84R5615 YDB-D
 
  By: Nelson S.B. No. 354
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the transfer to the Health and Human Services
  Commission of contracting authority for children's advocacy
  centers and volunteer advocate programs.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 264.409, Family Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.409.  ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS. (a) The
  department or the commission [office of the attorney general] may
  contract with a statewide organization of individuals or groups of
  individuals who have expertise in the establishment and operation
  of children's advocacy center programs. The statewide organization
  shall provide training, technical assistance, and evaluation
  services for local children's advocacy center programs.
         (b)  If the commission [office of the attorney general]
  enters into a contract under this section, the contract must
  provide that the statewide organization may not spend annually for
  administrative purposes more than 12 percent of the annual amount
  appropriated to the commission [office of the attorney general] for
  purposes of this section.
         SECTION 2.  Sections 264.410(a) and (c), Family Code, are
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The statewide organization with which the department or
  the commission [office of the attorney general] contracts under
  Section 264.409 shall contract for services with eligible centers
  to enhance the existing services of the programs.
         (c)  If the commission [attorney general] enters into a
  contract with a statewide organization under Section 264.409, the
  executive commissioner [attorney general] by rule shall adopt
  standards for eligible local centers. The statewide organization
  shall assist the executive commissioner [attorney general] in
  developing the standards.
         SECTION 3.  Section 264.411(a), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (a)  A public entity that operated as a center under this
  subchapter before November 1, 1995, or a nonprofit entity is
  eligible for a contract under Section 264.410 if the entity:
               (1)  has a signed memorandum of understanding as
  provided by Section 264.403;
               (2)  operates under the authority of a governing board
  as provided by Section 264.404;
               (3)  has a multidisciplinary team of persons involved
  in the investigation or prosecution of child abuse cases or the
  delivery of services as provided by Section 264.406;
               (4)  holds regularly scheduled case reviews as provided
  by Section 264.406;
               (5)  operates in a neutral and physically separate
  space from the day-to-day operations of any public agency partner;
               (6)  has developed a method of statistical information
  gathering on children receiving services through the center and
  shares such statistical information with the statewide
  organization, the department, and the commission [office of the
  attorney general] when requested;
               (7)  has an in-house volunteer program;
               (8)  employs an executive director who is answerable to
  the board of directors of the entity and who is not the exclusive
  salaried employee of any public agency partner;
               (9)  operates under a working protocol that includes a
  statement of:
                     (A)  the center's mission;
                     (B)  each agency's role and commitment to the
  center;
                     (C)  the type of cases to be handled by the center;
                     (D)  the center's procedures for conducting case
  reviews and forensic interviews and for ensuring access to
  specialized medical and mental health services; and
                     (E)  the center's policies regarding
  confidentiality and conflict resolution; and
               (10)  implements at the center the following program
  components:
                     (A)  a case tracking system that monitors
  statistical information on each child and nonoffending family
  member or other caregiver who receives services through the center
  and that includes progress and disposition information for each
  service the multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to
  the client;
                     (B)  a child-focused setting that is comfortable,
  private, and physically and psychologically safe for diverse
  populations of children and nonoffending family members and other
  caregivers;
                     (C)  family advocacy and victim support services
  that include comprehensive case management and victim support
  services available to each child and the child's nonoffending
  family members or other caregivers as part of the services the
  multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
                     (D)  forensic interviews conducted in a neutral,
  fact-finding manner and coordinated to avoid duplicative
  interviewing;
                     (E)  specialized medical evaluation and treatment
  services that are available to all children who receive services
  through the center and coordinated with the services the
  multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a child;
                     (F)  specialized trauma-focused mental health
  services that are designed to meet the unique needs of child abuse
  victims and the victims' nonoffending family members or other
  caregivers and that are available as part of the services the
  multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
  and
                     (G)  a system to ensure that all services
  available to center clients are culturally competent and diverse
  and are coordinated with the services the multidisciplinary team
  determines should be provided to a client.
         SECTION 4.  Sections 264.602(a), (c), (d), (e), and (f),
  Family Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The statewide organization with which the commission
  [attorney general] contracts under Section 264.603 shall contract
  for services with eligible volunteer advocate programs to provide
  advocacy services to abused or neglected children.
         (c)  The commission [attorney general] shall develop a scale
  of state financial support for volunteer advocate programs that
  declines over a six-year period beginning on the date each
  individual contract takes effect. After the end of the six-year
  period, the commission [attorney general] may not provide more than
  50 percent of the volunteer advocate program's funding.
         (d)  The executive commissioner [attorney general] by rule
  shall adopt standards for a local volunteer advocate program. The
  statewide organization shall assist the executive commissioner
  [attorney general] in developing the standards.
         (e)  The department, in cooperation with the statewide
  organization with which the commission [attorney general]
  contracts under Section 264.603 and other interested agencies,
  shall support the expansion of court-appointed volunteer advocate
  programs into counties in which there is a need for the
  programs.  In expanding into a county, a program shall work to
  ensure the independence of the program, to the extent possible, by
  establishing community support and accessing private funding from
  the community for the program.
         (f)  Expenses incurred by a volunteer advocate program to
  promote public awareness of the need for volunteer advocates or to
  explain the work performed by volunteer advocates that are paid
  with money from the commission [attorney general] volunteer
  advocate program account under Section 504.611, Transportation
  Code, are not considered administrative expenses for the purpose of
  Section 264.603(b).
         SECTION 5.  Section 264.603, Family Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.603.  ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS. (a) The
  commission [attorney general] shall contract with one statewide
  organization of individuals or groups of individuals who have
  expertise in the dynamics of child abuse and neglect and experience
  in operating volunteer advocate programs to provide training,
  technical assistance, and evaluation services for the benefit of
  local volunteer advocate programs.  The contract shall:
               (1)  include measurable goals and objectives relating
  to the number of:
                     (A)  volunteer advocates in the program; and
                     (B)  children receiving services from the
  program; and
               (2)  follow practices designed to ensure compliance
  with standards referenced in the contract.
         (b)  The contract under this section shall provide that not
  more than 12 percent of the annual legislative appropriation to
  implement this subchapter may be spent for administrative purposes
  by the statewide organization with which the commission [attorney
  general] contracts under this section.
         SECTION 6.  Section 264.604(b), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  The statewide organization with which the commission
  [attorney general] contracts under Section 264.603 may not contract
  with a person that is not eligible under this section. However, the
  statewide organization may waive the requirement in Subsection
  (a)(3) for an established program in a rural area or under other
  special circumstances.
         SECTION 7.  Section 264.605, Family Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.605.  CONTRACT FORM. A person shall apply for a
  contract under Section 264.602 on a form provided by the commission
  [attorney general].
         SECTION 8.  Section 264.606, Family Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.606.  CRITERIA FOR AWARD OF CONTRACTS. The
  statewide organization with which the commission [attorney
  general] contracts under Section 264.603 shall consider the
  following in awarding a contract under Section 264.602:
               (1)  the volunteer advocate program's eligibility for
  and use of funds from local, state, or federal governmental
  sources, philanthropic organizations, and other sources;
               (2)  community support for the volunteer advocate
  program as indicated by financial contributions from civic
  organizations, individuals, and other community resources;
               (3)  whether the volunteer advocate program provides
  services that encourage the permanent placement of children through
  reunification with their families or timely placement with an
  adoptive family; and
               (4)  whether the volunteer advocate program has the
  endorsement and cooperation of the local juvenile court system.
         SECTION 9.  Section 264.607, Family Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.607.  CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.  [(a)]  The commission
  [attorney general] shall require that a contract under Section
  264.602 require the volunteer advocate program to:
               (1)  make quarterly and annual financial reports on a
  form provided by the commission [attorney general];
               (2)  cooperate with inspections and audits that the
  commission [attorney general] makes to ensure service standards and
  fiscal responsibility; and
               (3)  provide as a minimum:
                     (A)  independent and factual information in
  writing to the court and to counsel for the parties involved
  regarding the child;
                     (B)  advocacy through the courts for permanent
  home placement and rehabilitation services for the child;
                     (C)  monitoring of the child to ensure the safety
  of the child and to prevent unnecessary movement of the child to
  multiple temporary placements;
                     (D)  reports in writing to the presiding judge and
  to counsel for the parties involved;
                     (E)  community education relating to child abuse
  and neglect;
                     (F)  referral services to existing community
  services;
                     (G)  a volunteer recruitment and training
  program, including adequate screening procedures for volunteers;
                     (H)  procedures to assure the confidentiality of
  records or information relating to the child; and
                     (I)  compliance with the standards adopted under
  Section 264.602.
         SECTION 10.  Section 264.608, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 264.608.  REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE. (a)  Not later
  than December 1 of each year, the commission [attorney general]
  shall publish a report that:
               (1)  summarizes reports from volunteer advocate
  programs under contract with the commission [attorney general];
               (2)  analyzes the effectiveness of the contracts made
  by the commission [attorney general] under this chapter; and
               (3)  provides information on:
                     (A)  the expenditure of funds under this chapter;
                     (B)  services provided and the number of children
  for whom the services were provided; and
                     (C)  any other information relating to the
  services provided by the volunteer advocate programs under this
  chapter.
         (b)  The commission [attorney general] shall submit copies
  of the report to the governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the
  house of representatives, [the] Legislative Budget Board, and
  members of the legislature.
         SECTION 11.  Section 264.609, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 264.609.  RULE-MAKING AUTHORITY. The executive
  commissioner [attorney general] may adopt rules necessary to
  implement this subchapter [chapter].
         SECTION 12.  Section 264.610, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 264.610.  CONFIDENTIALITY. The commission [attorney
  general] may not disclose information gained through reports,
  collected case data, or inspections that would identify a person
  working at or receiving services from a volunteer advocate program.
         SECTION 13.  Section 264.611, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 264.611.  CONSULTATIONS. In implementing this chapter,
  the commission [attorney general] shall consult with individuals or
  groups of individuals who have expertise in the dynamics of child
  abuse and neglect and experience in operating volunteer advocate
  programs.
         SECTION 14.  Section 264.612, Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 264.612.  FUNDING. (a) The commission [attorney
  general] may solicit and receive grants or money from either
  private or public sources, including by appropriation by the
  legislature from the general revenue fund, to implement this
  chapter.
         (b)  The need for and importance of the implementation of
  this chapter by the commission [attorney general] requires priority
  and preferential consideration for appropriation.
         SECTION 15.  Section 504.611, Transportation Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 504.611.  VOLUNTEER ADVOCATE PROGRAM LICENSE PLATES.
  (a) The department shall issue specialty license plates in
  recognition of children. The department shall design the license
  plates in consultation with the Health and Human Services
  Commission [attorney general].
         (b)  After deduction of the department's administrative
  costs, the remainder of the fee for issuance of the license plates
  shall be deposited to the credit of the [attorney general]
  volunteer advocate program account in the general revenue fund.
  Money deposited to the credit of the volunteer advocate program
  account may be used only by the Health and Human Services Commission
  [attorney general] to fund a contract entered into by the
  commission [attorney general] under Section 264.602, Family Code.
         SECTION 16.  (a) On the effective date of this Act, the
  powers and duties of the attorney general under Subchapters E and G,
  Chapter 264, Family Code, are transferred to the Health and Human
  Services Commission.
         (b)  The office of the attorney general shall work in
  cooperation with and at the direction of the Health and Human
  Services Commission to facilitate the transfer described by this
  section.
         (c)  A rule, form, policy, procedure, or decision of the
  attorney general that is related to a power or duty transferred
  under Subsection (a) of this section continues in effect as a rule,
  form, policy, procedure, or decision of the Health and Human
  Services Commission until superseded by an act of the commission or
  executive commissioner of the commission.
         (d)  A contract negotiation or proceeding involving the
  attorney general that is related to a power or duty transferred
  under Subsection (a) of this section is transferred without change
  in status to the Health and Human Services Commission, and the
  commission assumes, without a change in status, the position of the
  attorney general in a negotiation or proceeding relating to a power
  or duty transferred under Subsection (a) of this section to which
  the attorney general is a party.
         (e)  All personal property, including records, in the
  custody of the attorney general related to a power or duty
  transferred under Subsection (a) of this section is transferred to
  and becomes the property of the Health and Human Services
  Commission.
         (f)  All contracts, memoranda of understanding, and rights
  of the attorney general related to a power or duty transferred under
  Subsection (a) of this section are transferred to the Health and
  Human Services Commission.
         (g)  All money appropriated by the legislature to the
  attorney general related to a power or duty transferred under
  Subsection (a) of this section, including money for providing
  administrative support, is transferred to the Health and Human
  Services Commission.
         SECTION 17.  A contract transferred under Section 16 of this
  Act may not be canceled by the Health and Human Services Commission
  except as provided by the terms of the contract.
         SECTION 18.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.