HBA-KDB H.B. 714 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 714 By: Wilson Juvenile Justice & Family Issues 3/4/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE When children are removed from a parent's home, they are often significantly traumatized. Placement in a relative's home may help soften the blow by providing people and surroundings that are familiar to them. Research has shown that kinship foster care may decrease the number of placements of a child and may help create a more stable environment for the child. House Bill 714 requires the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services to place the child in foster care with a relative whenever possible. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in SECTION 1 (Section 264.113, Family Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 714 amends the Family Code to establish kinship foster care. The bill requires that the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (department) make a reasonable effort to ensure that a child is placed in foster care with a relative whenever possible. The bill also requires that the department develop an accelerated process to certify the home of a relative who is providing foster care for a child. The bill prohibits the certification process from being as stringent as the routine certification process for other foster homes. The bill requires the department, by rule, to provide for immediate foster care payments for a person who is providing foster care for a child who is a relative. The bill authorizes the department, by rule, to provide for a waiver of the foster home certification requirements when a child is placed in foster care with a relative. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.