83R5305 MCK-D

By: Dukes 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. COMMISSION TO ELIMINATE CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT FATALITIES. (a) The Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities consists of the following 12 members:

(1) six members appointed by the governor;

(2) three members appointed by the lieutenant governor; and

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

(b) The governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint 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) forensic pathology or medical investigation of injury and fatality;

(10) social work, with field experience;

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

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

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

(14) substance abuse treatment;

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

(16) education at an institution of higher education;

(17) epidemiology; or

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

SECTION 3. DIVERSITY OF QUALIFICATIONS. In making appointments to the commission, the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives shall make every effort to select individuals whose qualifications are not already represented by other members of the commission.

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 regularly 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. The commission shall review:

(1) 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;

(2) 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;

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

(4) 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;

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

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

SECTION 9. RECOMMENDATIONS. The commission shall:

(1) develop recommendations 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; and

(2) 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, 2014, 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 Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities is abolished and this Act expires September 1, 2015.

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