By: Ellis, Gallegos S.B. No. 1343 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 1-1 relating to the home health visitor program and to the 1-2 establishment and operation of a healthy start/healthy families 1-3 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. HEALTH START/HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM 1-8 Sec. 46.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: 1-9 (1) "Program" means the health 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. 2-1 Sec. 46.002. HEALTHY START/HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM. 2-2 (a) The department shall establish a healthy start/healthy 2-3 families program modeled after the Hawaii healthy start program to 2-4 provide services to families and children during the prenatal 2-5 period, from birth through five years of age, or both. 2-6 (b) The goal of the program is to prevent child abuse and 2-7 neglect. The program shall be designed to: 2-8 (1) promote optimal child development; 2-9 (2) improve family coping skills and functioning; 2-10 (3) promote positive parenting skills and 2-11 intrafamilial interaction; 2-12 (4) ensure 100 percent immunization rates; and 2-13 (5) increase school readiness. 2-14 (c) The program shall provide: 2-15 (1) family and children's services during the prenatal 2-16 period, from birth through five years of age, or both; 2-17 (2) home-based family support; and 2-18 (3) referral to community services and referral to 2-19 individuals providing those services. 2-20 (d) The program shall be administered by a grant recipient 2-21 selected under Section 46.003. 2-22 Sec. 46.003. GRANT. (a) The board shall adopt rules 2-23 governing the establishment of a grant to a community agency or 2-24 nonprofit organization serving youths that has experience in 2-25 providing child abuse prevention services for the development and 3-1 implementation of the program. 3-2 (b) The board shall adopt rules establishing the 3-3 responsibilities of the recipient. 3-4 (c) A local governmental unit or a private entity may 3-5 provide matching funds to a grant recipient under this section. 3-6 SECTION 2. The healthy start/healthy families program 3-7 required by Chapter 46, Health and Safety Code, as added by this 3-8 Act, shall begin operations not later that January 1, 1996. 3-9 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the 3-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 3-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 3-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 3-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 3-14 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 3-15 passage, and it is so enacted.