| TO: | Honorable Chris Harris, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB218 by Nelson (relating to procedures in certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship and the operation of the child protective services foster care systems.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
SECTION 2 would require the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) under certain circumstances to seek an emergency order for possession of a child younger than 11 years of age who has a sexually transmitted disease. It would also require the agency to appoint a special investigator, to ensure the child undergoes a forensic interview, and to follow other procedures in these cases. DFPS indicates it already appoints special investigators, conducts forensic interviews, and follows other best practice procedures in many cases and would not require additional resources to do so in all cases.
SECTION 5 would authorize the agency to obtain criminal history record information maintained by the Department of Public Safety relating to persons having contact with young adults receiving extended foster care services in supervised independent living settings. DFPS indicates criminal history record information is already being obtained for most of the persons who will be providing supervised independent living services, and estimates that an additional 25 to 50 requests would be processed each year under the new provision. The agency also indicates it would only seek criminal history record information for regular and frequent visitors to young adults in the supervised independent living program as needed. It is assumed that any increase in revenue from these requests would be insignificant.
SECTION 7 would waive driver’s license fees for persons under 18 in DFPS managing conservatorship, and for persons between 18 and 21 residing in paid foster care placements. The provision that would provide a free driver's license to certain children in foster care would result in an indeterminate loss of revenue to the Texas Mobility Fund, but this is not anticipated to be significant. Additionally, Article 3, Section 49-k, of the Texas Constitution, specifies that while money in the Texas Mobility Fund is pledged for the payment of any outstanding debt obligations, the Legislature may not reduce, rescind, or repeal the dedication of a specific source or portion of revenue dedicated to the Texas Mobility Fund unless the Legislature by law dedicates a substitute or different source of revenue that is projected by the Comptroller to be of a value equal to or greater than the source or amount being reduced, rescinded, or repealed.
SECTION 8 would require DFPS to redesign the foster care system in accordance with the recommendations contained in a report submitted to the Legislature. These recommendations include delinking provider reimbursement rates and children’s individual service levels; competitively procuring contractors to provide a full continuum of services in catchment areas; establishing a single daily blended rate or single daily blended case rate for each catchment area; using performance-based contracting with financial incentives and remedies; allocating other existing funds so contractors can coordinate the delivery of services to parents; and phasing in the redesigned system across the state with staged implementation in catchment areas. The report also indicates that administrative functions, placement resources, and foster-adoptive home development responsibilities would be transferred to contractors, and agency foster homes would be absorbed into the continuum of services.
SECTION 8 would also authorize the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to use payment rates for foster care under the redesigned system that are different from those used on the effective date of the Act for 24-hour residential child care; allow the alternative rates to include incentive payments and funding for additional services provided to families historically included in 24-hour residential child-care rates; and prohibit the alternative rates from exceeding the amounts appropriated for foster care and other purchased services for any fiscal year, except to the extent that an increase in total foster care expenditures is the direct result of caseload growth.
The fiscal implications of implementing the recommendations contained in the report submitted to the Legislature (Improving Child and Youth Placement Outcomes: A System Redesign) and other provisions of the bill cannot be determined at this time. Some potential cost drivers include developing technology interfaces to allow providers to enter service data in the agency’s automated case management system; modifying the payment system to accommodate additional foster care rates; transitioning agency foster care homes to private child-placing agencies (estimated to be a $2.42 increase in the average daily foster care rate for all service levels included in the initial redesign); making other purchased services an entitlement; and providing oversight of the new system. Some potential cost savings include fewer contracts for the agency to manage and, over time, shorter lengths of stay in paid foster care for children. The agency indicates that foster care redesign would be accomplished within existing resources with some need for flexibility to re-direct funds.
The bill would take effect on September 1, 2011.
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 405 Department of Public Safety, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, JT, MB, NM, VJC
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