By:  Harris                                           S.C.R. No. 20
                             SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, Services provided to at-risk youth and their
    1-2  families in Texas are fragmented among a number of agencies, which
    1-3  results in a lack of coordination and confusion about inconsistent
    1-4  and overlapping responsibilities; and
    1-5        WHEREAS, Fifteen state agencies, each with independent
    1-6  boards, serve children and families; in addition to those under the
    1-7  purview of the Health and Human Services Commission, the Central
    1-8  Education Agency, the Texas Youth Commission, the Children's Trust
    1-9  Fund of Texas Council, and the Communities in Schools program also
   1-10  serve children; and
   1-11        WHEREAS, The majority of services available currently focus
   1-12  on crisis intervention rather than prevention or early
   1-13  intervention;  rather than prioritizing services in a manner that
   1-14  would support families and build on their strengths, the state
   1-15  tends to intervene in the most expensive and intensive manner; and
   1-16        WHEREAS, The creation of a single agency dedicated to
   1-17  providing children and their families with all needed services at a
   1-18  centralized location would ensure the consistent and coordinated
   1-19  application of resources;  at-risk youths and their families could
   1-20  be identified at an earlier stage and referred to the appropriate
   1-21  department within the agency for services; and
   1-22        WHEREAS, State policymakers in Texas have long recognized
   1-23  that people with complex problems are often poorly served by a
   1-24  fragmented social service system, and it is imperative that the
    2-1  state improve the coordination  and delivery of children's
    2-2  services; now, therefore, be it
    2-3        RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas
    2-4  hereby request the comptroller of public accounts to conduct a
    2-5  performance review to determine if state agencies that provide
    2-6  services to children should be combined or overseen by a single
    2-7  board or agency; and, be it further
    2-8        RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official
    2-9  copy of this resolution to the comptroller of public accounts.