BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2550

By: Thompson, Senfronia

Juvenile Justice & Family Issues

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to interested parties, evidence-based parent education programs positively impact families in numerous ways, such as improving school readiness, decreasing rates of child maltreatment, and improving social, emotional, and behavioral problems in children. However, based on recent assessments, the vast majority of parents do not attend parenting classes and even fewer parents participate in evidence-based programs. H.B. 2550 seeks to create a task force to assess and make recommendations regarding the current state of parent education programs across the state of Texas.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2550 amends the Government Code to establish the task force on family support and parent education programs to advise the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission regarding the following topics: the availability and quality of family support and parent education programs in Texas, expanding access in Texas to family support and parent education programs of varying degrees of intensity, using existing administrative and program data to identify and evaluate gaps in family support and parent education program curriculum and informing program providers of those gaps and of underserved geographic areas and populations, developing policy recommendations for family support and parent education programs, determining uniform desired outcomes for family support and parent education programs and establishing accountability standards relating to those outcomes, and developing comprehensive statewide best practice guidelines for family support and parent education programs. The bill sets out provisions relating to the composition, administration, and operation of the task force and requires the executive commissioner to appoint the members of the task force as soon as possible after the bill's effective date.

H.B. 2550 requires the task force to receive reports and testimony from individuals, state and local governmental agencies, community-based organizations, and other public and private organizations regarding family support and parent education programs; to identify family support and parent education programs that are being implemented in Texas and describe for each program the scope, effectiveness, and manner in which the program's effectiveness and outcomes are monitored, and whether the program is evidence-based; to develop a comprehensive strategy for increasing access to evidence-based family support and parent education programs of varying degrees of intensity; to assess state compliance with certain applicable program requirements and state funding allocation requirements; and to develop policy and other recommendations for expanding evidence-based family support and parent education programs and for establishing comprehensive statewide best practice guidelines for such programs.

H.B. 2550 requires the task force to make recommendations regarding family support and parent education program funding in Texas; regarding methods for using existing administrative and program data to identify populations in need of additional services, identify long-term measures of program effectiveness, and assess the performance of programs and relevant state agencies; and regarding appropriate programs for specific populations, including ethnic and racial minority populations and families exhibiting both low and high levels of certain risk factors.

H.B. 2550 sets out reporting requirements for the task force, including a December 1, 2016 deadline for report submission to the executive commissioner, the governor, and the presiding officers of the senate and house and of each standing senate and house committee with primary relevant jurisdiction. The bill requires the Health and Human Services Commission to provide reasonably necessary administrative and technical support to the task force. The bill requires the executive commissioner to consider implementing the task force recommendations and, if the executive commissioner proposes to adopt or amend a rule as a result of those recommendations, to seek the task force's input in developing the new or amended rule. The task force is abolished and the bill's provisions expire September 1, 2017.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2015.