1-1 By: Harris S.C.R. No. 20 1-2 (In the Senate - Filed January 16, 1995; January 19, 1995, 1-3 read first time and referred to Committee on Finance; 1-4 April 3, 1995, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 12, 1-5 Nays 0; April 3, 1995, sent to printer.) 1-6 SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-7 WHEREAS, Services provided to at-risk youth and their 1-8 families in Texas are fragmented among a number of agencies, which 1-9 results in a lack of coordination and confusion about inconsistent 1-10 and overlapping responsibilities; and 1-11 WHEREAS, Fifteen state agencies, each with independent 1-12 boards, serve children and families; in addition to those under the 1-13 purview of the Health and Human Services Commission, the Central 1-14 Education Agency, the Texas Youth Commission, the Children's Trust 1-15 Fund of Texas Council, and the Communities in Schools program also 1-16 serve children; and 1-17 WHEREAS, The majority of services available currently focus 1-18 on crisis intervention rather than prevention or early 1-19 intervention; rather than prioritizing services in a manner that 1-20 would support families and build on their strengths, the state 1-21 tends to intervene in the most expensive and intensive manner; and 1-22 WHEREAS, The creation of a single agency dedicated to 1-23 providing children and their families with all needed services at a 1-24 centralized location would ensure the consistent and coordinated 1-25 application of resources; at-risk youths and their families could 1-26 be identified at an earlier stage and referred to the appropriate 1-27 department within the agency for services; and 1-28 WHEREAS, State policymakers in Texas have long recognized 1-29 that people with complex problems are often poorly served by a 1-30 fragmented social service system, and it is imperative that the 1-31 state improve the coordination and delivery of children's 1-32 services; now, therefore, be it 1-33 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 1-34 hereby request the comptroller of public accounts to conduct a 1-35 performance review to determine if state agencies that provide 1-36 services to children should be combined or overseen by a single 1-37 board or agency; and, be it further 1-38 RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official 1-39 copy of this resolution to the comptroller of public accounts. 1-40 * * * * *