H.B. No. 824

AN ACT

relating to an outreach campaign to promote fathers' involvement with their children before birth.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 32, Health and Safety Code, is amended by adding Section 32.0211 to read as follows:

Sec. 32.0211. WOMEN, INFANTS AND CHILDREN PROGRAM OUTREACH CAMPAIGN TO PROMOTE FATHERS' INVOLVEMENT. (a) The attorney general shall:

(1) subject to Subsections (b) and (c), develop and periodically update a publication that:

(A) describes the importance and long-term positive effects on children of a father's involvement during a mother's pregnancy; and

(B) provides guidance to prospective fathers on the positive actions that they can take to support the pregnant mother during pregnancy and the effect those actions have on pregnancy outcomes; and

(2) make the publication described by Subdivision (1) available to any agency, organization, or other entity that contracts with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and on the attorney general's Internet website in a format that allows the public to download and print the publication.

(b) The publication developed by the attorney general under Subsection (a) must include:

(1) information regarding the steps that unmarried parents must take if the parents want to establish legal paternity and the benefits of paternity establishment for children;

(2) a worksheet to help fathers identify personal risk behaviors, including smoking, substance abuse, and unemployment;

(3) information regarding how a father's personal risk behaviors may affect the father's child and a guide to resources that are available to the father to assist in making necessary lifestyle changes;

(4) information for fathers about the mother's prenatal health, including the emotional and physical changes a mother will experience throughout pregnancy, the mother's nutritional needs, and an explanation of how the father may help the mother meet those needs;

(5) an explanation of prenatal health care visits, including an explanation of what they are and what to expect, and the practical ways a father may support the mother throughout pregnancy;

(6) information regarding a child's prenatal health, including the child's developmental stages, the importance of attending prenatal health care visits, the practical ways a father may contribute to healthy baby outcomes, and actions the father may take to prepare for the birth of a child;

(7) an explanation regarding prenatal tests, including an explanation of what the tests are and what tests to expect;

(8) basic infant care information, including:

(A) information regarding the basics of dressing, diapering, bathing, consoling, and stimulating an infant;

(B) health and safety issues, including issues relating to nutritional information, sleep needs and expectations, baby-proofing a home, and what to expect at the first well-child visits; and

(C) information on bonding and attachment and how each relates to an infant's development;

(9) healthy relationship and coparenting information, including communication strategies, conflict resolution strategies, and problem-solving techniques for coparenting;

(10) worksheets, activities, and exercises to aid fathers and the couple in exploring the following topics:

(A) personal ideas about fatherhood and the role of the father in the family system;

(B) the immediate and long-term benefits of father involvement specific to their family; and

(C) perceived barriers to father involvement and strategies for overcoming those barriers; and

(11) activities and projects for fathers that increase the fathers' understanding of the stages of child developmental and health and safety issues.

(c) In developing the publication required by Subsection (a), the attorney general shall consult with:

(1) the department as the state agency responsible for administering the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and this state's program under the Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. Section 701 et seq.); and

(2) the Texas Council on Family Violence.

(d) An agency, organization, or other entity that contracts with the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children shall make the publication described by Subsection (a) available to each client receiving clinical or nutritional services under the program.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 32.0211(d), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, the Department of State Health Services and an agency, organization, or other entity providing services under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children are not required to comply with that section until the attorney general makes the publication available as described by Section 32.0211(a)(2), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 3. If before implementing any provision of this Act a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision, the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the waiver or authorization is granted.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it 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, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.

______________________________ ______________________________

President of the Senate Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 824 was passed by the House on March 30, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 136, Nays 9, 1 present, not voting.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 824 was passed by the Senate on May 19, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________

Date

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Governor