BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	S.B. 687
85R8111 MM-D	By: Uresti
	Health & Human Services
	4/10/2017
	As Filed

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

The Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) division within the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has limited funds to allocate toward community-based projects for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. S.B. 687 would extend the principles of a successful risk mapping program in the Center for Prevention of Child Maltreatment at Cook Children's Hospital to the state's child abuse and neglect prevention programs. In short, S.B. 687 allows PEI to assemble limited information related to child abuse or neglect to match communities with the prevention programs that best address their specific needs.

 

S.B. 687 is mindful of an individual's right to privacy and concerns that the information gathered could be used to target specific households. As such, the bill explicitly prohibits PEI from targeting individuals, and it requires the Health and Human Services Commission to consult with the Prevention Advisory Committee to develop ethical guidelines that will govern: the type of information gathered from other agencies, the use of that information, the potential sharing or dissemination of any information or maps, and whether a researcher at a university who has received institutional review board approval may use any of the information.

 

Additionally, the information gathered by PEI is single-directional. Information from the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Education Agency, for example, is not authorized to be collected and then shared back to those same agencies.

 

If Texas implements a risk mapping program, we could make the best use of our limited resources. Through these prevention efforts, DFPS can help to keep kids with their families.

 

As proposed, S.B. 687 amends current law relating to the collection and use of certain information relating to child abuse and neglect and the provision of prevention and early intervention services.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter A, Chapter 265, Family Code, by adding Sections 265.0041, 265.0043, and 265.0044, as follows:

 

Sec. 265.0041. GEOGRAPHIC RISK MAPPING FOR PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES. (a) Requires the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to use existing risk terrain modeling systems, predictive analytic systems or geographic risk assessments or to develop a system or assessment under Subsection (c) to meet certain outcomes.

 

(b) Prohibits DFPS from using data gathered under this section to identify a specific family or individual.

 

(c) Authorizes the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), on behalf of DFPS, to enter into agreements with institutions of higher education to develop or adapt, in coordination with DFPS, a risk terrain modeling system, a predictive analytic system, or a geographic risk assessment to be used for purposes of this section.

 

Sec. 265.0043. INTERAGENCY SHARING OF DATA FOR RISK TERRAIN MODELING. Requires certain state agencies, notwithstanding any other provision of law, to disclose information related to child abuse or neglect to DFPS for the purpose of developing a risk terrain modeling system under Section 265.0041.

 

Sec. 265.0044. ETHICAL GUIDELINES. (a) Requires the executive commissioner of HHSC (executive commissioner), in consultation with the prevention advisory committee, to develop certain guidelines relating to acceptable use and sharing of the data.

 

(b) Requires the executive commissioner, in developing the guidelines required under Subsection (a), to consider whether DFPS plans to make any data DFPS collects available for certain uses or to certain researchers.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2017.