Amend HB 39 on third reading by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTIONS to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subchapter D, Chapter 261, Family Code, is amended by adding Section 261.3017 to read as follows:
Sec. 261.3017. ABBREVIATED INVESTIGATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE CLOSURE OF CERTAIN CASES. (a) A department caseworker may refer a reported case of child abuse or neglect to a department supervisor for abbreviated investigation or administrative closure at any time before the 60th day after the date the report is received if:
(1) there is no prior report of abuse or neglect of the child who is the subject of the report;
(2) the department has not received an additional report of abuse or neglect of the child following the initial report; and
(3) either:
(A) after contacting a professional or other credible source, the caseworker determines that the child's safety can be assured without further investigation, response, services, or assistance; or
(B) the caseworker determines that no abuse or neglect occurred.
(b) A department supervisor shall review each reported case of child abuse or neglect that has remained open for more than 60 days and administratively close the case if the supervisor determines that the circumstances described by Subsections (a)(1)-(3) exist and that closing the case would not expose the child to an undue risk of harm.
(c) A department supervisor may reassign a reported case of child abuse or neglect that does not qualify for abbreviated investigation or administrative closure under Subsection (a) or (b) to a different department caseworker if the supervisor determines that reassignment would allow the department to make the most effective use of resources to investigate and respond to reported cases of abuse or neglect.
(d) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary to implement this section.
(e) In this section, "professional" means an individual who is licensed or certified by the state or who is an employee of a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the state and who, in the normal course of official duties or duties for which a license or certification is required, has direct contact with children. The term includes teachers, nurses, doctors, day-care employees, employees of a clinic or health care facility that provides reproductive services, juvenile probation officers, and juvenile detention or correctional officers.
SECTION ____. Not later than December 1, 2017, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall adopt the rules necessary to implement Section 261.3017, Family Code, as added by this Act.