By: Dukes, et al. H.B. No. 1633

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to creating an advisory committee to study child abuse and neglect fatalities.

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

SECTION 1. PROTECT OUR KIDS COMMISSION. (a) The Protect Our Kids Commission is composed of the following members:

(1) six members appointed by the governor;

(2) three members appointed by the lieutenant governor;

(3) three members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

(4) one member with experience in behavioral health and substance abuse appointed by the commissioner of the Department of State Health Services;

(5) one member who represents the Department of Family and Protective Services appointed by the commissioner of the department; and

(6) one member who represents the Office of Title V and Family Health of the Department of State Health Services appointed by the office director.

(b) The appropriate appointing authority shall appoint the members to the commission not later than December 31, 2013.

SECTION 2. QUALIFICATIONS. Each member appointed to the commission must have experience in one or more of the following areas:

(1) child welfare administration;

(2) child welfare research;

(3) child development;

(4) legislation, including legislation involving child welfare matters;

(5) trauma and crisis intervention;

(6) pediatrics;

(7) psychology and mental health;

(8) emergency medicine;

(9) neonatology;

(10) forensic pathology or medical investigation of injury and fatality;

(11) social work, with field experience;

(12) child protective services, with field experience;

(13) law enforcement, with experience handling child abuse and neglect matters;

(14) civil law, with experience handling child abuse and neglect matters;

(15) criminal law, with experience handling child abuse and neglect matters;

(16) substance abuse treatment;

(17) provision of services to families who had a child die of sudden infant death syndrome;

(18) provision of services to or advocacy for victims of family violence;

(19) service on a task force for reducing child abuse and neglect and improving child welfare;

(20) education at an elementary school or secondary school;

(21) education at an institution of higher education;

(22) epidemiology; or

(23) computer science or software engineering, with a background in interoperability standards.

SECTION 3. DIVERSITY OF QUALIFICATIONS. In making appointments to the commission, each appointing authority shall make every effort to select individuals:

(1) whose qualifications are not already represented by other members of the commission; and

(2) who reflect the geographical, cultural, racial, and ethnic diversity of the state.

SECTION 4. PRESIDING OFFICER. The governor shall designate one of the governor's appointees as presiding officer of the commission.

SECTION 5. VACANCY. A vacancy on the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

SECTION 6. MEETINGS. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date on which a majority of the members of the commission have been appointed, the commission shall hold its first meeting.

(b) The commission shall meet at least once each calendar quarter and at other times as necessary at the call of the presiding officer.

(c) The commission may take testimony and receive evidence the commission considers advisable to carry out its duties.

SECTION 7. COMPENSATION. Members of the commission serve without compensation and are not entitled to reimbursement for expenses.

SECTION 8. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. The commission shall study the relationship between child protective services and child welfare services and the rate of child abuse and neglect fatalities. As part of the study, the commission shall:

(1) evaluate current programs and prevention efforts, and recommend a comprehensive statewide strategy to reduce and prevent fatalities from child abuse and neglect; and

(2) review:

(A) current research, including the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and research and recommendations from the United States Government Accountability Office, to identify lessons, solutions, and needed improvements related to reducing fatalities from child abuse and neglect;

(B) the effectiveness of child protective services and child welfare services in preventing child fatalities that are intentionally caused or that occur due to negligence, neglect, or a failure to exercise proper care;

(C) the effectiveness of the Department of Family and Protective Services' policies and systems aimed at collecting accurate, uniform data on child fatalities in a coordinated fashion, including the identification of the most and least effective policies and systems in practice;

(D) any existing barriers to preventing fatalities from child abuse and neglect, and how to improve child welfare outcomes;

(E) trends in demographic and other risk factors that may predict or that are related to child abuse, including age of the child, child behavior, family structure, parental stress, and poverty;

(F) methods of prioritizing child abuse and neglect prevention for families with the highest need; and

(G) methods of improving data collection and use, including increasing interoperability among state, local, and other data systems.

SECTION 9. RECOMMENDATIONS. The commission shall:

(1) identify promising practices and evidence-based strategies to address and reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect;

(2) develop recommendations and identify resources necessary to reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect for implementation by state and local agencies and private sector and nonprofit organizations, including recommendations to implement a comprehensive statewide strategy for reducing those fatalities;

(3) develop guidelines for ensuring that each county in the state is covered by a child fatality review team created under Subchapter F, Chapter 264, Family Code, and provide specific recommendations for a child fatality review team investigating a child fatality that is caused by abuse or neglect; and

(4) develop guidelines for the types of information that should be tracked to improve interventions to prevent fatalities from child abuse and neglect.

SECTION 10. GIFTS. The commission may accept gifts and grants of money, property, and services from any source to be used to conduct a function of the commission.

SECTION 11. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2015, the commission shall submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives a report containing:

(1) the commission's findings and recommendations;

(2) a complete explanation of each of the commission's recommendations;

(3) proposed legislation necessary to implement the recommendations made in the report; and

(4) any administrative recommendations proposed by the commission.

SECTION 12. APPLICATION OF LAW GOVERNING ADVISORY COMMITTEES. The commission is not subject to Chapter 2110, Government Code.

SECTION 13. EXPIRATION DATE. The Protect Our Kids Commission is abolished and this Act expires December 31, 2015.

SECTION 14. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.