SRC-DBM S.B. 1423 76(R)   BILL ANALYSIS


Senate Research Center   S.B. 1423
76R6086  KLA-DBy: West
Human Services
3/29/1999
As Filed


DIGEST 

Currently, the Texas Department of Human Services estimates that there are
approximately 25,000 cases where someone other than a parent is the primary
caretaker; 18,000 cases consist of the grandparents as the primary
caretakers.  Experts have offered several reasons for grandparents raising
and helping to raise their grandchildren: increasing drug abuse among
parents, teen pregnancy, divorce, a rapid rise in single parent households,
mental and physical illness, child abuse and neglect, incarceration, and
welfare reform.  Most grandparents are older and have limited resources to
adequately support their grandchildren.  Grandparents and their
grandchildren would benefit greatly if policies and programs intended to
help traditional parent-child families in times of need could be uniformly
extended to grandchildren.  

PURPOSE

As proposed, S.B. 1423 sets forth provisions for providing supplemental
financial assistance and services to certain grandparents. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

This bill does not grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, institution, or agency. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Chapter 31A, Human Resources Code, by adding Section
31.0041, as follows: 

Sec. 31.0041.  SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN RECIPIENTS.
(a)  Requires the Texas Department of Human Services (department) to
provide supplemental financial assistance in addition to the amount of
financial assistance granted for the support of a dependent child under
Section 31.003 to a recipient who meets certain criteria. 

(b)  Requires supplemental financial assistance to be provided to a
recipient under this section to include a one-time cash payment of $1,000
upon determination of eligibility and an annual school subsidy of $69.84
for each dependent child who lives at the recipient's residence. 

(c)  Requires the department to inform a financial assistance applicant who
meets the eligibility requirements under this section of the availability
of supplemental financial assistance. 

(d)  Requires the department to maintain complete records and compile
statistics regarding the number of recipients who receive supplemental
financial assistance under this section. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Chapter 40C, Human Resources Code, by adding Section
40.070, as follows: 

Sec. 40.070.  SUPPORT SERVICES FOR CERTAIN FAMILIES.  (a)  Requires the
department to refer a grandparent to support services offered by the
department and inform the grandparent of the availability of financial
assistance under Chapter 31, including supplemental financial assistance,
and if the eligibility requirements of that chapter are satisfied,  if the
department places a child who is in the conservatorship of the state in the
home of a child's grandparent. 

(b)  Requires the department to maintain complete records and compile
statistics regarding the number of children who are placed by the
department into the home of a child's grandparent. 
 
SECTION 3.  Requires an agency affected by a provision to request a waiver
or authorization and may delay implementing a provision until the waiver or
authorization is granted, if before implementing any provision of this Act
a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a federal
agency is necessary for implementation of a provision. 

SECTION 4.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 5.Emergency clause.