By: West S.B. No. 1574
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
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 prevent at-risk behaviors that lead to child abuse, delinquency,
1-19 running away, truancy, and dropping out of school.
1-20 SECTION 2. Subtitle E, Title 5, Family Code, is amended by
1-21 adding Chapter 265 to read as follows:
1-22 CHAPTER 265. PREVENTION SERVICES
2-1 SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
2-2 Sec. 265.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
2-3 (1) "Department" means the Department of Protective
2-4 and Regulatory Services.
2-5 (2) "Division" means the prevention services division
2-6 within the department.
2-7 (3) "Prevention services" means programs intended to
2-8 prevent at-risk behaviors that lead to child abuse, delinquency,
2-9 running away, truancy, and dropping out of school.
2-10 Sec. 265.002. PREVENTION SERVICES DIVISION. The department
2-11 shall operate a division to provide services for children in
2-12 at-risk situations and for the families of those children and to
2-13 achieve the consolidation of prevention services within the
2-14 jurisdiction of a single agency in order to avoid fragmentation and
2-15 duplication of services and to increase the accountability for the
2-16 delivery and administration of these services. The division shall
2-17 be called the prevention services division and shall have the
2-18 following duties:
2-19 (1) to plan, develop, and administer a comprehensive
2-20 and unified delivery system of prevention services to children and
2-21 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 services in order to demonstrate the impact or public benefit of a
3-2 program by adopting outcome measures; and
3-3 (4) to assist local communities in the coordination
3-4 and development of prevention services in order to maximize
3-5 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 prevention of at-risk behavior that leads to child abuse,
3-10 delinquency, running away, truancy and dropping out of school.
3-11 (b) The division may provide additional prevention services
3-12 in accordance with Section 265.002.
3-13 SECTION 3. (a) On the effective date of this Act, the
3-14 following programs are transferred from the agencies indicated to
3-15 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services to be
3-16 administered by the prevention services division of the department
3-17 as provided by Chapter 265, Family Code, as added by this Act:
3-18 (1) from the Texas Department of Mental Health and
3-19 Mental Retardation: the Parents as Teachers program;
3-20 (2) from the Texas Education Agency and the Texas
3-21 Workforce Commission: the Communities in Schools program; and
3-22 (3) from the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission: the
3-23 Buffalo Soldier Heritage program.
3-24 (b) On September 1, 1999, any powers, duties, obligations,
3-25 rights, contracts, records, employees, property, funds, and
3-26 appropriations of an agency program listed under Subsection (a) of
4-1 this section are transferred to the Department of Protective and
4-2 Regulatory Services.
4-3 (c) The employees of the services for at-risk youth program
4-4 and the community youth development grant program administered by
4-5 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services are
4-6 transferred to the prevention services division of the Department
4-7 of Protective and Regulatory Services.
4-8 (d) For the 1999 and 2000 state fiscal years, the number of
4-9 employees transferred to the Department of Protective and
4-10 Regulatory Services under Subsection (b) of this section is not
4-11 included in determining the department's compliance with any
4-12 limitation on the number of full-time equivalent positions (FTEs)
4-13 imposed by the General Appropriations Act.
4-14 (e) A reference in law or administrative rule to any agency
4-15 listed in Subsection (a) of this section that relates to a program
4-16 transferred under that subsection means the Department of
4-17 Protective and Regulatory Services. A reference in law or
4-18 administrative rule to an executive officer of an agency listed
4-19 under Subsection (a) of this section that relates to a program
4-20 transferred under that subsection means the executive director of
4-21 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
4-22 (f) A rule of an agency listed in Subsection (a) of this
4-23 section relating to a program transferred under that subsection
4-24 continues in effect as a rule of the agency until superseded by a
4-25 rule of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. The
4-26 secretary of state is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to
5-1 expedite the implementation of this subsection.
5-2 (g) The transfer of the programs listed in Subsection (a) of
5-3 this section and associated powers, duties, functions, and
5-4 activities under this Act does not affect or impair any act done,
5-5 any obligation, right, order, license, permit, rule, criterion,
5-6 standard, or requirement existing, any investigation begun, or any
5-7 penalty accrued under former law, and that law remains in effect
5-8 for any action concerning those matters.
5-9 (h) An action brought or proceeding commenced before the
5-10 effective date of this Act, including a contested case or a remand
5-11 of any action or proceeding by a reviewing court, is governed by
5-12 the law and rules applicable to the action or proceeding
5-13 immediately before the effective date of this Act.
5-14 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
5-15 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
5-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.