84R10118 YDB-D
 
  By: Dukes H.B. No. 600
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to child protective services and employees of the
  Department of Family and Protective Services.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 61, Education Code, is amended by adding
  Subchapter N to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER N.  REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF
  FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEES
         Sec. 61.731.  REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. The board
  shall establish a program to provide, using funds appropriated for
  that purpose and in accordance with this subchapter and rules of the
  board, assistance in the repayment of student loans for employees
  of the Department of Family and Protective Services who apply and
  qualify for the assistance.
         Sec. 61.732.  ELIGIBILITY. (a)  To be eligible to receive
  repayment assistance, a person must:
               (1)  apply to the board; and
               (2)  have been employed for at least one year as, and be
  currently employed full-time at the Department of Family and
  Protective Services as:
                     (A)  a child protective services family-based
  safety services caseworker;
                     (B)  a child protective services investigator;
                     (C)  a child-care licensing investigator or
  inspector; or
                     (D)  a residential child-care licensing
  investigator or inspector.
         (b)  In awarding repayment assistance to first-time
  applicants, the board shall give priority to applicants who
  demonstrate financial need.
         Sec. 61.733.  AMOUNT OF REPAYMENT ASSISTANCE; LIMITATION.
  (a)  For each year that a person meets the eligibility requirements
  provided by Section 61.732, the person may receive repayment
  assistance under this subchapter in an amount determined by board
  rule, not to exceed $2,500.
         (b)  A person may not receive repayment assistance under this
  subchapter for more than four years.
         (c)  If the money available for repayment assistance in a
  period for which assistance is awarded is insufficient to provide
  assistance to all eligible applicants described by Section
  61.732(b), the board shall award repayment assistance to eligible
  applicants by prioritizing awards to applicants employed in regions
  of this state experiencing the highest turnover.
         Sec. 61.734.  ELIGIBLE LOANS. (a) The board may provide
  repayment assistance for the repayment of any student loan for
  education at a public or private institution of higher education,
  including loans for undergraduate education and graduate
  education, issued through any lender.
         (b)  The board may not provide repayment assistance for a
  student loan that is in default at the time of the person's
  application.
         Sec. 61.735.  REPAYMENT. (a) The board shall deliver any
  repayment assistance made under this subchapter in a lump sum
  directly to the lender or other holder of the loan on the person's
  behalf and in accordance with any applicable federal law.
         (b)  Repayment assistance received under this subchapter may
  be applied to the principal amount of the loan and to interest that
  accrues.
         Sec. 61.736.  FUNDING. (a)  The repayment assistance
  program established by this subchapter is funded only from
  appropriations made specifically to fund the program and from
  gifts, grants, and donations. The board shall attempt to provide
  repayment assistance in each state fiscal biennium in amounts
  sufficient to use all amounts appropriated for the program in that
  biennium.
         (b)  The board may solicit and accept gifts, grants, and
  donations from any public or private source for the purposes of this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 61.737.  RULES. (a)  The board shall adopt rules
  necessary for the administration of this subchapter, including a
  rule that establishes the amount of repayment assistance awarded to
  eligible persons each year.
         (b)  The board shall distribute to each institution of higher
  education, the Department of Family and Protective Services, and
  appropriate professional associations copies of the rules adopted
  under this section and pertinent information in this subchapter.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by adding
  Section 101.0013 to read as follows:
         Sec. 101.0013.  AGE-APPROPRIATE ACTIVITY. "Age-appropriate
  activity" means an activity or experience that is generally
  accepted as suitable for a child of the same chronological age or
  level of maturity or that is determined to be developmentally
  appropriate for a child based on the development of cognitive,
  emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are typical for
  an age or age group.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by amending
  Section 101.0201 and adding Section 101.0202 to read as follows:
         Sec. 101.0201.  NORMALCY ACTIVITY. "Normalcy activity"
  means an activity or experience in which a child who is not in the
  conservatorship of the state is allowed to participate, including
  extracurricular activities, in-school and out-of-school social
  activities, enrichment activities, and employment opportunities.
         Sec. 101.0202.  NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR JUDICIAL WRIT OF
  WITHHOLDING. "Notice of application for judicial writ of
  withholding" means the document delivered to an obligor and filed
  with the court as required by Chapter 158 for the nonjudicial
  determination of arrears and initiation of withholding.
         SECTION 4.  Chapter 101, Family Code, is amended by adding
  Section 101.0253 to read as follows:
         Sec. 101.0253.  REASONABLE AND PRUDENT PARENT STANDARD.
  "Reasonable and prudent parent standard" means the standard
  characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that
  maintain the child's health, safety, and best interests.
         SECTION 5.  Section 261.3021, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 261.3021.  CASEWORK DOCUMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT.
  Subject to the appropriation of money for these purposes, the
  department shall:
               (1)  identify critical investigation actions that
  impact child safety and require department caseworkers to document
  those actions in a child's case file not later than the day after
  the action occurs;
               (2)  identify and develop a comprehensive set of
  casework quality indicators that must be reported in real time to
  support timely management oversight;
               (3)  provide department supervisors with access to
  casework quality indicators and train department supervisors on the
  use of that information in the daily supervision of caseworkers;
               (4)  develop a case tracking system that:
                     (A)  uses the latest technology to easily link
  cases involving individuals in the same household by identifying
  siblings, relatives, and other non-related adults living in the
  home;
                     (B)  includes expanded read-only access for
  caseworkers and case coordinators;
                     (C)  tracks subsequent investigations of child
  protective services provided to children for whom caseworkers are
  unable to determine whether abuse or neglect occurred; and
                     (D)  notifies department supervisors and
  management when a case is not progressing in a timely manner;
               (5)  use current data reporting systems to provide
  department supervisors and management with easier access to
  information; and
               (6)  train department supervisors and management on the
  use of data to monitor cases and make decisions.
         SECTION 6.  Section 261.3022, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 261.3022.  CHILD SAFETY CHECK ALERT LIST. (a) Subject
  to the availability of funds, the Department of Public Safety of the
  State of Texas shall create a child safety check alert list as part
  of the Texas Crime Information Center to help locate a child or the
  child's family for purposes of:
               (1)  investigating a report of child abuse or neglect;
               (2)  providing protective services to a child whose
  life may be at risk and whose family is receiving in-home support
  services; or
               (3)  providing protective services to a child in the
  managing conservatorship of the department who has run away and
  whose life may be at risk.
         (b)  If the child safety check alert list is established and
  the department is unable to locate a child or the child's family for
  a purpose stated in Subsection (a) [purposes of investigating a
  report of child abuse or neglect], after the department has
  exhausted all means available to the department for locating the
  child or the child's family, the department may seek assistance
  under this section from the appropriate [county attorney, district
  attorney, or criminal district] attorney with responsibility for
  representing the department as provided by Section 264.009.
         (c)  If the department requests assistance, the county
  attorney, district attorney, or criminal district attorney, as
  applicable, may file an application with the court requesting the
  issuance of an ex parte order requiring the Texas Crime Information
  Center to place the child or the members of the child's family whom 
  the department is attempting to locate on a child safety check alert
  list.  The application must include a summary of:
               (1)  either:
                     (A)  the report of child abuse or neglect the
  department is attempting to investigate; or
                     (B)  the circumstances in a case described by
  Subsection (a)(2) or (3) that cause a child to be at a substantial
  risk of harm because the child or family cannot be located; and
               (2)  the department's efforts to locate the child or the
  child's family.
         (d)  If the court determines after a hearing that the family
  cannot be located to investigate a report of child abuse or neglect
  or that a child is at risk of substantial harm because the child or
  family cannot be located and that the department has exhausted all
  means available to the department for locating the child or the
  child's family, as applicable, the court shall approve the
  application and order the appropriate law enforcement agency to
  notify the Texas Crime Information Center to place the child or the
  child's family, as applicable, on a child safety check alert list.  
  The alert list must include:
               (1)  if applicable, the name of the family member
  alleged to have abused or neglected a child according to the report
  the department is attempting to investigate;
               (2)  the name of the child who is the subject of the
  report or an ongoing department case;
               (3)  if applicable, a code identifying the type of
  child abuse or neglect alleged to have been committed against the
  child;
               (4)  the family's last known address; and
               (5)  the minimum criteria for an entry as established
  by the center.
         SECTION 7.  Section 261.3023(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  If a law enforcement officer encounters a person,
  including a child, listed on the Texas Crime Information Center's
  child safety check alert list [who is alleged to have abused or
  neglected a child, or encounters a child listed on the alert list
  who is the subject of a report of child abuse or neglect the
  department is attempting to investigate], the officer shall request
  information from the person or the child regarding the child's
  well-being and current residence.  The officer shall immediately
  report that the person or child has been located and the location of
  the person or child by calling the toll-free telephone number
  operated by the department to receive reports of child abuse or
  neglect.
         SECTION 8.  Section 261.3024(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A law enforcement officer who locates a child listed on
  the Texas Crime Information Center's child safety check alert list
  [who is the subject of a report of child abuse or neglect the
  department is attempting to investigate] and who reports the
  child's current address and other relevant information to the
  department under Section 261.3023 shall report to the Texas Crime
  Information Center that the child has been located.
         SECTION 9.  Section 261.3126(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  In each county, to the extent possible, the department
  and the local law enforcement agencies that investigate child abuse
  in the county shall colocate in the same offices investigators from
  the department and the law enforcement agencies to improve the
  efficiency of child abuse investigations.  With approval of the
  local children's advocacy center and its partner agencies, in each
  county in which a children's advocacy center established under
  Section 264.402 is located, the department shall attempt to locate
  investigators from the department and county and municipal law
  enforcement agencies at the center and to increase the number of
  department investigators located at a center if the rate of
  retention for investigators at that center exceeds the retention
  rate of investigators located in other offices.
         SECTION 10.  Section 263.102(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  The service plan must:
               (1)  be specific;
               (2)  be in writing in a language that the parents
  understand, or made otherwise available;
               (3)  be prepared by the department or other agency in
  conference with the child's parents;
               (4)  state appropriate deadlines;
               (5)  state whether the goal of the plan is:
                     (A)  return of the child to the child's parents;
                     (B)  termination of parental rights and placement
  of the child for adoption; or
                     (C)  because of the child's special needs or
  exceptional circumstances, continuation of the child's care out of
  the child's home;
               (6)  state steps that are necessary to:
                     (A)  return the child to the child's home if the
  placement is in foster care;
                     (B)  enable the child to remain in the child's
  home with the assistance of a service plan if the placement is in
  the home under the department's or other agency's supervision; or
                     (C)  otherwise provide a permanent safe placement
  for the child;
               (7)  state the actions and responsibilities that are
  necessary for the child's parents to take to achieve the plan goal
  during the period of the service plan and the assistance to be
  provided to the parents by the department or other authorized
  agency toward meeting that goal;
               (8)  state any specific skills or knowledge that the
  child's parents must acquire or learn, as well as any behavioral
  changes the parents must exhibit, to achieve the plan goal;
               (9)  state the actions and responsibilities that are
  necessary for the child's parents to take to ensure that the child
  attends school and maintains or improves the child's academic
  compliance;
               (10)  state the name of the person with the department
  or other agency whom the child's parents may contact for
  information relating to the child if other than the person
  preparing the plan; [and]
               (11)  provide for the elimination of impediments to the
  child's participation in age-appropriate normalcy activities; and
               (12)  prescribe any other term or condition that the
  department or other agency determines to be necessary to the
  service plan's success.
         SECTION 11.  Section 263.105, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  As part of the review under Subsection (b), the court
  shall ensure that the child's caregiver under the plan understands:
               (1)  the importance of the child's participation in
  age-appropriate normalcy activities; and
               (2)  the flexibility the reasonable and prudent parent
  standard provides the caregiver in approving the child's
  participation in normalcy activities.
         SECTION 12.  Section 263.306, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  At each permanency hearing, the court shall review the
  efforts of the department in ensuring that:
               (1)  the child's caregiver is following the reasonable
  and prudent parent standard; and
               (2)  the child has regular, ongoing opportunities to
  engage in age-appropriate normalcy activities, including
  activities not listed in the child's service plan.
         SECTION 13.  Section 263.503, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  At each placement review hearing, the court shall review
  the efforts of the department in ensuring that:
               (1)  the child's caregiver is following the reasonable
  and prudent parent standard; and
               (2)  the child has regular, ongoing opportunities to
  engage in age-appropriate normalcy activities, including
  activities not listed in the child's service plan.
         SECTION 14.  Section 264.015, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  In the training for prospective foster parents and in
  the annual training for foster parents, the department shall
  include programs to address the potential impact on the family of
  providing foster care and to recommend methods for maintaining
  household stability, including respite care and stress relief
  techniques.
         SECTION 15.  Section 264.114, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  A foster parent, relative or other designated
  caregiver, or other substitute caregiver caring for a child in the
  department's managing conservatorship is not liable for harm caused
  to the child that results from the child's participation in an
  age-appropriate activity approved by the caregiver if the caregiver
  acted in the same manner as a reasonable and prudent parent would in
  approving the child's participation in the activity.
         SECTION 16.  Section 264.121(f), Family Code, as amended by
  Chapters 168 (S.B. 1589) and 342 (H.B. 2111), Acts of the 83rd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2013, is reenacted and amended to
  read as follows:
         (f)  The department shall require a person with whom the
  department contracts for transitional living services for foster
  youth to provide or assist youth in obtaining:
               (1)  housing services;
               (2)  job training and employment services;
               (3)  college preparation services beginning at age 14;
               (4)  services that will assist youth in obtaining a
  general education development certificate;
               (5)  services that will assist youth in developing
  skills in food preparation;
               (6)  nutrition education that promotes healthy food
  choices; [and]
               (7) [(5)]  a savings or checking account if the youth
  is at least 18 years of age and has a source of income; and
               (8) [(7)]  any other appropriate transitional living
  service identified by the department.
         SECTION 17.  Sections 264.123(a) and (d), Family Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  If a child in the department's managing conservatorship
  is missing from the child's substitute care provider, including a
  child who is abducted or is a runaway, the department shall notify
  the following persons and entities that the child is missing:
               (1)  the appropriate law enforcement agencies;
               (2)  the court with jurisdiction over the department's
  managing conservatorship of the child;
               (3)  the child's attorney ad litem;
               (4)  the child's guardian ad litem; [and]
               (5)  the child's parent unless the parent:
                     (A)  cannot be located or contacted;
                     (B)  has had the parent's parental rights
  terminated; or
                     (C)  has executed an affidavit of relinquishment
  of parental rights; and
               (6)  the National Center for Missing and Exploited
  Children.
         (d)  The department shall make continuing efforts to
  determine the location of a missing child until the child returns to
  substitute care, including:
               (1)  contacting on a monthly basis:
                     (A)  the appropriate law enforcement agencies;
                     (B)  the child's relatives;
                     (C)  the child's former caregivers; and
                     (D)  any state or local social service agency that
  may be providing services to the child; [and]
               (2)  conducting a supervisory-level review of the case
  on a quarterly basis if the child is 15 years of age or younger to
  determine whether sufficient efforts have been made to locate the
  child and whether other action is needed; and
               (3)  appointing a special investigator to assist in
  locating the child and in investigating the events affecting the
  child that occurred while the child was missing.
         SECTION 18.  Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
  amended by adding Section 264.126 to read as follows:
         Sec. 264.126.  NORMALCY ACTIVITIES; REASONABLE AND PRUDENT
  PARENT STANDARD. (a) The department shall use its best efforts to
  normalize the lives of children in the managing conservatorship of
  the department and to allow substitute caregivers to make
  decisions, similar to the decisions that a parent is entitled to
  make, regarding the child's participation in age-appropriate
  normalcy activities without the department's prior approval.
         (b)  A substitute caregiver shall use a reasonable and
  prudent parent standard in determining whether to permit a child in
  the conservatorship of the department to participate in an
  activity. When making a decision according to the reasonable and
  prudent parent standard, the caregiver must consider:
               (1)  the overall health and safety of the child and the
  child's age, maturity, and development level;
               (2)  any potential risk factors and the appropriateness
  of the activity;
               (3)  the best interest of the child based on the
  caregiver's knowledge of the child;
               (4)  the importance of encouraging the child's social,
  emotional, and developmental growth;
               (5)  the importance of providing the child with the
  most family-like living experience possible; and
               (6)  the behavioral history of the child and the child's
  ability to safely participate in the proposed activity.
         (c)  The department shall verify that substitute caregivers
  providing substitute care services under contract with the
  department:
               (1)  promote and protect the ability of a child to
  participate in age-appropriate normalcy activities; and
               (2)  implement policies consistent with this section.
         (d)  The department shall review its policies and procedures
  to identify policies and procedures that impede a substitute
  caregiver's ability to make reasonable and prudent parenting
  decisions and shall adopt new policies that promote a substitute
  caregiver's ability to make reasonable and prudent parenting
  decisions.
         (e)  The department shall require a child's substitute
  caregiver to complete training on:
               (1)  decision-making as a reasonable and prudent
  parent;
               (2)  appropriate and trauma-informed procedures for
  addressing a child's misbehavior; and
               (3)  the importance of a child's participation in
  age-appropriate normalcy activities and the benefits of
  participation to a child's social, emotional, and developmental
  growth, well-being, and mental health.
         SECTION 19.  Section 264.408(c), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  The department, a law enforcement agency, and a
  prosecuting attorney may share with a center or a statewide child
  advocacy center organization information that is confidential
  under Section 261.201 as needed to provide services under this
  chapter. Confidential information shared with or provided to a
  center or organization remains the property of the agency that
  shared or provided the information to the center or organization.
         SECTION 20.  Section 264.503, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (f-1) to read as follows:
         (f-1)  The Department of State Health Services shall
  identify opportunities for improving the information provided in
  the report under Subsection (f) and, in areas of this state where a
  review team is not established, shall monitor the impact on that
  area of inadequate services.
         SECTION 21.  Section 264.852, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  The department shall provide to a foster child's
  relative, or other adult with whom that child has a longstanding and
  significant relationship, with whom the child is residing
  information about qualifying and becoming licensed or verified by
  the department as a kinship provider.
         SECTION 22.  Chapter 265, Family Code, is amended by adding
  Sections 265.005, 265.006, and 265.007 to read as follows:
         Sec. 265.005.  EVALUATION OF SERVICES. (a) The department
  shall establish a process to identify each child or family member
  who receives prevention and early intervention services and
  subsequent child protective services and evaluate the success of
  the prevention and early intervention services initially provided.
         (b)  The department shall use the information obtained
  through the evaluation process to determine and provide the most
  intensive prevention and early intervention services to children
  and families who are determined most at risk for abuse and neglect
  and most in need of the services.
         Sec. 265.006.  HEALTHY OUTCOMES THROUGH PREVENTION AND EARLY
  SUPPORT (HOPES) AND HELP THROUGH INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION (HIP)
  PROJECTS. (a) The department shall establish:
               (1)  a healthy outcomes through prevention and early
  support (HOPES) project to provide, in communities selected by the
  department, flexible, community-based child abuse and neglect
  prevention programs to families of children under five years of age
  who are at risk of abuse and neglect; and
               (2)  a help through intervention and prevention (HIP)
  project to provide voluntary extensive family assessment, home
  visitation, and education services to families at risk for abuse
  and neglect to increase protection of the child and prevent child
  abuse.
         (b)  Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
  the department shall submit electronically to each legislative
  committee with jurisdiction over child protective services a report
  on the department's efforts and strategies to expand the services
  provided under Subsection (a) to additional areas in this state and
  to populations identified as being at higher risk for abuse and
  neglect.
         Sec. 265.007.  IDENTIFICATION OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES. The
  department shall collaborate with the Department of State Health
  Services to identify additional funding opportunities for children
  and families receiving prevention and early intervention services
  to address individual and community factors that contribute to
  parental substance abuse and domestic violence in those families.
         SECTION 23.  Section 40.032(c), Human Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  The executive director or the executive director's
  designated representative shall develop a system of annual
  performance evaluations based on measurable job tasks. All merit
  pay for department employees must be based on the system
  established under this subsection. The department's retention
  strategies for child protective services caseworkers may include
  merit-based advancement opportunities for caseworkers and coaching
  or corrective action procedures to address deficient performance
  evaluations without negatively impacting merit eligibility.
         SECTION 24.  Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Section 40.03211 to read as follows:
         Sec. 40.03211.  SALARY SUPPLEMENT PILOT PROJECT FOR CHILD
  PROTECTIVE SERVICES CASEWORKERS. (a) The department may establish
  a pilot project to supplement the salary of a child protective
  services caseworker based on the average salary for similar
  positions in the area of the employee's assigned place of
  employment, the extent to which the caseworker's salary meets
  cost-of-living expenses in that area, and other location factors.
         (b)  Section 659.020, Government Code, does not apply to the
  supplement authorized by this section.
         SECTION 25.  Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Sections 40.0328 and 40.0329 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 40.0328.  CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES CASEWORKERS. (a)
  The department shall periodically restructure the duties of
  caseworkers as necessary to maintain the safety of children in
  child protective services, increase the time a caseworker spends
  with children, prioritize the time required to effectively address
  cases above caseload, and successfully manage child protective
  services caseloads.
         (b)  The department shall:
               (1)  create a streamlined child protective services
  policy handbook to assist caseworkers in understanding their
  duties;
               (2)  establish caseworker support centers to provide
  administrative support to the caseworkers;
               (3)  increase the number of support staff for
  investigation units to be separately located from other
  investigation units;
               (4)  develop information resources to assist
  caseworkers and their supervisors in prioritizing caseworker time;
  and
               (5)  assign master caseworkers to areas with high
  caseworker vacancy numbers or case numbers.
         (c)  The department shall require a caseworker each month to
  report a face-to-face visit with each foster child assigned to the
  caseworker.
         Sec. 40.0329.  DISRUPTION SPECIALISTS. The department shall
  designate as disruption specialists a sufficient number of
  personnel to provide family group conference services, support
  timely intervention efforts that reduce preventable placement
  disruptions, and more frequently use family team meetings to engage
  the family and community in making critical child-placing
  decisions.
         SECTION 26.  Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Section 40.0565 to read as follows:
         Sec. 40.0565.  REGIONAL YOUTH LEADERSHIP COUNCILS. The
  department shall establish and fund regional youth leadership
  councils. The department shall include the councils in making
  decisions related to creating stable environments for foster
  children.
         SECTION 27.  Section 40.058(c), Human Resources Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  The department shall monitor a contractor's performance
  under a contract for the purchase of program-related client
  services. In monitoring performance, the department shall:
               (1)  use a risk-assessment methodology that employs
  empirically driven predictive analytics to monitor the contracts
  and ensure compliance with financial and performance requirements
  under the contract; and
               (2)  obtain and evaluate program cost information to
  ensure that all costs, including administrative costs, are
  reasonable and necessary to achieve program objectives.
         SECTION 28.  Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Section 40.075 to read as follows:
         Sec. 40.075.  RECORDS RETENTION. The department shall
  retain child protective services records as follows:
               (1)  for cases in which the department has reason to
  believe a child was abused or neglected and the child was removed
  from the child's home, 50 years;
               (2)  for cases in which the department has reason to
  believe a child was abused or neglected, the designated perpetrator
  of the abuse or neglect appeals the department's findings, and the
  findings are substantiated, 20 years;
               (3)  for cases in which the department has reason to
  believe a child was abused or neglected, the department is unable to
  determine whether the abuse or neglect happened or is unable to
  complete the investigation, and the child remains in the child's
  home, 20 years; and
               (4)  for cases in which the department rules out abuse
  or neglect and the department's risk assessment indicates a
  significant level of risk remains with the family, no significant
  risks exist within the family, or the risk factors within the family
  are controlled, five years.
         SECTION 29.  Section 42.053, Human Resources Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  A licensed child-placing agency shall conduct an annual
  home study for each agency foster home or agency foster group home
  operated by the agency.
         SECTION 30.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human
  Services Commission shall adopt the necessary rules and policies
  and the Department of Family and Protective Services shall develop
  the procedures and take the steps necessary to implement the
  changes in law made by this Act.
         SECTION 31.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  shall adopt the rules for the repayment assistance program under
  Subchapter N, Chapter 61, Education Code, as added by this Act, not
  later than December 1, 2015.
         SECTION 32.  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
  over another Act of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015,
  relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
  codes.
         SECTION 33.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.