JKC C.S.H.B. 1555 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS HUMAN SERVICES C.S.H.B. 1555 By: Greenberg (Krusee) 3-31-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND In the State of Texas, child care facilities are subject to duplicate inspections by many levels of government. Unfortunately, the inspecting agencies are not required to coordinate activities or even share inspection data. Currently, for example, child care facilities are inspected by the following agencies: the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS), the Texas Workforce Commission's Child Care Management System, the Texas Department of Human Services' (DHS) Federal Special Nutrition Program, and city/county health departments. This process leads to inefficiencies for both the agencies and the child care facilities, because many of the required inspection items are similar and even have some conflicting requirements. The Texas Performance Review's Disturbing the Peace: The Challenge of Change in Texas Government HHS 5 recommendation addresses these problems by recommending that the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (DPRS) be designated as the lead agency for all child care facility inspections so that the DPRS can coordinate the inspection activities of various state agencies and the sharing of inspection data. PURPOSE This bill streamlines the child care facility inspection processes by requiring the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services to be the lead agency to coordinate inspection activities and share inspection data to eliminate redundancies and inefficiencies in the current process. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1.Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, by adding Sections 42.0441-42.0443 as follows. Sec. 42.0441.Directs DPRS inspectors, immediately following the monitoring inspection of a registered family home, licensed day-care center or group day-care home under Section 42.044, to: (1) review the results of the inspection with a representative of the home or center; and (2) give the representative the opportunity to respond to the inspection results. Sec. 42.0442.Directs DPRS to conducts the following: (a)Coordinate all inspections of licensed day-care centers, licensed group daycare homes and registered family homes performed by another state agency, thereby eliminating duplicative and redundant inspections. (b)Form an interagency task force with the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human Services, and the Texas Workforce Commission to develop an inspection protocol that will coordinate inspections by those agencies; assign the required items for inspection by each agency; and facilitate the sharing of inspection data and compliance history. Sec. 42.0443.(a)Directs DPRS to establish a computerized database containing relevant inspection information on licensed day-care centers, licensed group day care homes and registered family homes from other state agencies and political subdivisions of the state, if feasible with available information systems. (b)Directs DPRS to: (1) make the data available to another state agency or political subdivision of the state for the purpose of either administering programs or enforcing laws within the jurisdiction of that agency or political subdivision; (2) make the data directly available to the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human Services, and the Texas Workforce Commission through electronic information systems; and (3) in coordination with the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human Services, and the Texas Workforce Commission, jointly plan the development of child-care inspection databases that, to the extent feasible, are similar in their design and architecture, to promote the sharing of data. (c)Permits DPRS to provide inspection data on registered family homes, licensed day-care centers or group day-care homes to the public, if providing inspection data enhances consumer choice with respect to those facilities. SECTION 2.(a)Effective Date: September 1, 1997. (b)Directs DPRS, DHS, the Department of Health, and the Texas Workforce Commission to report the recommendations for the protocol for coordinated inspections provided by Section 42.0442, Human Resources Code as added by this bill, to their respective governing boards or commissions by February 1, 1998. The implementation of the protocol must begin by June 1, 1998. SECTION 3.Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. deletes the rulemaking authority found in SECTION 1, Sec. 42.0442 (c), Human Resources Code that requires DPRS, with the assistance of the Comptroller, to adopt by rule each inspection form used in inspecting a child care facility by an agency or political subdivision of the state. Also deletes the rulemaking authority found in SECTION 3 (c) that requires the forms adopted be designed to eliminate redundant inspections and be adopted by rule by January 1, 1998. SECTION 1. Sec. 42.0441.The substitute replaces the term "child-care facility" with the more appropriate terms, "licensed day-care center, licensed group day-care home, or registered family home." Sec. 42.0442.(a)Replaces the term "child-care facility" with the more appropriate terms "licensed day-care center, licensed group day-care home, or registered family home." Deletes the reference to coordinating inspections by political subdivisions of the state. (b)(1) Deletes the requirement that the inspection of a child care facility conducted by an agency or political subdivision of the state may not be duplicative, because this requirement is in 42.0442 (a); (2) deletes the requirement that DPRS assign items that may be inspected by more than one agency to only one agency; (3) adds the requirement that DPRS form an interagency task force with the Texas Department of Health, the Texas Department of Human Services, and the Texas Workforce Commission to develop an inspection protocol that will coordinate inspections by those agencies; and (4) adds the requirement that the protocol must assign the required items for inspection by each agency and facilitate the sharing of inspection data and compliance history. (c)Deletes the requirement that DPRS, with the assistance of the Comptroller, adopt, by rule, each inspection form used in inspecting a child care facility by any state agency or political subdivision of the state. The forms must then be designed to eliminate duplication. Sec. 42.0443.(a)Deletes the requirement that DPRS establish and maintain a computerized database of the results of all child-care inspections; adds the statement that if feasible using available information systems, DPRS shall establish a computerized database containing relevant inspection information on licensed day-care centers, licensed group day-care homes and registered family homes from other state agencies and political subdivisions. (b)Deletes the requirement that each inspection entity submit the completed inspection form to DPRS; deletes the requirement that DPRS add the information from the inspection to the computerized database; adds a statement that requires DPRS to make the data collected by DPRS available to another state agency or political subdivision of the state for the purpose of administering programs or enforcing laws within the jurisdiction of that agency or subdivision; requires DPRS, if feasible using available information systems, to make the data directly available to the Department of Health, DHS, and the Texas Workforce Commission through electronic information systems. Requires DPRS, the Department of Health, DHS, and the Texas Workforce Commission to jointly plan the development of child-care inspection databases that, to the extent feasible, are similar in their design and architecture to promote the sharing of data. (c)Adds a statement permitting DPRS to provide inspection data on licensed daycare centers, licensed group day-care home, or registered family homes to the public if it would enhances consumer choice. SECTION 2. Deletes the following: (a)The requirement that DPRS establish a pilot project by January 1, 1998 in a medium-sized city selected by DPRS that would allow a child care facility inspector in the field to perform all of the following: (1)Access information in the DPRS computerized inspection database and update the database with a laptop computer as the inspector inspects a child care facility. (2)Provide the child care facility with a printed completed inspection form immediately after an inspection. (b)The requirement that DPRS report to the Legislature the effectiveness of the pilot program not later than January 15, 1999. (c)The expiration date of September 1, 1999. Adds the following: (a)Effective Date: September 1, 1997. (b)The requirement that DPRS, DHS, the Department of Health, and the Texas Workforce Commission shall report the recommendations for the protocol for coordinated inspections provided by Section 42.0442, Human Resources Code as added by this bill, to their respective governing boards or commissions by February 1, 1998; and the requirement that the implementation of the protocol must begin by June 1, 1998. SECTION 3.Deletes the following: (a) The effective date of September 1, 1997. (b)The requirement that each agency or political subdivision of the state that inspects child care facilities submit a copy of the inspection forms used by the agency or political subdivision to DPRS by September 15, 1997. (c)The requirement that DPRS adopt the inspection forms by January 1, 1998. Replaces prior SECTION 3 with the emergency clause. SECTION 4.Deletes emergency clause.