74R10333 MJW-D
By Moncrief S.B. No. 161
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 161:
By Naishtat C.S.S.B. No. 161
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to adoption services.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 162.301, Family Code, as added by House
1-5 Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 162.301. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-8 (1) "Adoption assistance agreement" means a written
1-9 agreement, binding on the parties to the agreement, between the
1-10 department and the prospective adoptive parents that specifies the
1-11 nature and amount of any payment, services, or assistance to be
1-12 provided under the agreement and stipulates that the agreement will
1-13 remain in effect without regard to the state in which the
1-14 prospective adoptive parents reside at any particular time.
1-15 (2) "Child" means a child who cannot be placed for
1-16 adoption with appropriate adoptive parents without the provision of
1-17 adoption assistance because of factors including ethnic background,
1-18 age, membership in a minority or sibling group, the presence of a
1-19 medical condition, or a physical, mental, or emotional disability.
1-20 (3) "Department" means the Department of Protective
1-21 and Regulatory Services.
1-22 <(2) "Hard-to-place child" means a child who is:>
1-23 <(A) three years of age or older;>
1-24 <(B) difficult to place in an adoptive home
2-1 because of the child's age, race, color, ethnic background,
2-2 language, or physical, mental, or emotional disability; or>
2-3 <(C) a member of a sibling group that should be
2-4 placed in the same home.>
2-5 SECTION 2. Section 162.302, Family Code, as added by House
2-6 Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
2-7 amended to read as follows:
2-8 Sec. 162.302. ADOPTION ASSISTANCE <SERVICES> PROGRAM. (a)
2-9 The department shall administer a program designed to promote the
2-10 adoption of <hard-to-place> children by providing information to
2-11 prospective adoptive parents concerning the availability and needs
2-12 of the <relinquished> children, assisting the parents in completing
2-13 the adoption process, and providing adoption <financial> assistance
2-14 necessary for the parents to adopt the children.
2-15 (b) The legislature intends that the program benefit
2-16 <hard-to-place> children residing in foster homes at state or
2-17 county expense by providing them with the stability and security of
2-18 permanent homes and that the costs paid by the state and counties
2-19 for foster home care for the children be reduced.
2-20 (c) The program shall be carried out by licensed
2-21 child-placing agencies or county child-care or welfare units under
2-22 rules adopted by the department.
2-23 (d) The department shall keep records necessary to evaluate
2-24 the program's effectiveness in encouraging and promoting the
2-25 adoption of <hard-to-place> children.
2-26 SECTION 3. Section 162.303, Family Code, as added by House
2-27 Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
3-1 amended to read as follows:
3-2 Sec. 162.303. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION. The department,
3-3 county child-care or welfare units, and licensed child-placing
3-4 agencies shall disseminate information to prospective adoptive
3-5 parents concerning the availability and needs of children for
3-6 adoption <of hard-to-place children> and the existence of adoption
3-7 <financial> assistance for parents who adopt them. Special effort
3-8 shall be made to disseminate the information to families that have
3-9 lower income levels or that belong to disadvantaged groups.
3-10 SECTION 4. Section 162.304, Family Code, as added by House
3-11 Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
3-12 amended to read as follows:
3-13 Sec. 162.304. FINANCIAL AND MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. (a) The
3-14 department shall enter into adoption assistance agreements with the
3-15 adoptive parents of a child as authorized by Part E of Title IV of
3-16 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. Section 673) <Adoption fees for
3-17 a hard-to-place child may be waived>.
3-18 (b) The adoption of a <hard-to-place> child may be
3-19 subsidized by the department <an amount not exceeding the amount
3-20 that would be paid for foster home care for the child if the child
3-21 was not adopted>. The need for and amount of the subsidy shall be
3-22 determined by the department under its rules.
3-23 (c) In addition to the subsidy under Subsection (b), the
3-24 department may subsidize the cost of medical care for a
3-25 <hard-to-place> child. The department shall determine the amount
3-26 and need for the subsidy.
3-27 (d) The county may pay a subsidy under Subsection (b) or (c)
4-1 if the county is responsible for the child's foster <home> care at
4-2 the time of the child's adoptive placement <adoption>.
4-3 (e) <The state shall pay the subsidy if at the time of the
4-4 adoption the child is receiving aid under the Texas Department of
4-5 Human Services' aid to families with dependent children program.
4-6 The state may pay the subsidy if the department is managing
4-7 conservator for the child.> If the child is receiving supplemental
4-8 security income from the federal government, the state may pay the
4-9 subsidy regardless of whether the state is the managing conservator
4-10 for the child.
4-11 SECTION 5. Section 162.305, Family Code, as added by House
4-12 Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
4-13 amended to read as follows:
4-14 Sec. 162.305. FUNDS. <(a)> The department and other state
4-15 agencies shall actively seek and use federal funds available for
4-16 the purposes of this subchapter.
4-17 <(b) Gifts or grants from private sources for the purposes
4-18 of this subchapter shall be used to support the program.>
4-19 SECTION 6. Section 162.306(c), Family Code, as added by
4-20 House Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session,
4-21 1995, is amended to read as follows:
4-22 (c) The services may include financial assistance, respite
4-23 care, placement services, parenting programs, support groups,
4-24 counseling services, crisis intervention, and medical aid.
4-25 SECTION 7. Section 162.307, Family Code, as added by House
4-26 Bill 655, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, is
4-27 repealed, and the postadoption services advisory committee
5-1 established under that section is abolished on the effective date
5-2 of this Act.
5-3 SECTION 8. The importance of this legislation and the
5-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-8 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-9 passage, and it is so enacted.