C.S.S.B. 60 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS C.S.S.B. 60 By: Zaffirini Human Services Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, at least one in ten children and adolescents may suffer from serious emotional disturbance that severely disrupts their lives at home, at school, and in the community. Prevalence estimates for Texas indicate that more than 600,000 children have a mental disorder. However, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation was able to provide services to only a portion of these children, about 38,000, in fiscal year 2001. Over the past fifteen years, Texas has taken steps to create a coordinated response across state agencies to address the needs of children with serious emotional disturbances. C.S.S.B. 60 implements a "consortium" that oversees the Texas Integrated Funding Initiative and reviews evaluations of systems of care services performed by community resource coordination groups for coordination between state agencies to enhance the method in which services are provided to children who suffer from emotional disturbances and streamline administrative operations and expenses. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill expressly grants additional rulemaking to an agency, as appropriate, in SECTION 1 (Sec. 531.404, Government Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS CSSB 60 amends the Government Code to require each community resource coordination group (group) to evaluate the provision of systems of care services in the community that the group serves. The bill sets forth parameters for the evaluation. The bill requires each group to create a report that includes the evaluation and makes related recommendations, including suggested policy and statutory changes at agencies that provide systems of care services; and recommendations for overcoming barriers to the provision of systems of care services and improving the integration of those services. The bill requires each group to submit the report to the consortium, and requires the consortium to provide a deadline to each group for submitting the reports. CSSB 60 requires the consortium to create a summary report based on the evaluations in the reports submitted to the consortium by the groups. The bill sets forth what information is to be included in the report by the consortium. The consortium is required to provide a copy of the report to each agency for which the report makes a recommendation and to other agencies as appropriate. CSSB 60 requires an agency, as appropriate, to adopt rules, policy changes, and memoranda of understanding with other agencies to implement the recommendations in the report. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the necessary vote is not received, the Act takes effect September 1, 2003. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE CSSB 60 differs from the original by removing the definitions of "system of care agency" and adds the definition "consortium" and "community resource coordination group" to the bill. The substitute removes all provisions pertaining to the operation of the system of care agency and replaces them with provisions for the operation of the consortium.