83R2611 YDB-F
 
  By: Otto H.B. No. 1100
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to eligibility of children's advocacy centers for
  contracts to provide services for children and family members in
  child abuse and neglect cases.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 264.411, Family Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.411.  ELIGIBILITY FOR CONTRACTS. (a) A public
  entity that operated as a center under this subchapter before
  November 1, 1995, or a nonprofit entity is eligible for a contract
  under Section 264.410 if the entity:
               (1)  has a signed memorandum of understanding as
  provided by Section 264.403;
               (2)  operates under the authority of a governing board
  as provided by Section 264.404;
               (3)  has a multidisciplinary team of persons involved
  in the investigation or prosecution of child abuse cases or the
  delivery of services as provided by Section 264.406;
               (4)  holds regularly scheduled case reviews as provided
  by Section 264.406;
               (5)  operates in a neutral and physically separate
  space from the day-to-day operations of any public agency partner;
               (6)  has developed a method of statistical information
  gathering on children receiving services through the center and
  shares such statistical information with the statewide
  organization, the department, and the office of the attorney
  general when requested;
               (7)  has an in-house volunteer program;
               (8)  employs an executive director who is answerable to
  the board of directors of the entity and who is not the exclusive
  salaried employee of any public agency partner; [and]
               (9)  operates under a working protocol that includes a
  statement of:
                     (A)  the center's mission;
                     (B)  each agency's role and commitment to the
  center;
                     (C)  the type of cases to be handled by the center;
                     (D)  the center's procedures for conducting case
  reviews and forensic interviews and for ensuring access to
  specialized medical and mental health services; and
                     (E)  the center's policies regarding
  confidentiality and conflict resolution; and
               (10)  implements at the center the following program
  components:
                     (A)  a case tracking system that monitors
  statistical information on each child and nonoffending family
  member or other caregiver who receives services through the center
  and that includes progress and disposition information for each
  service the multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to
  the client;
                     (B)  a child-focused setting that is comfortable,
  private, and physically and psychologically safe for diverse
  populations of children and nonoffending family members and other
  caregivers;
                     (C)  family advocacy and victim support services
  that include comprehensive case management and victim support
  services available to each child and the child's nonoffending
  family members or other caregivers as part of the services the
  multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
                     (D)  forensic interviews conducted in a neutral,
  fact-finding manner and coordinated to avoid duplicative
  interviewing;
                     (E)  specialized medical evaluation and treatment
  services that are available to all children who receive services
  through the center and coordinated with the services the
  multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a child;
                     (F)  specialized trauma-focused mental health
  services that are designed to meet the unique needs of child abuse
  victims and the victims' nonoffending family members or other
  caregivers and that are available as part of the services the
  multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
  and
                     (G)  a system to ensure that all services
  available to center clients are culturally competent and diverse
  and are coordinated with the services the multidisciplinary team
  determines should be provided to a client.
         (b)  The statewide organization may waive the requirements
  specified in Subsection (a) if it determines that the waiver will
  not adversely affect the center's ability to carry out its duties
  under Section 264.405. [Any waiver that is granted must be
  identified in the written contract with the center.]
         SECTION 2.  Section 264.411, Family Code, as amended by this
  Act, applies only to a contract entered into under Section 264.410,
  Family Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A contract
  entered into before the effective date of this Act is governed by
  the law in effect on the date the contract was entered into, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.