81R32168 MCK-D
 
  By: Nelson, et al. S.B. No. 493
 
  Substitute the following for S.B. No. 493:
 
  By:  Rose C.S.S.B. No. 493
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to benefits and services for children in the
  conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
  Services.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 54.211, Education Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 54.211.  EXEMPTIONS FOR STUDENTS IN FOSTER OR OTHER
  RESIDENTIAL CARE.  (a)  A student is exempt from the payment of
  tuition and fees authorized in this chapter if the student:
               (1)  was in [foster care or other residential care
  under] the conservatorship of the Department of Family and
  Protective Services [on or after]:
                     (A)  on the day preceding the student's 18th
  birthday;
                     (B)  on or after the day of the student's 14th
  birthday, if the student was also eligible for adoption on or after
  that day; [or]
                     (C)  on the day the student graduated from high
  school or received the equivalent of a high school diploma; or
                     (D)  on the day preceding:
                           (i)  the date the student is adopted, if that
  date is on or after September 1, 2009; or
                           (ii)  the date permanent managing
  conservatorship of the student is awarded to a person other than the
  student's parent, if that date is on or after September 1, 2009; and
               (2)  enrolls in an institution of higher education as
  an undergraduate student not later than [:
                     [(A)     the third anniversary of the date the
  student was discharged from the foster or other residential care,
  the date the student graduated from high school, or the date the
  student received the equivalent of a high school diploma, whichever
  date is earliest; or
                     [(B)]  the student's 25th [21st] birthday.
         (b)  The Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher
  Education Coordinating Board shall develop outreach programs to
  ensure that students in the conservatorship of the Department of
  Family and Protective Services and [foster or other residential
  care] in grades 9-12 are aware of the availability of the exemption
  from the payment of tuition and fees provided by this section.
         SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 261.312, Family Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  A review team consists of at least five members who
  serve staggered two-year terms. Review team members are appointed
  by the director of the department and consist of volunteers who live
  in and are broadly representative of the region in which the review
  team is established and have expertise in the prevention and
  treatment of child abuse and neglect. At least two members of a
  review team [community representatives and private citizens who
  live in the region for which the team is established. Each member]
  must be parents [a parent] who have [has] not been convicted of or
  indicted for an offense involving child abuse or neglect, have
  [has] not been determined by the department to have engaged in child
  abuse or neglect, and are [or is] not under investigation by the
  department for child abuse or neglect. A member of a review team is
  a department volunteer for the purposes of Section 411.114,
  Government Code.
         SECTION 3.  Section 263.3025, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  In accordance with department rules, a child's
  permanency plan must include concurrent permanency goals
  consisting of a primary permanency goal and at least one alternate
  permanency goal.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter D, Chapter 263, Family Code, is
  amended by adding Section 263.3026 to read as follows:
         Sec. 263.3026.  PERMANENCY GOALS; LIMITATION. (a)  The
  department's permanency plan for a child may include as a goal:
               (1)  the reunification of the child with a parent or
  other individual from whom the child was removed;
               (2)  the termination of parental rights and adoption of
  the child by a relative or other suitable individual;
               (3)  the award of permanent managing conservatorship of
  the child to a relative or other suitable individual; or
               (4)  another planned, permanent living arrangement for
  the child.
         (b)  If the goal of the department's permanency plan for a
  child is to find another planned, permanent living arrangement for
  the child, the department shall document that there is a compelling
  reason why the other permanency goals identified in Subsection (a)
  are not in the child's best interest.
         SECTION 5.  Subsection (b), Section 263.303, Family Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The permanency progress report must:
               (1)  recommend that the suit be dismissed; or
               (2)  recommend that the suit continue, and:
                     (A)  identify the date for dismissal of the suit
  under this chapter;
                     (B)  provide:
                           (i)  the name of any person entitled to
  notice under Chapter 102 who has not been served;
                           (ii)  a description of the efforts by the
  department or another agency to locate and request service of
  citation; and
                           (iii)  a description of each parent's
  assistance in providing information necessary to locate an unserved
  party;
                     (C)  evaluate the parties' compliance with
  temporary orders and with the service plan;
                     (D)  evaluate whether the child's placement in
  substitute care meets the child's needs and recommend other plans
  or services to meet the child's special needs or circumstances;
                     (E)  describe the permanency plan for the child
  and recommend actions necessary to ensure that a final order
  consistent with that permanency plan, including the concurrent
  permanency goals contained in that plan, is rendered before the
  date for dismissal of the suit under this chapter; and
                     (F)  with respect to a child 16 years of age or
  older, identify the services needed to assist the child in the
  transition to adult life.
         SECTION 6.  Subsection (b), Section 263.306, Family Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The court shall also review the service plan, permanency
  report, and other information submitted at the hearing to:
               (1)  determine:
                     (A)  the safety of the child;
                     (B)  the continuing necessity and appropriateness
  of the placement;
                     (C)  the extent of compliance with the case plan;
  [and]
                     (D)  the extent of progress that has been made
  toward alleviating or mitigating the causes necessitating the
  placement of the child in foster care; and
                     (E)  whether the department has made reasonable
  efforts to finalize the permanency plan that is in effect for the
  child, including the concurrent permanency goals for the child; and
               (2)  project a likely date by which the child may be
  returned to and safely maintained in the child's home, placed for
  adoption, or placed in permanent managing conservatorship.
         SECTION 7.  Subsection (b), Section 263.501, Family Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (b)  If the department has been named as a child's managing
  conservator in a final order that terminates a parent's parental
  rights, the court shall conduct a placement review hearing not
  later than the 90th day after the date the court renders the final
  order. The court shall conduct additional [a] placement review
  hearings [hearing] at least once every six months until the date the
  child is adopted or the child becomes an adult.
         SECTION 8.  Section 263.502, Family Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
  follows:
         (c)  The placement review report must identify the
  department's permanency goal for the child and must:
               (1)  evaluate whether the child's current placement is
  appropriate for meeting the child's needs;
               (2)  evaluate whether efforts have been made to ensure
  placement of the child in the least restrictive environment
  consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child if
  the child is placed in institutional care;
               (3)  contain a transition [discharge] plan for a child
  who is at least 16 years of age that identifies the services and
  specific tasks that are needed to assist the child in making the
  transition from substitute care to adult living and describes the
  services that are being provided [available] through the
  Transitional Living Services [Preparation for Adult Living]
  Program operated by the department;
               (4)  evaluate whether the child's current educational
  placement is appropriate for meeting the child's academic needs;
               (5)  identify other plans or services that are needed
  to meet the child's special needs or circumstances; [and]
               (6)  describe the efforts of the department or
  authorized agency to place the child for adoption if parental
  rights to the child have been terminated and the child is eligible
  for adoption, including efforts to provide adoption promotion and
  support services as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 629a and other
  efforts consistent with the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act
  of 1997 (Pub. L. No. 105-89); and
               (7)  for a child for whom the department has been named
  managing conservator in a final order that does not include
  termination of parental rights, describe the efforts of the
  department to find a permanent placement for the child, including
  efforts to:
                     (A)  work with the caregiver with whom the child
  is placed to determine whether that caregiver is willing to become a
  permanent placement for the child;
                     (B)  locate a relative or other suitable
  individual to serve as permanent managing conservator of the child;
  and
                     (C)  evaluate any change in a parent's
  circumstances to determine whether:
                           (i)  the child can be returned to the parent;
  or
                           (ii)  parental rights should be terminated.
         (d)  If the goal of the department's permanency plan for a
  child is to find another planned, permanent living arrangement, the
  placement review report must document a compelling reason why
  adoption, permanent managing conservatorship with a relative or
  other suitable individual, or returning the child to a parent are
  not in the child's best interest.
         SECTION 9.  Section 263.503, Family Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 263.503.  PLACEMENT REVIEW HEARINGS; PROCEDURE.  
  (a)  At each placement review hearing, the court shall determine
  whether:
               (1)  the child's current placement is necessary, safe,
  and appropriate for meeting the child's needs, including with
  respect to a child placed outside of the state, whether the
  placement continues to be appropriate and in the best interest of
  the child;
               (2)  efforts have been made to ensure placement of the
  child in the least restrictive environment consistent with the best
  interest and special needs of the child if the child is placed in
  institutional care;
               (3)  the services that are needed to assist a child who
  is at least 16 years of age in making the transition from substitute
  care to independent living are available in the community;
               (4)  other plans or services are needed to meet the
  child's special needs or circumstances;
               (5)  the department or authorized agency has exercised
  due diligence in attempting to place the child for adoption if
  parental rights to the child have been terminated and the child is
  eligible for adoption; [and]
               (6)  for a child for whom the department has been named
  managing conservator in a final order that does not include
  termination of parental rights, a permanent placement, including
  appointing a relative as permanent managing conservator or
  returning the child to a parent, is appropriate for the child;
               (7)  for a child whose permanency goal is another
  planned, permanent living arrangement, the department has:
                     (A)  documented a compelling reason why adoption,
  permanent managing conservatorship with a relative or other
  suitable individual, or returning the child to a parent is not in
  the child's best interest; and
                     (B)  identified a family or other caring adult who
  has made a permanent commitment to the child; and
               (8)  the department or authorized agency has made
  reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan that is in
  effect for the child.
         (b)  For a child for whom the department has been named
  managing conservator in a final order that does not include
  termination of parental rights, the court may order the department
  to provide services to a parent for not more than six months after
  the date of the placement review hearing if:
               (1)  the child has not been placed with a relative or
  other individual, including a foster parent, who is seeking
  permanent managing conservatorship of the child; and
               (2)  the court determines that further efforts at
  reunification with a parent are:
                     (A)  in the best interest of the child; and
                     (B)  likely to result in the child's safe return
  to the child's parent.
         SECTION 10.  (a)  The changes in law made by this Act to
  Section 54.211, Education Code, apply beginning with tuition and
  fees imposed by a public institution of higher education for the
  2009 fall semester. Tuition and fees for a term or semester before
  the 2009 fall semester are covered by the law in effect immediately
  before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  The change in law made by this Act to Subsection (b),
  Section 263.501, Family Code, applies only to a child in the
  conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services
  for whom a final order in a suit affecting the parent-child
  relationship is rendered on or after the effective date of this Act.
  A child in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and
  Protective Services for whom a final order in a suit affecting the
  parent-child relationship is rendered before the effective date of
  this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the final order
  was rendered, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 11.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
  this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
         (b)  This section and the section of this Act that amends
  Section 54.211, Education Code, take effect immediately if this Act
  receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
  house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  
  If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
  effect, those sections take effect September 1, 2009.