| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to mental health and preventive services programs for |
|
|
veterans' and military families. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subtitle E, Title 2, Human Resources Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Chapter 53 to read as follows: |
|
|
CHAPTER 53. PREVENTION SERVICES FOR VETERANS' AND MILITARY |
|
|
FAMILIES |
|
|
Sec. 53.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
|
|
(1) "Department" means the Department of Family and |
|
|
Protective Services. |
|
|
(2) "Veteran" means a person who has served in: |
|
|
(A) the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or |
|
|
marine corps of the United States; |
|
|
(B) the state military forces as defined by |
|
|
Section 431.001, Government Code; or |
|
|
(C) an auxiliary service of one of those branches |
|
|
of the armed forces. |
|
|
Sec. 53.002. VETERANS' AND MILITARY FAMILIES PREVENTIVE |
|
|
SERVICES PROGRAM. (a) The department shall develop and implement a |
|
|
preventive services program to serve veterans' and military |
|
|
families who have committed or experienced or who are at a high risk |
|
|
of: |
|
|
(1) family violence; or |
|
|
(2) abuse or neglect. |
|
|
(b) The program must: |
|
|
(1) be designed to coordinate with community-based |
|
|
organizations to provide prevention services; |
|
|
|
|
|
(2) include a home-visiting program component; |
|
|
(3) include a prevention component and an early |
|
|
intervention component; |
|
|
(4) include collaboration with services for child |
|
|
welfare, early childhood education, and other child and family |
|
|
services programs; and |
|
|
(5) coordinate with the community collaboration |
|
|
initiative developed under Subchapter I, Chapter 434, Government |
|
|
Code, and committees formed by local communities as part of that |
|
|
initiative. |
|
|
(c) The program may be established initially as a pilot |
|
|
program, at the discretion of the department, in areas of the state |
|
|
in which the department considers the implementation practicable. |
|
|
Sec. 53.003. INFORMATION COORDINATION. The department |
|
|
shall undertake to automate and upgrade computerized research |
|
|
systems and database systems for the purposes of prevention and |
|
|
early intervention components of the program established under |
|
|
Section 53.002, including coordination and data matching with the |
|
|
Department of State Health Services. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Chapter 434, Government Code, is amended by |
|
|
adding Subchapters H and I to read as follows: |
|
|
SUBCHAPTER H. STATEWIDE COORDINATION OF THE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM |
|
|
FOR VETERANS |
|
|
Sec. 434.351. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
|
|
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Veterans Commission. |
|
|
(2) "Peer" means a person who is a veteran or a |
|
|
veteran's family member. |
|
|
(3) "Veteran" means a person who has served in: |
|
|
(A) the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or |
|
|
marine corps of the United States; |
|
|
(B) the state military forces as defined by |
|
|
Section 431.001; or |
|
|
(C) an auxiliary service of one of those branches |
|
|
of the armed forces. |
|
|
(4) "Volunteer coordinator" means a person who |
|
|
recruits and retains veterans, peers, and volunteers to participate |
|
|
in the mental health program for veterans and related activities. |
|
|
Sec. 434.352. DUTIES. (a) The commission and the |
|
|
Department of State Health Services shall coordinate to administer |
|
|
the mental health intervention program for veterans developed under |
|
|
Chapter 1001, Health and Safety Code. |
|
|
(b) For the mental health intervention program for |
|
|
veterans, the commission shall: |
|
|
(1) provide training to volunteer coordinators and |
|
|
peers in accordance with Section 434.353; |
|
|
(2) provide technical assistance to volunteer |
|
|
coordinators and peers; |
|
|
(3) recruit, train, and communicate with |
|
|
community-based therapists, community-based organizations, and |
|
|
faith-based organizations; and |
|
|
(4) coordinate services for justice involved |
|
|
veterans. |
|
|
(c) The executive director of the commission shall appoint a |
|
|
program director to administer the mental health program for |
|
|
veterans. |
|
|
(d) The commission shall provide appropriate facilities in |
|
|
support of the mental health program for veterans to the extent |
|
|
funding is available for that purpose. |
|
|
Sec. 434.353. TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION. (a) The |
|
|
commission shall develop and implement methods for providing |
|
|
volunteer coordinator certification training to volunteer |
|
|
coordinators, including providing training for initial |
|
|
certification and recertification and providing continuing |
|
|
education. |
|
|
(b) The commission shall manage and coordinate the peer |
|
|
training program to include initial training, advanced training, |
|
|
certification, and continuing education for peers associated with |
|
|
the mental health program for veterans. |
|
|
SUBCHAPTER I. COMMUNITY COLLABORATION INITIATIVE |
|
|
Sec. 434.401. COMMUNITY COLLABORATION. (a) The department |
|
|
and the Department of State Health Services shall include as a part |
|
|
of the mental health program for veterans described by 434.352(a) |
|
|
an initiative to encourage local communities to conduct |
|
|
cross-sector collaboration to synchronize locally accessible |
|
|
resources available for veterans and military services members. |
|
|
(b) The initiative must be designed to encourage local |
|
|
communities to form a committee that is tasked with developing a |
|
|
plan to identify and support the needs of veterans and military |
|
|
services members residing in their community. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|
|
a vote of two-thirds of all members elected to each house, as |
|
|
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|
|
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|
|
Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |