| TO: | Honorable Chris Harris, Chair, Senate Committee on Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1643 by Uresti (Relating to mandatory dismissal deadlines and extended jurisdiction in suits affecting the parent child relationship to which the Department of Family and Protective Services is a party.), As Introduced |
SECTION 5 of the bill would require judicial status reviews at least every six months for children age 18 or older in extended foster care placements. This would satisfy case plan requirements for Title IV-E reimbursement under the U.S. Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. It would also allow the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to use federal matching funds in lieu of state funds to pay for extended foster care maintenance costs. DFPS estimates that 222 children (monthly FTEs) will be affected by the new method of finance in fiscal year 2012. It is assumed that the number of affected children will increase by 5 percent each fiscal year, and that 73 pecent of the affected children will be eligible for Title IV-E benefits. This will result in a cost to the General Revenue Fund of $0.1 million per fiscal year due to state match requirements, and a savings in TANF Federal Funds that is offset by the cost of federal matching funds ($2.0 million in fiscal year 2012, rising to $2.5 million in fiscal year 2016). It is assumed that DFPS can absorb the cost to implement the provisions of the bill within available resources. The Office of Court Administration reports that no significant impact on the courts is anticipated.
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, JT, MB, NM, VJC, TB
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