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.