SRC-DBM C.S.S.B. 1423 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research CenterC.S.S.B. 1423 76R10409 KLA-DBy: West Human Services 4/8/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) 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. C.S.S.B. 1423 would provide supplemental financial assistance and services to certain grandparents. PURPOSE As proposed, C.S.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 PERSONS. (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 person for the support of a dependent child under this section to include a one-time cash payment of $1,000 upon determination of eligibility and an annual school subsidy in an amount set by the department from available funds for each dependent child who lives at the person's residence; is the person's grandchild; and is eligible for financial assistance under this chapter. (c) Requires the department to inform a financial assistance applicant who meets the eligibility requirements under Subsection (a) of the availability of supplemental financial assistance. (d) Requires the department to maintain complete records and compile statistics regarding the number of households that 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. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE CHANGES SECTION 1. Adds a new heading to Section 31.0041, Human Resources Code. Amends Chapter 31A, Human Resources Code, by adding Section 31.0041, to require the 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 including the primary caretaker of the dependent child. Requires supplemental financial assistance to be provided to a person for the support of a dependent child, rather than a recipient, under this section to include a one-time cash payment of $1,000 upon determination of eligibility and an annual school subsidy in an amount set by the department from available funds for each dependent child who lives at the person's residence; is the person's grandchild; and is eligible for financial assistance under this chapter. Requires the department to inform a financial assistance applicant who meets the eligibility requirements under Subsection (a), rather than this section, of the availability of supplemental financial assistance. Requires the department to maintain complete records and compile statistics regarding the number of households that, rather than recipients who, receive supplemental financial assistance under this section. Deletes text regarding an annual school subsidy of $69.84 for each dependent child who lives at the recipient's residence.