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Amend CSSB 69 (Senate committee printing) by adding the 
following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and 
renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
	SECTION ____.  Subchapter A, Chapter 263, Family Code, is 
amended by adding Section 263.007 to read as follows:
	Sec. 263.007.  FOSTER CHILDREN'S BILL OF RIGHTS.  (a)  In 
this section:
		(1)  "Agency foster group home," "agency foster home," 
"facility," "foster group home," and "foster home" have the 
meanings assigned by Section 42.002, Human Resources Code.
		(2)  "Foster care" means the placement of a child who is 
in the conservatorship of the department or an authorized agency 
and in care outside the child's home in an agency foster group home, 
agency foster home, foster group home, foster home, or another 
facility licensed or certified under Chapter 42, Human Resources 
Code, in which care is provided for 24 hours a day.
		(3)  "Foster children's bill of rights" means a list of 
rights described by Subsection (b).
	(b)  It is the policy of this state that each child in foster 
care be informed of the child's rights under state or federal law or 
policy that relate to:
		(1)  abuse, neglect, exploitation, discrimination, and 
harassment;   
		(2)  food, clothing, shelter, and education;                           
		(3)  medical, dental, vision, and mental health 
services, including when the child may have the right to consent to 
treatment;
		(4)  emergency behavior intervention, including what 
methods are permitted and not permitted, when emergency behavior 
intervention may be used, precautions that caregivers must take 
before, during, and after implementing emergency behavior 
intervention;
		(5)  placement with siblings and contacts with members 
of the child's family;
		(6)  privacy, including storage space, searches, mail, 
and telephone conversations;
		(7)  participation in school-related extracurricular 
or community activities;
		(8)  interactions with persons outside of the foster 
care system, including teachers, church members, mentors, and 
friends;
		(9)  contact and communication with a caseworker, 
attorney ad litem, guardian ad litem, and court-appointed special 
advocate;
		(10)  religious services and activities;                               
		(11)  confidentiality of the child's records;                          
		(12)  job skills, personal finances, and preparation 
for adulthood;  
		(13)  participation in court hearings that involve the 
child;        
		(14)  participation in the development of service and 
treatment plans;
		(15)  the advocacy and protection of rights of a child 
with a disability; and
		(16)  any other subject affecting the child's ability 
to receive care and treatment in the least restrictive environment 
that is most like a family setting, consistent with the best 
interests and needs of the child.
	(c)  The department shall provide a written copy of the 
foster children's bill of rights to each child placed in foster care 
in the child's primary language, if possible, and shall inform the 
child of the rights provided by the foster children's bill of 
rights:
		(1)  orally in the child's primary language, if 
possible, and in simple, nontechnical terms; or
		(2)  for a child who has a disability, including an 
impairment of vision or hearing, through any means that can 
reasonably be expected to result in successful communication with 
the child.
	                                                                        
	(d)  A child placed in foster care may, at the child's 
option, sign a document acknowledging the child's understanding of 
the foster children's bill of rights after the department provides 
a written copy of the foster children's bill of rights to the child 
and informs the child of the rights provided by that bill of rights 
in accordance with Subsection (c).  If a child signs a document 
acknowledging the child's understanding of the foster children's 
bill of rights, the document must be placed in the child's case 
file.
	(e)  An agency foster group home, agency foster home, foster 
group home, foster home, or other facility in which a child is 
placed in foster care shall provide a copy of the foster children's 
bill of rights to a child on the child's request.  The foster 
children's bill of rights must be printed in English and in a second 
language.
	(f)  The department shall promote the participation of 
foster children and former foster children in educating other 
foster children about the foster children's bill of rights.
	(g)  Except as provided by this subsection, the executive 
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission and the 
department, as appropriate, shall ensure that the rules and 
policies governing foster care are consistent with the state policy 
outlined by Subsection (b).  The executive commissioner or the 
department, as appropriate, may adopt rules or policies that 
provide greater protections for the rights of children in foster 
care.
	(h)  The department shall develop and implement a policy for 
receiving and handling reports that a foster child's rights are not 
being met.  The department shall inform a child and, as appropriate, 
the child's managing conservator or guardian of the method for 
reporting to the department that the child's rights are not being 
met.
	(i)  This section does not create a cause of action.