1-1 By: Ellis, Gallegos S.B. No. 1343
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 14, 1995; March 22, 1995, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services;
1-4 April 18, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 3; April 18, 1995,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1343 By: Gallegos
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the establishment and operation of a healthy
1-11 start/healthy families program.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
1-14 amended by adding Chapter 46 to read as follows:
1-15 CHAPTER 46. HEALTHY START/HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM
1-16 Sec. 46.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-17 (1) "Family assessment process" means a method for:
1-18 (A) determining the level of stress families are
1-19 experiencing and the factors contributing to their stress;
1-20 (B) assessing the family need for supportive
1-21 services and parenting education; and
1-22 (C) referring families to the healthy
1-23 start/healthy families program or to other resources appropriate to
1-24 the family's needs.
1-25 (2) "Family assessment worker" means a person trained
1-26 by a certified healthy start/healthy families trainer who
1-27 implements and facilitates the family assessment process.
1-28 (3) "Family support worker" means a person providing
1-29 home-based family support services who is trained by certified
1-30 healthy start/healthy families trainers.
1-31 (4) "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 family support workers trained by certified
1-35 healthy start/healthy families trainers.
1-36 (5) "Program" means the healthy start/healthy families
1-37 program established under this chapter.
1-38 Sec. 46.002. HEALTHY START/HEALTHY FAMILIES PROGRAM.
1-39 (a) The department shall establish a healthy start/healthy
1-40 families pilot program modeled after the Hawaii healthy start
1-41 program to provide services to families and children during the
1-42 prenatal period, from birth through five years of age, or both.
1-43 Subject to the availability of funding, the department shall
1-44 establish the pilot program in five communities of varying
1-45 population size.
1-46 (b) The goal of the program is to prevent child abuse and
1-47 neglect. The program shall be designed to:
1-48 (1) promote optimal child development;
1-49 (2) improve family coping skills and functioning;
1-50 (3) promote positive parenting skills and
1-51 intrafamilial interaction;
1-52 (4) ensure 100 percent immunization rates; and
1-53 (5) increase school readiness.
1-54 (c) The program shall provide:
1-55 (1) family and children's services during the prenatal
1-56 period, from birth through five years of age, or both;
1-57 (2) home-based family support; and
1-58 (3) referral to community services and referral to
1-59 individuals providing those services.
1-60 (d) The program shall be administered by a grant recipient
1-61 selected under Section 46.007.
1-62 Sec. 46.003. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES. The goals of the program
1-63 established under this chapter are to:
1-64 (1) decrease the number of families reported for child
1-65 abuse or neglect during program participation;
1-66 (2) decrease the risk factors for child abuse or
1-67 neglect in families participating in the program;
1-68 (3) improve the handling of family-related stress and
2-1 decrease the number of emergency requests to the program by
2-2 families participating in the program;
2-3 (4) improve bonding relationships in families
2-4 participating in the program;
2-5 (5) fully immunize infants participating in the
2-6 program not later than two years of age;
2-7 (6) provide a family participating in the program with
2-8 an individualized family support plan not later than the 45th day
2-9 after the family joins the program;
2-10 (7) assist a family participating in the program in
2-11 accessing needed community resources as stated in their family
2-12 support plan;
2-13 (8) enable a family participating in the program to
2-14 access community services without assistance before leaving the
2-15 program;
2-16 (9) increase the number of infants in families
2-17 participating in the program who receive well-child visits; and
2-18 (10) increase the number of families participating in
2-19 the program who are involved in parent support groups or parent
2-20 education activities.
2-21 Sec. 46.004. HEALTH FACILITIES ASSESSMENTS; FAMILY
2-22 ASSESSMENT PROCESS. (a) The program shall provide systematic
2-23 clinic-based or hospital-based assessment of all births in the
2-24 target area in selected counties.
2-25 (b) An assessment shall be accomplished by a family
2-26 assessment worker who visits briefly with the parents and obtains
2-27 written permission to examine patient records to assess if there
2-28 are obvious environmental stresses that would warrant a full
2-29 assessment interview.
2-30 (c) If a full assessment is warranted, the family assessment
2-31 worker shall visit with the parents to determine the type of
2-32 support the family needs, if any, and explain and encourage
2-33 participation in the program.
2-34 (d) Before the family elects to participate in the program,
2-35 the family assessment worker shall inform the participants of their
2-36 rights concerning involvement in the program and shall fully
2-37 disclose the support services the program offers.
2-38 Sec. 46.005. FAMILY SUPPORT WORKER. (a) The program shall
2-39 provide home-based family support services to families who accept
2-40 the services under Section 46.004.
2-41 (b) The services provided under this section shall include
2-42 home visits by a family support worker to assess the needs of the
2-43 family and to refer the family to appropriate services. The family
2-44 support worker shall identify the specific needs of the family to
2-45 ensure that appropriate services are used and that the services are
2-46 used with the appropriate frequency. The family support worker
2-47 shall coordinate the use of these services.
2-48 (c) The family support worker shall assist participating
2-49 families in selecting a primary health care provider to promote
2-50 preventive health care and positive child development. The family
2-51 support worker shall:
2-52 (1) monitor the scheduling and completion of health
2-53 care visits and the availability of transportation for the visits;
2-54 (2) review the results of the visits; and
2-55 (3) coordinate future visits or referrals to necessary
2-56 services.
2-57 (d) The family support worker shall provide continuous
2-58 follow-up with the family until the child born at the time the
2-59 family accepts the services under Section 46.004 reaches the age of
2-60 six.
2-61 Sec. 46.006. TRAINING PROGRAM. The program shall provide a
2-62 structured training program with trainers certified by the Hawaii
2-63 healthy start training program. The training program shall
2-64 establish uniform standards for delivery of services under this
2-65 chapter.
2-66 Sec. 46.007. GRANT. (a) Subject to the availability of
2-67 funds appropriated by the legislature, the board shall adopt rules
2-68 governing the establishment of a grant to a community agency or
2-69 nonprofit organization serving youths that has experience in
2-70 providing child abuse prevention services or related services for
3-1 the development and implementation of the program.
3-2 (b) A local governmental unit or a private entity may
3-3 provide matching funds to a grant recipient under this section.
3-4 Sec. 46.008. DUTIES OF GRANT RECIPIENT. The recipient of
3-5 the grant under Section 46.007 shall:
3-6 (1) implement the program as required by this chapter;
3-7 and
3-8 (2) collaborate with existing community programs and
3-9 services to implement the program.
3-10 Sec. 46.009. EVALUATION OF PROGRAM. The department shall
3-11 conduct or arrange for an independent evaluation of the program
3-12 based on the Hawaii healthy start program evaluation guidelines.
3-13 The department shall make recommendations on further implementation
3-14 of the program.
3-15 SECTION 2. The healthy start/healthy families program
3-16 required by Chapter 46, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
3-17 Act, shall begin operations not later than January 1, 1996.
3-18 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
3-23 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
3-24 passage, and it is so enacted.
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