By Ellis S.B. No. 385
74R1258 KLL-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the establishment and operation of a healthy
1-3 start/healthy families program.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 46 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 46. HEALTHY START/HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM
1-8 Sec. 46.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-9 (1) "Program" means the healthy start/healthy families
1-10 program established under this chapter.
1-11 (2) "Family support worker" means a person providing
1-12 home-based family support services.
1-13 (3) "Home-based family support services" means
1-14 services to provide pregnant women and new parents with information
1-15 and access to health care, social services, and related services
1-16 through home visits by workers trained in the Hawaii healthy start
1-17 model.
1-18 (4) "Early identification worker" means a person who
1-19 identifies program participants during the prenatal period or at
1-20 birth.
1-21 (5) "High risk" means at risk of child abuse or
1-22 neglect as determined by a valid and reliable assessment
1-23 instrument.
1-24 Sec. 46.002. HEALTHY START/HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM. (a)
2-1 The department shall establish a healthy start/healthy families
2-2 program modeled after the Hawaii healthy start program to provide
2-3 services to families and children during the prenatal period, from
2-4 birth through five years of age, or both.
2-5 (b) The goal of the program is to prevent child abuse and
2-6 neglect. The program shall be designed to:
2-7 (1) promote optimal child development;
2-8 (2) improve family coping skills and functioning;
2-9 (3) promote positive parenting skills and
2-10 intrafamilial interaction;
2-11 (4) ensure 100 percent immunization rates; and
2-12 (5) increase school readiness.
2-13 (c) The program shall provide:
2-14 (1) family and children's services during the prenatal
2-15 period, from birth through five years of age, or both;
2-16 (2) home-based family support; and
2-17 (3) referral to community services and referral to
2-18 individuals providing those services.
2-19 (d) The program shall be administered by a grant recipient
2-20 selected under Section 46.008.
2-21 Sec. 46.003. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES. The goals of the program
2-22 established under this chapter are to:
2-23 (1) decrease the number of families reported for child
2-24 abuse or neglect during program participation;
2-25 (2) decrease the risk factors for child abuse or
2-26 neglect in families participating in the program;
2-27 (3) improve the handling of family-related stress and
3-1 decrease the number of emergency requests to the program by
3-2 families participating in the program;
3-3 (4) improve bonding relationships in families
3-4 participating in the program;
3-5 (5) fully immunize infants participating in the
3-6 program not later than two years of age;
3-7 (6) provide a family participating in the program with
3-8 an individualized family support plan not later than the 45th day
3-9 after the family joins the program;
3-10 (7) assist a family participating in the program in
3-11 accessing needed community resources as stated in their family
3-12 support plan;
3-13 (8) enable a family participating in the program to
3-14 access community services without assistance before leaving the
3-15 program;
3-16 (9) increase the number of infants in families
3-17 participating in the program who receive well-child visits; and
3-18 (10) increase the number of families participating in
3-19 the program who are involved in parent support groups or parent
3-20 education activities.
3-21 Sec. 46.004. HEALTH FACILITIES SCREENING. (a) The program
3-22 shall provide systematic clinic-based or hospital-based screening
3-23 for high-risk families of children from birth through three months
3-24 of age in selected counties.
3-25 (b) Health facility screening shall be accomplished by an
3-26 early identification worker, who shall examine patient records for
3-27 evidence of child abuse or neglect risk indicators.
4-1 (c) An early identification worker shall interview a mother
4-2 who is a member of a high-risk family identified under Subsection
4-3 (b) to further assess the family and encourage participation in the
4-4 program.
4-5 Sec. 46.005. FAMILY SUPPORT WORKER. (a) The program shall
4-6 provide home-based family support services to families who accept
4-7 the services under Section 46.004.
4-8 (b) The services provided under this section shall include
4-9 home visits by a family support worker to assess the needs of the
4-10 family and to refer the family to appropriate services. The family
4-11 support worker shall identify the specific needs of the family to
4-12 ensure that appropriate services are used and that the services are
4-13 used with the appropriate frequency. The family support worker
4-14 shall coordinate the use of these services.
4-15 (c) The family support worker shall assist participating
4-16 families in selecting a primary health care provider to promote
4-17 preventive health care and positive child development. The family
4-18 support worker shall:
4-19 (1) monitor the scheduling and completion of health
4-20 care visits and the availability of transportation for the visits;
4-21 (2) review the results of the visits; and
4-22 (3) coordinate future visits or referrals to necessary
4-23 services.
4-24 (d) The family support worker shall provide continuous
4-25 follow-up with the family until the child born at the time the
4-26 family was identified as a high-risk family under Section 46.004
4-27 reaches the age of six.
5-1 Sec. 46.006. TRAINING PROGRAM. The program shall provide a
5-2 structured training program modeled after the Hawaii healthy start
5-3 training program. The training program shall establish uniform
5-4 standards for delivery of services under this chapter.
5-5 Sec. 46.007. INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT. The department may
5-6 enter into an interagency agreement with the Department of
5-7 Protective and Regulatory Services, the Central Education Agency,
5-8 and the Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention
5-9 Services to facilitate coordination and increase the likelihood of
5-10 healthy outcomes for families at high risk for abuse or neglect.
5-11 Sec. 46.008. GRANT. (a) The board shall adopt rules
5-12 governing the establishment of a grant to a community agency or
5-13 nonprofit organization serving youths that has experience in
5-14 providing child abuse prevention services for the development and
5-15 implementation of the program.
5-16 (b) A local governmental unit or a private entity may
5-17 provide matching funds to a grant recipient under this section.
5-18 Sec. 46.009. DUTIES OF GRANT RECIPIENT. The recipient of
5-19 the grant under Section 46.008 shall:
5-20 (1) implement the program as required by this chapter;
5-21 and
5-22 (2) collaborate with existing community programs and
5-23 services to implement the program.
5-24 Sec. 46.010. EVALUATION OF PROGRAM. The department shall
5-25 conduct or arrange for an independent evaluation of the program
5-26 based on the Hawaii healthy start program evaluation guidelines.
5-27 The department shall make recommendations on further implementation
6-1 of the program.
6-2 SECTION 2. The healthy start/healthy families program
6-3 required by Chapter 46, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
6-4 Act, shall begin operations not later than January 1, 1996.
6-5 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
6-6 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-7 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-8 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-9 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-10 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-11 passage, and it is so enacted.