By: West S.B. No. 1574
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to the administration of certain programs for at-risk
1-2 children and their families.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Subsection (b), Section 40.002, Human Resources
1-5 Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-6 (b) The department is the state agency with primary
1-7 responsibility for:
1-8 (1) providing protective services for children and
1-9 elderly and disabled persons, including investigations of alleged
1-10 abuse, neglect, or exploitation in facilities of the Texas
1-11 Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation;
1-12 (2) providing family support and family preservation
1-13 services which respect the fundamental right of parents to control
1-14 the education and upbringing of their children; [and]
1-15 (3) regulating child-care facilities and child-care
1-16 administrators; and
1-17 (4) implementing and managing programs intended to
1-18 provide early intervention or prevent at-risk behaviors that lead
1-19 to child abuse, delinquency, running away, truancy, and dropping
1-20 out of school.
1-21 SECTION 2. Subtitle E, Title 5, Family Code, is amended by
1-22 adding Chapter 265 to read as follows:
1-23 CHAPTER 265. PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES
1-24 Sec. 265.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
2-1 (1) "Department" means the Department of Protective
2-2 and Regulatory Services.
2-3 (2) "Division" means the prevention and early
2-4 intervention services division within the department.
2-5 (3) "Prevention and early intervention services" means
2-6 programs intended to provide early intervention or prevent at-risk
2-7 behaviors that lead to child abuse, delinquency, running away,
2-8 truancy, and dropping out of school.
2-9 Sec. 265.002. PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES
2-10 DIVISION. The department shall operate a division to provide
2-11 services for children in at-risk situations and for the families of
2-12 those children and to achieve the consolidation of prevention and
2-13 early intervention services within the jurisdiction of a single
2-14 agency in order to avoid fragmentation and duplication of services
2-15 and to increase the accountability for the delivery and
2-16 administration of these services. The division shall be called the
2-17 prevention and early intervention services division and shall have
2-18 the following duties:
2-19 (1) to plan, develop, and administer a comprehensive
2-20 and unified delivery system of prevention and early intervention
2-21 services to children and their families in at-risk situations;
2-22 (2) to improve the responsiveness of services for
2-23 at-risk children and their families by facilitating greater
2-24 coordination and flexibility in the use of funds by state and local
2-25 service providers;
2-26 (3) to provide greater accountability for prevention
3-1 and early intervention services in order to demonstrate the impact
3-2 or public benefit of a program by adopting outcome measures; and
3-3 (4) to assist local communities in the coordination
3-4 and development of prevention and early intervention services in
3-5 order to maximize federal, state, and local resources.
3-6 Sec. 265.003. CONSOLIDATION OF PROGRAMS. (a) In order to
3-7 implement the duties provided in Section 265.002, the department
3-8 shall consolidate into the division programs with the goal of
3-9 providing early intervention or prevention of at-risk behavior that
3-10 leads to child abuse, delinquency, running away, truancy, and
3-11 dropping out of school.
3-12 (b) The division may provide additional prevention and early
3-13 intervention services in accordance with Section 265.002.
3-14 SECTION 3. (a) On the effective date of this Act, the
3-15 following programs are transferred from the agencies indicated to
3-16 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services to be
3-17 administered by the prevention and early intervention services
3-18 division of the department as provided by Chapter 265, Family Code,
3-19 as added by this Act:
3-20 (1) from the Texas Department of Mental Health and
3-21 Mental Retardation: the Parents as Teachers program;
3-22 (2) from the Texas Education Agency and the Texas
3-23 Workforce Commission: the Communities In Schools program; and
3-24 (3) from the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission: the
3-25 Buffalo Soldier Heritage program.
3-26 (b) On September 1, 1999, any powers, duties, obligations,
4-1 rights, contracts, records, employees, property, funds, and
4-2 appropriations of an agency program listed under Subsection (a) of
4-3 this section are transferred to the Department of Protective and
4-4 Regulatory Services.
4-5 (c) The employees of the services for at-risk youth program
4-6 and the community youth development grant program administered by
4-7 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services are
4-8 transferred to the prevention and early intervention services
4-9 division of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
4-10 (d) For the 1999 and 2000 state fiscal years, the number of
4-11 employees transferred to the Department of Protective and
4-12 Regulatory Services under Subsection (b) of this section is not
4-13 included in determining the department's compliance with any
4-14 limitation on the number of full-time equivalent positions (FTEs)
4-15 imposed by the General Appropriations Act.
4-16 (e) A reference in law or administrative rule to any agency
4-17 listed in Subsection (a) of this section that relates to a program
4-18 transferred under that subsection means the Department of
4-19 Protective and Regulatory Services. A reference in law or
4-20 administrative rule to an executive officer of an agency listed
4-21 under Subsection (a) of this section that relates to a program
4-22 transferred under that subsection means the executive director of
4-23 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
4-24 (f) A rule of an agency listed in Subsection (a) of this
4-25 section relating to a program transferred under that subsection
4-26 continues in effect as a rule of the agency until superseded by a
5-1 rule of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. The
5-2 secretary of state is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to
5-3 expedite the implementation of this subsection.
5-4 (g) The transfer of the programs listed in Subsection (a) of
5-5 this section and associated powers, duties, functions, and
5-6 activities under this Act does not affect or impair any act done,
5-7 any obligation, right, order, license, permit, rule, criterion,
5-8 standard, or requirement existing, any investigation begun, or any
5-9 penalty accrued under former law, and that law remains in effect
5-10 for any action concerning those matters.
5-11 (h) An action brought or proceeding commenced before the
5-12 effective date of this Act, including a contested case or a remand
5-13 of any action or proceeding by a reviewing court, is governed by
5-14 the law and rules applicable to the action or proceeding
5-15 immediately before the effective date of this Act.
5-16 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
5-17 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.