83R3046 YDB-D

By: Dukes H.B. No. 3431

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to procedures in certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship and the operation of the child protective services and foster care systems.

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

SECTION 1. Section 107.002, Family Code, is amended by adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:

(j) This subsection applies to a guardian ad litem who is appointed to represent a child in the managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services unless the court renders an order exempting the guardian ad litem from compliance with this subsection. Before each scheduled hearing, the guardian ad litem must notify the court of any court-ordered foster care services that have not been provided to the child or the child's family in a reasonable time or the time specified by the court. A court requiring notice under this subsection shall establish the procedures that the guardian ad litem must follow to provide the notice.

SECTION 2. Subtitle D, Title 2, Human Resources Code, is amended by adding Chapter 41 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 41. SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTS

SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 41.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "single source continuum" means a range of foster care services specified by the department that is provided by one foster care service provider and its subcontractors.

Sec. 41.002. RULES. The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter.

SUBCHAPTER B. SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

Sec. 41.051. SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTORS. The department may contract with a single source continuum contractor to provide foster care services in a designated geographic region of this state. Subject to Section 41.053, the contractor may provide the services directly or through a network of subcontractors.

Sec. 41.052. CONTRACT MONITORING SYSTEM; ANNUAL REPORT. (a) The department shall establish a system to monitor each single source continuum contractor's performance under a contract to provide foster care services in a designated geographic region of this state. The system must require the contractor to provide to the department, in the manner prescribed by the department, information related to the contractor, contract, and services provided under the contract.

(b) The information provided under Subsection (a) at a minimum must allow for:

(1) early identification of any potential problems with the single source continuum contractor's delivery of foster care services;

(2) an evaluation of the contractor's foster care program operations, financial accountability for the operations, and continued viability to provide foster care services;

(3) a comparison of the contractor's actual expenses with the contractor's budgeted expenses and an analysis of any variances between those amounts;

(4) an evaluation of the contractor's adherence to approved cost allocation plans; and

(5) an evaluation of the contractor's cash flow and cash balances.

(c) The monitoring system must require each single source continuum contractor to submit to the department:

(1) documentation on the accuracy and timeliness of invoices submitted by the contractor to the department;

(2) documentation on the timeliness of payments to subcontractors with whom the contractor contracts to provide foster care services;

(3) documentation on the composition of the contractor's management, administrative, direct care, and other foster care program staff and on the ratio of administrative staff to direct care staff;

(4) quarterly documentation on the number of contractor staff vacancies, the percentage of contractor staff positions filled compared to the total number of budgeted positions, and any apparent trend in the number of vacant staff positions, including identification of any known reasons for the vacancies; and

(5) documentation on and an analysis of the contractor's foster care program, including:

(A) the size of the contractor's caseload;

(B) the average time that a child receives foster care services from the contractor or a subcontractor, including residential services;

(C) the ages of children receiving foster care services;

(D) the percentage of children receiving in-home foster care services and the percentage of children receiving foster care services outside the home;

(E) the support services available to the families of the children receiving foster care services from the contractor;

(F) the prevention and diversion services available to the children and their families; and

(G) the percentage of the contractor's corporate net worth represented by the contractor's contract with the department.

(d) Not later than October 1 of each year, the department, in the manner prescribed by the Legislative Budget Board, shall submit to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board a report on the viability and performance of each single source continuum contractor with which the department has contracted under this subchapter.

Sec. 41.053. SERVICE PERCENTAGE LIMITATION ON SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTS. (a) In this section, "core foster care services" includes case management services, placement services, residential and shelter services, foster and adoptive home recruitment and retention services, adoption services, independent living services, service coordination, behavioral health services, assessment services, and any other service central to the foster care system specified by the department.

(b) Except as provided by Section 41.054, a single source continuum contractor may not directly provide more than 35 percent of the foster care services in a geographic region of the state paid under contracts with the department. The percentage must be calculated based on the total amount paid in each state fiscal year for all core foster care services directly provided by the contractor and not on the category of service provided by the contractor to allow the contractor flexibility in structuring the provision of services under the contract.

Sec. 41.054. TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM SERVICE PERCENTAGE LIMITATION. (a) The department may temporarily exempt a single source continuum contractor from the service percentage limitation provided by Section 41.053 in a region that does not have enough foster care service providers to manage the number of child protective services cases in the region.

(b) An exemption granted under this section may not exceed six months.

(c) A single source continuum contractor may apply for a temporary exemption by submitting to the department in the manner prescribed by the department:

(1) documentation of the shortage of available foster care service providers in the region; and

(2) a plan, developed by the contractor in consultation with county child welfare boards and other appropriate local interested parties in the region, to increase the number of foster care service providers in the region or the capacity of those providers before the temporary exemption expires.

(d) The commissioner shall approve or disapprove a request for a temporary exemption under this section based on the documentation and plan submitted by the single source continuum contractor.

(e) The department shall consult with the county child welfare boards and other appropriate local interested parties in a region in which a temporary exemption has been granted to:

(1) establish criteria for documenting the shortage of available foster care service providers in the region and determining when the shortage has been alleviated; and

(2) determine the actions necessary to increase the number of available foster care service providers in the area or the capacity of those providers before the temporary exemption expires.

Sec. 41.055. TRANSFER OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR FOSTER CARE SERVICE TO CONTRACTOR. The department may not transfer to a single source continuum contractor the responsibility of providing foster care services under a contract with the department until:

(1) the department and the readiness assessment team complete a readiness assessment of the contractor under Section 41.056;

(2) the readiness assessment team determines and certifies in writing to the commissioner that the department is prepared to transfer the responsibility for providing foster care services to the contractor and the contractor is ready to deliver and be held accountable for the services; and

(3) based on the results of the readiness assessment, the commissioner determines that the contractor is sufficiently ready for the department to transfer responsibility for the provision of foster care services to the contractor.

Sec. 41.056. READINESS ASSESSMENT. (a) The department shall conduct a readiness assessment on a single source continuum contractor to:

(1) based on criteria developed under Subsection (c), evaluate the contractor's readiness to provide foster care services in a geographic region of this state under a contract with the department and to be held accountable for delivery of the services in that region; and

(2) identify any weakness that would adversely affect the contractor's delivery of foster care services in the region and allow the contractor to take corrective actions to address the weakness before the contractor accepts clients under the contract.

(b) The department, in consultation with single source continuum contractors, shall develop a readiness assessment process that includes:

(1) the preparation of a draft readiness assessment report;

(2) a review of the draft report by a readiness assessment team appointment under Section 41.057;

(3) an on-site visit of the contractor's business and other service locations by the readiness assessment team not later than the 120th day after the date the contract is signed by the contractor and the department;

(4) a review of the contractor's finalized operational plan by the team and department; and

(5) a subsequent on-site visit of the contractor's business and other service locations not earlier than the 45th day or later than the 30th day before the date the contractor is scheduled to begin accepting clients.

(c) The department shall develop a set of uniform criteria for conducting the readiness assessment. The criteria at a minimum must:

(1) reflect applicable national accreditation standards considered appropriate by the department;

(2) consider local criteria that reflect the geographic region in which the single source continuum contractor will be providing services;

(3) realistically assess the contractor's readiness to begin foster care service delivery and accept clients;

(4) require specific evidence of the contractor's readiness on each element specified in the assessment, including each element identified as needing improvement and actions taken to address elements needing improvement; and

(5) allow the department to evaluate:

(A) the contractor's obligations under the contract;

(B) the contractor's foster care program operations, including financial competency, data collection and information technology security, technical assistance competency, program organization, staffing levels, personnel training, procedures for monitoring foster care service provider subcontractors, and consumer complaint procedures; and

(C) any other factor the department determines useful.

(d) The department shall provide detailed instructions on, and examples of, the information a readiness assessment team and single source continuum contractor are required to submit under this section.

Sec. 41.057. READINESS ASSESSMENT TEAM. (a) The department shall appoint a readiness assessment team to assess a single source continuum contractor's readiness to deliver foster care services and accept clients before the responsibility of providing the services is transferred to the contractor.

(b) A readiness assessment team consists of the following four members:

(1) one representative of the department from the department's central office;

(2) one representative of the department from the department's office in the geographic region in which the contractor has contracted to provide foster care services; and

(3) two members appointed by the commissioner who represent interested parties in the area.

(c) The commissioner shall select the assessment team members appointed under Subsection (b)(3) from individuals nominated by court-appointed special advocates serving in the region in which the contractor has contracted to provide foster care services, the department's regional advisory council serving in that region, or a child welfare board in the region.

(d) A member appointed under Subsection (b)(3) may not be an employee of the single source continuum contractor or of a foster care service provider in the region and may not have a conflict of interest that the commissioner determines disqualifies the member from serving on the assessment team.

Sec. 41.058. PROGRESSIVE INTERVENTION PLAN. (a) The department shall develop a progressive intervention plan to ensure the continuity of foster care services in a geographic region served by a single source continuum contractor.

(b) A progressive intervention plan must include a plan for a range of potential problems that do not qualify as crisis events under Section 41.059 but that may affect the ability of a single source continuum contractor to provide foster care services under a contract if the problems are not resolved.

(c) A progressive intervention plan must:

(1) detail the actions department and contractor staff must take to correct any identified problem and include a schedule for completing the actions; and

(2) provide consequences if the contractor fails to correct an identified problem.

Sec. 41.059. CONTINGENCY PLAN. (a) The department shall develop a contingency plan that details specific actions to be taken by department staff and a single source continuum contractor to address specific crisis events that may affect the delivery of foster care services in the geographic region served by the contractor and to ensure the continuity of those services.

(b) The contingency plan must include specific actions to address the following crisis events:

(1) a financial emergency with a contractor or with two or more contractors simultaneously;

(2) an incident of abuse or death of a child in the care of a contractor;

(3) a serious violation of state or federal law;

(4) a security breach of electronic or other information held by a contractor or a subcontractor; and

(5) any other foreseeable event identified by the department.

(c) A contingency plan must:

(1) contain details sufficient for affected department staff to know their responsibilities and who to contact during a crisis event;

(2) contain a communication plan for distributing information concerning the event to children receiving foster care services and their families, caseworkers, local interested parties, state officials, media, and other relevant parties;

(3) provide schedules for the transfer of foster care operations, materials, staff, records, and money; and

(4) for a crisis event in which a contractor is unable to continue to provide services, detail actions for department staff to take to assist with the contractor's daily operations until a new single source continuum contractor is available to provide those services.

(d) A copy of each contingency plan and any update to the plan should be provided to the Legislative Budget Board, the governor, the department's advisory council, and the executive commissioner not later than December 1 of each odd-numbered year.

SECTION 3. Section 2155.1442, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

(b) The Health and Human Services Commission shall contract with the state auditor to perform as necessary on-site financial audits of selected residential contractors and on-site financial and program audits of single source continuum contractors [as necessary]. The state auditor, in consultation with the commission, shall select the contractors to audit based on the contract's risk assessment rating, allegations of fraud or misuse of state or other contract funds, or other appropriate audit selection criteria. The [residential] contractors selected to be audited must be included in the audit plan and approved by the legislative audit committee under Section 321.013.

(c) The Department of Family and Protective Services shall require that all files related to contracts for residential care of foster children and to single source continuum contracts:

(1) be complete and accurately reflect the contractor's actual updated contract performance; and

(2) be maintained in accordance with the department's record retention procedures and made available to the state auditor when requested.

(f) In this section, "single source continuum" has the meaning assigned by Section 41.001, Human Resources Code.

SECTION 4. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 41, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.

(b) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, but not later than December 1, 2013, the Department of Family and Protective Services shall develop the contract monitoring system, the temporary exemption process, the readiness assessment process, the progressive intervention plan, and the contingency plan as required by Chapter 41, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.