BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	S.B. 470
86R130 MM-D	By: Kolkhorst
	Health & Human Services
	4/10/2019
	As Filed

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

The Family Code allows a county commissioners court to appoint a Child Welfare Board (CWB) for each county. These CWBs oversee a network of volunteers to provide for the welfare of children in foster care in the county served by the CWB. These boards are a governmental unit, and therefore they receive local funding from the counties they serve.

 

Currently the Department of Family and Protective Services does not monitor or coordinate with these boards for the same population that both serve. Therefore, an opportunity is missed to better serve children in foster care while ensuring the most efficient use of state and local dollars.

 

S.B. 470 seeks to guarantee that the State is fully coordinating and collaborating with its county partners to most effectively provide for the needs of some of the most vulnerable children in the state.

 

As proposed, S.B. 470 amends current law relating to the powers and duties of county child welfare boards.

 

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 Section 264.005, Family Code, by amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsection (h), as follows:

 

�(f) Authorizes a county child welfare board member, rather than a county child protective services board member, to receive information that is confidential under Section 40.005 (Confidentiality of Information), Human Resources Code, or Section 261.201 (Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information), Family Code, when the board member is acting in the member's official capacity.

 

(h) Requires each county child welfare board, not later than December 1 of each year, to submit a report to the Department of Family and Protective Services that includes the amount and source of funds received by the board during the board's preceding fiscal year and the amount and source of funds expended by the board during the board's preceding fiscal year, including a description of the purpose of each expenditure.

 

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2019.