1-1 By: West S.B. No. 1574
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 1999; March 15, 1999, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Human Services;
1-4 April 6, 1999, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 0; April 6, 1999,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1574 By: Bernsen
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to the administration of certain programs for at-risk
1-11 children and their families.
1-12 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-13 SECTION 1. Subsection (b), Section 40.002, Human Resources
1-14 Code, is amended to read as follows:
1-15 (b) The department is the state agency with primary
1-16 responsibility for:
1-17 (1) providing protective services for children and
1-18 elderly and disabled persons, including investigations of alleged
1-19 abuse, neglect, or exploitation in facilities of the Texas
1-20 Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation;
1-21 (2) providing family support and family preservation
1-22 services which respect the fundamental right of parents to control
1-23 the education and upbringing of their children; [and]
1-24 (3) regulating child-care facilities and child-care
1-25 administrators; and
1-26 (4) implementing and managing programs intended to
1-27 provide early intervention or prevent at-risk behaviors that lead
1-28 to child abuse, delinquency, running away, truancy, and dropping
1-29 out of school.
1-30 SECTION 2. Subtitle E, Title 5, Family Code, is amended by
1-31 adding Chapter 265 to read as follows:
1-32 CHAPTER 265. PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES
1-33 Sec. 265.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-34 (1) "Department" means the Department of Protective
1-35 and Regulatory Services.
1-36 (2) "Division" means the prevention and early
1-37 intervention services division within the department.
1-38 (3) "Prevention and early intervention services" means
1-39 programs intended to provide early intervention or prevent at-risk
1-40 behaviors that lead to child abuse, delinquency, running away,
1-41 truancy, and dropping out of school.
1-42 Sec. 265.002. PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES
1-43 DIVISION. The department shall operate a division to provide
1-44 services for children in at-risk situations and for the families of
1-45 those children and to achieve the consolidation of prevention and
1-46 early intervention services within the jurisdiction of a single
1-47 agency in order to avoid fragmentation and duplication of services
1-48 and to increase the accountability for the delivery and
1-49 administration of these services. The division shall be called the
1-50 prevention and early intervention services division and shall have
1-51 the following duties:
1-52 (1) to plan, develop, and administer a comprehensive
1-53 and unified delivery system of prevention and early intervention
1-54 services to children and their families in at-risk situations;
1-55 (2) to improve the responsiveness of services for
1-56 at-risk children and their families by facilitating greater
1-57 coordination and flexibility in the use of funds by state and local
1-58 service providers;
1-59 (3) to provide greater accountability for prevention
1-60 and early intervention services in order to demonstrate the impact
1-61 or public benefit of a program by adopting outcome measures; and
1-62 (4) to assist local communities in the coordination
1-63 and development of prevention and early intervention services in
1-64 order to maximize federal, state, and local resources.
2-1 Sec. 265.003. CONSOLIDATION OF PROGRAMS. (a) In order to
2-2 implement the duties provided in Section 265.002, the department
2-3 shall consolidate into the division programs with the goal of
2-4 providing early intervention or prevention of at-risk behavior that
2-5 leads to child abuse, delinquency, running away, truancy, and
2-6 dropping out of school.
2-7 (b) The division may provide additional prevention and early
2-8 intervention services in accordance with Section 265.002.
2-9 SECTION 3. (a) On the effective date of this Act, the
2-10 following programs are transferred from the agencies indicated to
2-11 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services to be
2-12 administered by the prevention and early intervention services
2-13 division of the department as provided by Chapter 265, Family Code,
2-14 as added by this Act:
2-15 (1) from the Texas Department of Mental Health and
2-16 Mental Retardation: the Parents as Teachers program;
2-17 (2) from the Texas Education Agency and the Texas
2-18 Workforce Commission: the Communities In Schools program; and
2-19 (3) from the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission: the
2-20 Buffalo Soldier Heritage program.
2-21 (b) On September 1, 1999, any powers, duties, obligations,
2-22 rights, contracts, records, employees, property, funds, and
2-23 appropriations of an agency program listed under Subsection (a) of
2-24 this section are transferred to the Department of Protective and
2-25 Regulatory Services.
2-26 (c) The employees of the services for at-risk youth program
2-27 and the community youth development grant program administered by
2-28 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services are
2-29 transferred to the prevention and early intervention services
2-30 division of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
2-31 (d) For the 1999 and 2000 state fiscal years, the number of
2-32 employees transferred to the Department of Protective and
2-33 Regulatory Services under Subsection (b) of this section is not
2-34 included in determining the department's compliance with any
2-35 limitation on the number of full-time equivalent positions (FTEs)
2-36 imposed by the General Appropriations Act.
2-37 (e) A reference in law or administrative rule to any agency
2-38 listed in Subsection (a) of this section that relates to a program
2-39 transferred under that subsection means the Department of
2-40 Protective and Regulatory Services. A reference in law or
2-41 administrative rule to an executive officer of an agency listed
2-42 under Subsection (a) of this section that relates to a program
2-43 transferred under that subsection means the executive director of
2-44 the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.
2-45 (f) A rule of an agency listed in Subsection (a) of this
2-46 section relating to a program transferred under that subsection
2-47 continues in effect as a rule of the agency until superseded by a
2-48 rule of the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. The
2-49 secretary of state is authorized to adopt rules as necessary to
2-50 expedite the implementation of this subsection.
2-51 (g) The transfer of the programs listed in Subsection (a) of
2-52 this section and associated powers, duties, functions, and
2-53 activities under this Act does not affect or impair any act done,
2-54 any obligation, right, order, license, permit, rule, criterion,
2-55 standard, or requirement existing, any investigation begun, or any
2-56 penalty accrued under former law, and that law remains in effect
2-57 for any action concerning those matters.
2-58 (h) An action brought or proceeding commenced before the
2-59 effective date of this Act, including a contested case or a remand
2-60 of any action or proceeding by a reviewing court, is governed by
2-61 the law and rules applicable to the action or proceeding
2-62 immediately before the effective date of this Act.
2-63 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-64 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
2-65 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-66 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-67 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-68 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-69 * * * * *