88R2938 BDP-D
 
  By: Hull H.B. No. 2613
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to monetary assistance provided by the Department of
  Family and Protective Services to certain relative or designated
  caregivers.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 264.752(c), Family Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         (c)  The executive commissioner shall adopt rules necessary
  to implement this subchapter. [The rules must include eligibility
  criteria for receiving assistance and services under this
  subchapter.]
         SECTION 2.  Section 264.755, Family Code, as amended by
  Chapter 315 (H.B. 4), Acts of the 85th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2017, is amended by reenacting and amending Subsections
  (a), (b), (b-1), (c), and (f) to read as follows:
         (a)  The department shall, subject to the availability of
  funds, enter into a caregiver assistance agreement with each
  relative or other designated caregiver to provide monetary
  assistance and additional support services to the caregiver. [The
  monetary assistance and support services shall be based on a
  family's need, as determined by Subsection (b) and rules adopted by
  the executive commissioner.]
         (b)  The department shall provide monetary assistance under
  this section to each relative or other designated [a] caregiver
  [who has a family income that is less than or equal to 300 percent of
  the federal poverty level]. Monetary assistance provided to a
  caregiver under this section must be equal to [may not exceed 50
  percent of] the department's minimum daily [basic] foster care
  reimbursement rate for the child. [A caregiver who has a family
  income greater than 300 percent of the federal poverty level is not
  eligible for monetary assistance under this section.]
         (b-1)  The department shall disburse monetary assistance
  provided to a caregiver under Subsection (b) in the same manner as
  the department disburses payments to a foster parent, including
  making a rate increase effective on the same date the department
  implements a rate increase for the minimum daily foster care
  reimbursement rate. The department may not provide monetary
  assistance to an eligible caregiver under Subsection (b) after the
  first anniversary of the date the caregiver receives the first
  monetary assistance payment from the department under this section.
  The department, at its discretion and for good cause, may extend the
  monetary assistance payments for an additional six months.
         (c)  Monetary assistance and additional support services
  provided under this section may include:
               (1)  case management services and training and
  information about the child's needs until the caregiver is
  appointed permanent managing conservator;
               (2)  referrals to appropriate state agencies
  administering public benefits or assistance programs for which the
  child, the caregiver, or the caregiver's family may qualify;
               (3)  family counseling not provided under the Medicaid
  program for the caregiver's family for a period not to exceed two
  years from the date of initial placement;
               (4)  [if the caregiver meets the eligibility criteria
  determined by rules adopted by the executive commissioner,]
  reimbursement of all child-care expenses incurred while the child
  is under 13 years of age, or under 18 years of age if the child has a
  developmental disability, and while the department is the child's
  managing conservator; and
               (5)  [if the caregiver meets the eligibility criteria
  determined by rules adopted by the executive commissioner,]
  reimbursement of 50 percent of child-care expenses incurred after
  the caregiver is appointed permanent managing conservator of the
  child while the child is under 13 years of age, or under 18 years of
  age if the child has a developmental disability.
         (f)  If a person [who has a family income that is less than or
  equal to 300 percent of the federal poverty level] enters into a
  caregiver assistance agreement with the department, obtains
  permanent managing conservatorship of a child, and meets all other
  eligibility requirements, the person may receive an annual
  reimbursement of other expenses for the child, as determined by
  rules adopted by the executive commissioner, not to exceed $500 per
  year until the earlier of:
               (1)  the third anniversary of the date the person was
  awarded permanent managing conservatorship of the child; or
               (2)  the child's 18th birthday.
         SECTION 3.  Section 264.755(b-2), Family Code, is repealed.
         SECTION 4.  Section 264.755, Family Code, as amended by this
  Act, applies to a caregiver assistance agreement entered into
  before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.