LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
FISCAL NOTE, 76th Regular Session
April 3, 1999
TO: Honorable Toby Goodman, Chair, House Committee on
Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
FROM: John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE: HB3270 by Goodman (Relating to the involvement of the
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in the
adoption of certain children.), Committee Report 1st
House, Substituted
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* Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for *
* HB3270, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: positive impact *
* of $262,000 through the biennium ending August 31, 2001. *
* *
* The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal *
* basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of *
* the bill. *
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General Revenue-Related Funds, Five-Year Impact:
****************************************************
* Fiscal Year Probable Net Positive/(Negative) *
* Impact to General Revenue Related *
* Funds *
* 2000 $125,000 *
* 2001 137,000 *
* 2002 150,000 *
* 2003 166,000 *
* 2004 182,000 *
****************************************************
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
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*Fiscal Probable Probable Probable Probable *
* Year Savings/(Cost) Savings/(Cost) Savings/(Cost) Savings/(Cost) *
* from General from Federal from General from Federal *
* Revenue Fund Funds Revenue Fund Funds *
* 0001 0555 0001 0555 *
* 2000 $692,000 $443,000 $(567,000) $(503,000) *
* 2001 761,000 488,000 (624,000) (554,000) *
* 2002 837,000 536,000 (687,000) (609,000) *
* 2003 921,000 590,000 (755,000) (670,000) *
* 2004 1,013,000 649,000 (831,000) (737,000) *
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Fiscal Analysis
The bill would entitle adoptive parents to receive unedited copies of
records and other information relating to the history of their adopted
child if the child, or an adopted sibling of the child, is at least seven
years old at the time of adoption and the court has not sealed the
records of a proceeding terminating the parent-child relationship.
The bill would authorize the Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services (DPRS) to provide adoption subsidy payments through the end of
the last month in which a child who has a mental or physical disability
regularly attends high school or a vocational or technical training
program that is an alternative to high school. The adoption subsidy
payments could continue through the month of the child's 21st birthday.
The bill would require DPRS in providing services after adoption to give
priority to difficult-to-place children and their adoptive families. The
bill would also require DPRS to: (1) attempt to increase the number of
potential adoptive families by engaging in activities that may include
advertising, seminars, conferences, and partnerships with churches and
civic organizations, (2) enter into contracts to provide licensed
child-placing agencies with specific information about individual
children potentially needing adoptive placement, (3) centralize funding
to pay licensed child-placing agencies for placement and finalization
services, (4) use licensed child-placing agencies to assist in placing
children, (5) cooperate with licensed child-placing agencies by forming
advisory groups, creating a formal communication and complaint system,
sharing information, and taking other necessary actions, (6) expand the
Permanency Achieved through Coordinated Efforts (PACE) program to one
metropolitan and one rural area of the state, (7) expand policies
designed to promote the adoption of more difficult-to-place children
throughout the state, and (8) expand its policy under which an adoptive
parent may voluntarily relinquish a child having special needs for which
the adoptive parent is unable to provide adequate care.
The bill would take effect on September 1, 1999.
Methodology
The bill would implement recommendations relating to Issue GG9 in the
Comptroller's report Challenging the Status Quo: Toward Smaller, Smarter
Government to increase the adoption of children under the state's care
and to encourage the use of private adoption agencies. The Comptroller
estimates that these provisions will result in a reduction of two months
in the duration of foster care payments, and an increase of two months
in the duration of adoption subsidy payments, for a General Revenue
savings of $1,453,000 for the fiscal 2000-01 biennium. The Comptroller
also estimates that the provision authorizing DPRS to provide adoption
subsidy payments for children with a mental or physical disability, who
regularly attend high school or a vocational or technical training
program that is an alternative to high school, through the month of
their 21st birthday, will result in a General Revenue cost of $1,191,000
for the fiscal 2000-01 biennium.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is
anticipated.
Source Agencies:
LBB Staff: JK, MD, NM