HBA-MPM H.B. 478 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 478
By: Naishtat
Human Services
2/15/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

A recipient of financial assistance through the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families program (TANF) is required to sign a personal responsibility
agreement that defines the responsibilities of the state and the recipient.
Under current law, a recipient may be sanctioned for not complying with the
requirements of the responsibility agreement.  Imposition of a sanction for
not complying with family-related requirements may suggest that a caretaker
of a child is facing some root problem that contributes to the
noncompliance. House Bill 478 requires the Texas Department of Human
Services, prior to imposing any kind of penalty or sanction,  to
investigate why a recipient is not meeting certain requirements and
determine if the provision of local support services would enable the
recipient to comply with the requirement or prevent future noncompliance
prior to imposing any kind of penalty or sanction. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking
authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Department of Human Services
in SECTION 2 (Section 31.00331, Human Resources Code) and SECTION 3
(Section 31.011, Human Resources Code) of this bill. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 478 amends the Human Resources Code to require the Texas
Department of Human Services (DHS) to conduct a case review to determine
the reasons for noncompliance and whether the provision of local support
services will enable the person to comply with the requirements or prevent
future noncompliance before sanctioning or penalizing a recipient of
financial assistance for not complying with the responsibility agreement
requirements for dependent children to attend school and receive medical
check-ups and immunizations and for parents to attend appropriate parenting
classes.  

The bill requires DHS to promptly refer the person to appropriate support
services, if necessary, and to, by rule, adopt criteria for determining
when to apply a sanction or penalty to a person for whom DHS conducts a
case review.   

The bill also requires DHS to develop and implement no later than January
1, 2002, a needs assessment program to identify the needs of dependent
children of recipients that, if addressed, would promote the children's
welfare.  After identifying a child's needs, DHS is required to refer the
child to appropriate local support services.  The bill requires DHS, by
rule, to adopt criteria for determining when a needs assessment should be
conducted. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.