------------------
3-26 Name: Winifred Conlon x
3-27 Representing: TX State Foster Parents
3-28 City: Austin, Texas
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3-30 Name: Wendall Telton x
3-31 Representing: TX Coal. for Prev. of Chi. AB
3-32 City: Austin, Texas
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3-34 Name: Rogene Gee Calvert x
3-35 Representing: Child Abuse Prevention Net.
3-36 City: Houston, Texas
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