85R4892 MK-D
 
  By: Schwertner, Nelson, Uresti S.B. No. 11
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the administration of services provided by the
  Department of Family and Protective Services, including foster
  care, child protective, and prevention and early intervention
  services.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
  amended by adding Section 261.004 to read as follows:
         Sec. 261.004.  TRACKING OF RECURRENCE OF CHILD ABUSE OR
  NEGLECT REPORTS. The department shall collect, compile, and
  monitor data regarding repeated reports of abuse or neglect
  involving the same child or by the same alleged perpetrator.  In
  compiling reports under this section, the department shall group
  together separate reports involving different children residing in
  the same household.
         SECTION 2.  Section 264.1075, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  The department shall collaborate with a managed care
  organization that contracts to provide STAR Health program benefits
  to develop and implement an assessment tool for a caseworker to use
  in triaging a child's medical and behavioral health care needs not
  later than the fifth day after the date the child is removed from
  the child's home. The results of the assessment must be used to
  identify whether a child has high medical or behavioral health care
  needs and to expedite delivery of appropriate services for the
  child.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 264.1261, 264.128, and 264.129 to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.1261.  FOSTER CARE CAPACITY NEEDS PLAN. (a) In
  this section, "catchment area" has the meaning assigned by Section
  264.151.
         (b)  Appropriate department management from a child
  protective services region that includes a catchment area, in
  collaboration with foster care providers, faith-based entities,
  and child advocates in that catchment area, shall use data
  collected by the department on foster care capacity needs and
  availability of each type of foster care placement in the catchment
  area to create a plan to address the foster care capacity needs in
  the catchment area. The plan must identify both short-term and
  long-term goals and strategies for addressing those capacity needs.
         (c)  A foster care capacity needs plan developed under
  Subsection (b) must be:
               (1)  submitted to, and approved by, the department; and
               (2)  updated annually.
         (d)  The department shall publish each initial foster care
  capacity needs plan and each annual update to a plan on the
  department's Internet website.
         Sec. 264.128.  PILOT PROGRAM FOR INTEGRATED CASE MANAGEMENT
  FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN. (a) The department shall develop and
  implement in one child protective services region of the state a
  pilot program under which the commission contracts with a nonprofit
  entity that has an organizational mission focused on child welfare
  to serve as a single service provider to provide integrated case
  management services for children in foster care in that region who
  have the most severe medical and behavioral health care needs. The
  contract must require the single service provider to coordinate the
  activities of all other providers of medical, placement, and
  behavioral health case management services for a child described by
  this subsection to ensure that all services are used effectively
  without duplication for the purpose of achieving a quality outcome.
         (b)  The executive commissioner shall set a payment rate for
  the contracted single service provider that is separate from
  standard foster care payment amounts provided under this chapter. 
         (c)  The contract with the single service provider must
  include performance-based provisions that require the provider to
  achieve the following outcomes:
               (1)  an increase in child safety, placement stability,
  and permanency;
               (2)  a decrease in placements at residential treatment
  centers and in length of stay for a child placed at a residential
  treatment center; and
               (3)  a decrease in inpatient psychiatric placements and
  in length of stay for a child receiving inpatient psychiatric
  treatment. 
         (d)  Not later than December 31, 2018, the department shall
  report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature
  having jurisdiction over child protective services and foster care
  matters on the progress of the pilot program.  The report must
  include:
               (1)  an evaluation of the single service provider's
  success in achieving the outcomes described by Subsection (c); and
               (2)  a recommendation as to whether the pilot program
  should be continued, expanded, or terminated.
         (e)  This section expires December 31, 2019.
         Sec. 264.129.  SINGLE CHILD PLAN OF SERVICE INITIATIVE. (a)
  In this section, "foster care redesign" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 264.151.
         (b)  In regions of the state where foster care redesign has
  not been implemented, the department shall:
               (1)  collaborate with child-placing agencies to
  implement the single child plan of service model developed under
  the single child plan of service initiative; and
               (2)  ensure that a single child plan of service is
  developed for each child in foster care in those regions.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 264.129(b), Family Code, as
  added by this section, the Department of Family and Protective
  Services shall develop and implement a single child plan of service
  for each child in foster care in a region of the state described by
  that section not later than December 1, 2017.
         SECTION 4.  (a)  Chapter 264, Family Code, is amended by
  adding Subchapter B-1 to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER B-1.  FOSTER CARE REDESIGN
         Sec. 264.151.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Catchment area" means a geographic service area
  for providing child protective services that is identified as part
  of foster care redesign.
               (2)  "Foster care redesign" means the foster care
  redesign required by Chapter 598 (S.B. 218), Acts of the 82nd
  Legislature, Regular Session, 2011.
         Sec. 264.153.  READINESS REVIEW PROCESS FOR FOSTER CARE
  REDESIGN CONTRACTOR. (a) The department shall develop a formal
  review process to assess the ability of a single source continuum
  contractor to satisfy the responsibilities and administrative
  requirements of delivering foster care services, including the
  contractor's ability to provide:
               (1)  high-quality case management services;
               (2)  evidence-based or promising practice services and
  supports for children and families; and
               (3)  sufficient available capacity for inpatient and
  outpatient services and supports for children.
         (b)  The department must develop the review process under
  Subsection (a) before the department may expand foster care
  redesign outside of the initial catchment areas where foster care
  redesign has been implemented.
         (c)  If after conducting the review process developed under
  Subsection (a) the department determines that a single source
  continuum contractor is able to adequately deliver foster care
  services in advance of the projected readiness date stated in the
  foster care redesign timeline developed under Section
  264.152(a)(2), the department may adjust the timeline to allow for
  an earlier transition of service delivery to the contractor.
         Sec. 264.154.  QUALIFICATIONS OF SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM
  CONTRACTOR. To be eligible to enter into a contract with the
  commission to serve as a single source continuum contractor to
  provide foster care service delivery, an entity must be a nonprofit
  entity that has an organizational mission focused on child welfare.
         Sec. 264.155.  TRANSFER OF CASE MANAGEMENT SERVICES TO
  SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM CONTRACTOR. (a) In each initial catchment
  area where foster care redesign has been implemented, the
  department shall transfer to the single source continuum contractor
  providing foster care services in that area:
               (1)  the case management of children and families
  receiving services from that contractor; and
               (2)  family reunification support services to be
  provided for six months after a child receiving services from the
  contractor is returned to the child's family.
         (b)  The commission shall include a provision in a contract
  with a single source continuum contractor to provide foster care
  services in a catchment area to which foster care redesign is
  expanded after September 1, 2017, that requires the transfer to the
  contractor of the provision of:
               (1)  high-quality case management services for
  children and families receiving services from the contractor in the
  catchment area where the contractor will be operating; and
               (2)  family reunification support services to be
  provided for six months after a child receiving services from the
  contractor is returned to the child's family.
         Sec. 264.156.  PILOT PROGRAM FOR FAMILY-BASED SAFETY
  SERVICES AND CASE MANAGEMENT.  (a)  The department shall develop and
  implement in two child protective services regions of the state a
  pilot program under which the commission contracts with a single
  nonprofit entity that has an organizational mission focused on
  child welfare in each region to provide family-based safety
  services and case management for children and families receiving
  family-based safety services.  The contract must include a
  transition plan for the provision of services that ensures the
  continuity of services for children and families in the selected
  regions.
         (b)  The contract with an entity must include
  performance-based provisions that require the entity to achieve the
  following outcomes for families receiving services from the entity:
               (1)  a decrease in recidivism; and
               (2)  an increase in home safety factors.
         (c)  The commission may only contract for implementation of
  the pilot program with entities that the department considers to
  have the capacity to provide, either directly or through
  subcontractors, an array of evidence-based services and support
  programs to children and families in the selected child protective
  services regions.
         (d)  Not later than December 31, 2018, the department shall
  report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature
  having jurisdiction over child protective services and foster care
  matters on the progress of the pilot program. The report must
  include:
               (1)  an evaluation of each contracted entity's success
  in achieving the outcomes described by Subsection (b); and
               (2)  a recommendation as to whether the pilot program
  should be continued, expanded, or terminated.
         (e)  This section expires December 31, 2019.
         (b)  Section 264.126, Family Code, is transferred to
  Subchapter B-1, Chapter 264, Family Code, as added by this section,
  redesignated as Section 264.152, Family Code, and amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 264.152  [264.126].  REDESIGN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN.
  (a) The department shall develop and maintain a plan for
  implementing [the] foster care redesign [required by Chapter 598
  (S.B. 218), Acts of the 82nd Legislature, Regular Session, 2011].
  The plan must:
               (1)  describe the department's expectations, goals, and
  approach to implementing foster care redesign;
               (2)  include a timeline for implementing the foster
  care redesign throughout this state, any limitations related to the
  implementation, and a progressive intervention plan and a
  contingency plan to provide continuity of foster care service
  delivery if a contract with a single source continuum contractor
  ends prematurely;
               (3)  delineate and define the case management roles and
  responsibilities of the department and the department's
  contractors and the duties, employees, and related funding that
  will be transferred to the contractor by the department;
               (4)  identify any training needs and include long-range
  and continuous plans for training and cross-training staff;
               (5)  include a plan for evaluating the costs and tasks
  associated with each contract procurement, including the initial
  and ongoing contract costs for the department and contractor;
               (6)  include the department's contract monitoring
  approach and a plan for evaluating the performance of each
  contractor and the foster care redesign system as a whole that
  includes an independent evaluation of processes and outcomes; and
               (7)  include a report on transition issues resulting
  from implementation of the foster care redesign.
         (b)  The department shall annually:
               (1)  update the implementation plan developed under
  this section and post the updated plan on the department's Internet
  website; and
               (2)  post on the department's Internet website the
  progress the department has made toward its goals for implementing
  the foster care redesign.
         (c)  Section 264.154, Family Code, as added by this section,
  applies only to a contract entered into with a single source
  continuum contractor on or after the effective date of this
  section.
         SECTION 5.  Subchapter A, Chapter 265, Family Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 265.0041 and 265.0042 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 265.0041.  GEOGRAPHIC RISK MAPPING FOR PREVENTION AND
  EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES. (a)  The department shall use
  existing risk terrain modeling systems, predictive analytics, or
  geographic risk assessments to:
               (1)  identify geographic areas that have high risk
  indicators of child maltreatment and child fatalities resulting
  from abuse or neglect; and
               (2)  target the implementation and use of prevention
  and early intervention services to those geographic areas.
         (b)  The department may not use data gathered under this
  section to identify a specific family or individual.
         Sec. 265.0042.  COLLABORATION WITH INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER
  EDUCATION. (a)  The Health and Human Services Commission, on behalf
  of the department, shall enter into agreements with institutions of
  higher education to conduct efficacy reviews of any prevention and
  early intervention programs that have not previously been evaluated
  for effectiveness through a scientific research evaluation
  process.
         (b)  The department shall collaborate with an institution of
  higher education to create and track indicators of child well-being
  to determine the effectiveness of prevention and early intervention
  services.
         SECTION 6.  Section 265.005(b), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (b)  A strategic plan required under this section must:
               (1)  identify methods to leverage other sources of
  funding or provide support for existing community-based prevention
  efforts;
               (2)  include a needs assessment that identifies
  programs to best target the needs of the highest risk populations
  and geographic areas;
               (3)  identify the goals and priorities for the
  department's overall prevention efforts;
               (4)  report the results of previous prevention efforts
  using available information in the plan;
               (5)  identify additional methods of measuring program
  effectiveness and results or outcomes;
               (6)  identify methods to collaborate with other state
  agencies on prevention efforts; [and]
               (7)  identify specific strategies to implement the plan
  and to develop measures for reporting on the overall progress
  toward the plan's goals; and
               (8)  identify specific strategies to increase local
  capacity for the delivery of prevention and early intervention
  services through collaboration with communities and stakeholders.
         SECTION 7.  (a) Section 531.02013, Government Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 531.02013.  FUNCTIONS REMAINING WITH CERTAIN
  AGENCIES.  The following functions are not subject to transfer
  under Sections 531.0201 and 531.02011:
               (1)  the functions of the Department of Family and
  Protective Services, including the statewide intake of reports and
  other information, related to the following:
                     (A)  child protective services, including
  services that are required by federal law to be provided by this
  state's child welfare agency;
                     (B)  adult protective services, other than
  investigations of the alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an
  elderly person or person with a disability:
                           (i)  in a facility operated, or in a facility
  or by a person licensed, certified, or registered, by a state
  agency; or
                           (ii)  by a provider that has contracted to
  provide home and community-based services; [and]
                     (C)  prevention and early intervention services;
  and
                     (D)  investigations of alleged abuse or neglect
  occurring at a child-care facility, including a residential
  child-care facility, as those terms are defined by Section 42.002,
  Human Resources Code; and
               (2)  the public health functions of the Department of
  State Health Services, including health care data collection and
  maintenance of the Texas Health Care Information Collection
  program.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any provision of Subchapter A-1,
  Chapter 531, Government Code, or any other law, the responsibility
  for conducting investigations of reports of abuse or neglect
  occurring at a child-care facility, including a residential
  child-care facility, as those terms are defined by Section 42.002,
  Human Resources Code, may not be transferred to the Health and Human
  Services Commission and remains the responsibility of the
  Department of Family and Protective Services.
         (c)  As soon as possible after the effective date of this
  section, the commissioner of the Department of Family and
  Protective Services shall transfer the responsibility for
  conducting investigations of reports of abuse or neglect occurring
  at a child-care facility, including a residential child-care
  facility, as those terms are defined by Section 42.002, Human
  Resources Code, to the child protective services division of the
  department. The commissioner shall transfer appropriate
  investigators and staff as necessary to implement this section.
         (d)  This section takes effect immediately if this Act
  receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members of each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for this section to take
  immediate effect, this section takes effect on the 91st day after
  the last day of the legislative session.
         SECTION 8.  (a) Subchapter A, Chapter 533, Government Code,
  is amended by adding Section 533.0054 to read as follows:
         Sec. 533.0054.  HEALTH SCREENING REQUIREMENTS FOR ENROLLEE
  UNDER STAR HEALTH PROGRAM. (a) A managed care organization that
  contracts with the commission to provide health care services to
  recipients under the STAR Health program must ensure that at least
  90 percent of the managed care organization's STAR Health program
  enrollees receive a complete early and periodic screening,
  diagnosis, and treatment checkup not later than the 30th day after
  the date the enrollee is removed from the enrollee's home and placed
  in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
  Services.
         (b)  The commission shall include a provision in a contract
  with a managed care organization to provide health care services to
  recipients under the STAR Health program specifying monetary
  penalties for the organization's failure to comply with Subsection
  (a). The penalties must be in amounts that are proportional to the
  number of percentage points by which the organization fails to
  comply with the percentage required by Subsection (a).
         (b)  The Health and Human Services Commission shall, in a
  contract for the provision of health care services under the STAR
  Health program between the commission and a managed care
  organization under Chapter 533, Government Code, that is entered
  into or renewed on or after the effective date of this section,
  require that the managed care organization comply with Section
  533.0054, Government Code, as added by this section.
         (c)  The Health and Human Services Commission shall seek to
  amend contracts for the provision of health care services under the
  STAR Health program entered into with managed care organizations
  under Chapter 533, Government Code, before the effective date of
  this section to require those managed care organizations to comply
  with Section 533.0054, Government Code, as added by this section.
  To the extent of a conflict between Section 533.0054, Government
  Code, as added by this section, and a provision of a contract with a
  managed care organization entered into before the effective date of
  this section, the contract provision prevails.
         (d)  The Health and Human Services Commission may not impose
  a monetary penalty for noncompliance with a contract provision
  described by Section 533.0054(b), Government Code, as added by this
  section, until September 1, 2018.
         (e)  If before implementing Section 533.0054, Government
  Code, as added by this section, the Health and Human Services
  Commission determines that a waiver or authorization from a federal
  agency is necessary for implementation of that provision, the
  agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
  authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
  waiver or authorization is granted.
         SECTION 9.  Subchapter B, Chapter 40, Human Resources Code,
  is amended by adding Sections 40.039 and 40.040 to read as follows:
         Sec. 40.039.  REVIEW OF RECORDS RETENTION POLICY. The
  department shall periodically review the department's records
  retention policy with respect to case and intake records relating
  to department functions.  The department shall make changes to the
  policy consistent with the records retention schedule submitted
  under Section 441.185, Government Code, that are necessary to
  improve case prioritization and the routing of cases to the
  appropriate division of the department.
         Sec. 40.040.  FOSTER CARE SERVICES VENDOR QUALITY OVERSIGHT
  AND ASSURANCE DIVISION; MONITORING OF CONTRACT ADHERENCE. (a) In
  this section, "foster care redesign" has the meaning assigned by
  Section 264.151, Family Code.
         (b)  The department shall create within the department the
  foster care services vendor quality oversight and assurance
  division. The division shall:
               (1)  oversee quality and ensure accountability of any
  vendor that provides foster care and full case management services
  for the department under foster care redesign; and
               (2)  monitor the transfer from the department to a
  vendor of full case management services for children and families
  receiving services from the vendor, including any transfer
  occurring under a pilot program.
         (c)  The commission shall contract with an independent
  verification and validation vendor to develop, in coordination with
  the department, standards for the continuous monitoring of the
  adherence of a vendor providing foster care services under foster
  care redesign to the terms of the contract entered into by the
  vendor and the commission.  The standards must include performance
  benchmarks relating to the provision of case management services in
  the catchment area where the vendor operates.
         SECTION 10.  (a) Section 40.058(f), Human Resources Code,
  is amended to read as follows:
         (f)  A contract for residential child-care services provided
  by a general residential operation or by a child-placing agency
  must include provisions that:
               (1)  enable the department and commission to monitor
  the effectiveness of the services;
               (2)  specify performance outcomes, financial penalties
  for failing to meet any specified performance outcomes, and
  financial incentives for exceeding any specified performance
  outcomes;
               (3)  authorize the department or commission to
  terminate the contract or impose monetary sanctions for a violation
  of a provision of the contract that specifies performance criteria
  or for underperformance in meeting any specified performance
  outcomes;
               (4)  authorize the department or commission, an agent
  of the department or commission, and the state auditor to inspect
  all books, records, and files maintained by a contractor relating
  to the contract; and
               (5)  are necessary, as determined by the department or
  commission, to ensure accountability for the delivery of services
  and for the expenditure of public funds.
         (b)  The Health and Human Services Commission shall, in a
  contract for residential child-care services between the
  commission and a general residential operation or child-placing
  agency that is entered into on or after the effective date of this
  section, including a renewal contract, include the provisions
  required by Section 40.058(f), Human Resources Code, as amended by
  this section.
         (c)  The Health and Human Services Commission shall seek to
  amend contracts for residential child-care services entered into
  with general residential operations or child-placing agencies
  before the effective date of this section to include the provisions
  required by Section 40.058(f), Human Resources Code, as amended by
  this section.
         (d)  The Department of Family and Protective Services and the
  Health and Human Services Commission may not impose a financial
  penalty against a general residential operation or child-placing
  agency under a contract provision described by Section
  40.058(f)(2), Human Resources Code, as amended by this section,
  until September 1, 2018.
         SECTION 11.  (a) Subchapter C, Chapter 40, Human Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Section 40.0581 to read as follows:
         Sec. 40.0581.  PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR CERTAIN SERVICE
  PROVIDER CONTRACTS. (a) The commission shall contract with a
  vendor or enter into an agreement with an institution of higher
  education to develop, in coordination with the department,
  performance quality metrics for family-based safety services and
  post-adoption support services providers. The quality metrics must
  be included in each contract with those providers.
         (b)  Each provider whose contract with the commission to
  provide department services includes the quality metrics developed
  under Subsection (a) must prepare and submit to the department a
  report each calendar quarter regarding the provider's performance
  based on the quality metrics.
         (c)  The department shall distribute each report prepared by
  a family-based safety services provider as required by Subsection
  (b) to appropriate family-based safety services caseworkers and
  child protective services region management.
         (d)  The department shall distribute each report prepared by
  a post-adoption support services provider as required by Subsection
  (b) to appropriate conservatorship and adoption caseworkers and
  child protective services region management.
         (e)  This section does not apply to a provider that has
  entered into a contract with the commission to provide family-based
  safety services under Section 264.156, Family Code.  This
  subsection expires on the date Section 264.156, Family Code,
  expires.
         (b)  The quality metrics required by Section 40.0581, Human
  Resources Code, as added by this section, must be developed not
  later than September 1, 2018, and included in any contract,
  including a renewal contract, entered into by the Health and Human
  Services Commission with a family-based safety services provider or
  a post-adoption support services provider on or after January 1,
  2019, except as provided by Section 40.0581(e), Human Resources
  Code, as added by this section.
         SECTION 12.  (a)  Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources
  Code, is amended by adding Section 42.0432 to read as follows:
         Sec. 42.0432.  HEALTH SCREENING REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD
  PLACED WITH CHILD-PLACING AGENCY. (a) A child-placing agency that
  contracts with the department to provide services must ensure that
  at least 90 percent of the children that are in the managing
  conservatorship of the department and are placed with the
  child-placing agency receive a complete early and periodic
  screening, diagnosis, and treatment checkup not later than the 30th
  day after the date the child is placed with the child-placing
  agency.
         (b)  The commission shall include a provision in a contract
  with a child-placing agency specifying monetary penalties for the
  child-placing agency's failure to comply with Subsection (a). The
  penalties must be in amounts that are proportional to the number of
  percentage points by which the child-placing agency fails to comply
  with the percentage required by Subsection (a).
         (b)  A child-placing agency that contracts to provide
  services for the Department of Family and Protective Services must
  comply with the requirements of Section 42.0432, Human Resources
  Code, as added by this section, not later than August 31, 2018. The
  department and the Health and Human Services Commission may not
  impose a monetary penalty for noncompliance with a contract
  provision described by that section until September 1, 2018.
         SECTION 13.  Except as otherwise provided by this Act, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2017.