HBA-SEB H.B. 697 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 697 By: Wilson Juvenile Justice and Family Issues 3/5/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law does not require the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (department) to make an effort to place a child in foster care with a relative, nor does it provide for a foster parent to receive foster care payments if the foster parent is the child's relative. H.B. 697 requires the department to make a reasonable effort to place a child in a foster home with a relative, to develop an accelerated, less stringent process to certify the home of a child's relative as a foster home, and to provide the foster parent with immediate foster care payments to alleviate the cost of caring for the child. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in SECTION 1 (Section 264.1085, Family Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, by adding Section 264.1085, as follows: Sec. 264.1085. SUBSTITUTE CARE WITH RELATIVE. Requires the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (department) to make a reasonable effort to ensure that a child is placed in foster care with a relative whenever possible. Requires the department to develop an accelerated process to certify as a foster home the home of the relative who is providing the foster care. Prohibits the certification process from being as stringent as that of other foster homes. Requires the department, by rule, to provide for immediate foster care payments under this subchapter (Foster Care) for a relative who is providing foster care for a child. Authorizes the department, by rule, to provide for a waiver of the foster home certification requirements when a child is placed in foster care with a relative. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 3. Emergency clause.