Bill Text: TX SB1853 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to certain procedures in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship for a child placed in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services and the provision of family preservation services and community-based foster care.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-05-23 - Placed on General State Calendar [SB1853 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB1853-Comm_Sub.html

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88R30308 AMF-F
By: Kolkhorst, et al. S.B. No. 1853
(Hull)
Substitute the following for S.B. No. 1853: No.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain procedures in a suit affecting the parent-child
relationship for a child placed in the conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services and the provision of
family preservation services and community-based foster care.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 262.401(3), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(3) "Family preservation service" means [a]
time-limited, family-focused services [service], including
services [a service] subject to the Family First Prevention
Services Act (Title VII, Div. E, Pub. L. No. 115-123), family-based
safety services, and services approved under the Title IV-E state
plan provided to the family of a child who is:
(A) a candidate for foster care to prevent or
eliminate the need to remove the child and to allow the child to
remain safely with the child's family; [or]
(B) a pregnant or parenting foster youth;
(C) a member of a household that is subject to an
order rendered under Section 264.203; or
(D) the subject of a monitored return under
Section 263.403.
SECTION 2. The heading to Section 262.411, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 262.411. SELECTION OF SERVICE PROVIDER;
REIMBURSEMENT.
SECTION 3. Section 262.411, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1) and (c-2) to
read as follows:
(c) A [parent,] managing conservator, guardian, or other
member of a household who is not a parent and who obtains family
preservation services from a provider selected by the person is
responsible for the cost of those services.
(c-1) The department shall reimburse a service provider
selected by the parent under Subsection (a) who is not under
contract with the department in an amount equal to the average cost
for the specific service, including any virtual services, from
department contractors providing the service in the region where
the parent resides.
(c-2) The department shall:
(1) adopt rules relating to the manner in which
providers are reimbursed for services provided under this section;
(2) implement this section using existing resources;
and
(3) prioritize payments to providers of in-home
support services under Section 264.2011.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 263, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 263.0022 to read as follows:
Sec. 263.0022. TEMPORARY EMERGENCY SUPERVISION. (a) In
this section, "temporary emergency supervision" means the
supervision and care provided by the department for a child without
placement for whom the department has been appointed as the
temporary or permanent managing conservator.
(b) The department may not advocate for and a court may not
render an order placing a child in temporary emergency supervision
if a safe and appropriate placement is available.
(c) Before a court may order temporary emergency
supervision for a child, the department shall submit a report to the
court that includes information regarding each attempted
placement, including:
(1) the type of placement;
(2) the location of the placement;
(3) the date the department contacted the placement;
and
(4) the reason the department determined the placement
was not safe or appropriate.
SECTION 5. Section 264.1261(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Appropriate department management personnel from a
child protective services region in which community-based care has
not been implemented, in collaboration with foster care providers,
faith-based organizations [entities], and child advocates in that
region, shall use data collected by the department on foster care
capacity needs and availability of each type of foster care and
kinship placement in the region to create a plan to address the
substitute care capacity needs in the region. The plan must
identify both short-term and long-term goals and strategies for
addressing those capacity needs.
SECTION 6. Section 264.152, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subdivision (2) and adding Subdivisions (5) and (6) to
read as follows:
(2) "Case management" means the provision of case
management services to a child for whom the department has been
appointed temporary or permanent managing conservator or to the
child's family, a young adult in extended foster care, a relative or
kinship caregiver, or a child who has been placed in the catchment
area through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children,
and includes:
(A) caseworker visits with the child;
(B) family and caregiver visits;
(C) convening and conducting permanency planning
meetings;
(D) the development and revision of child and
family plans of service, including a permanency plan and goals for a
child or young adult in care;
(E) the coordination and monitoring of services
required by the child and the child's family or caregivers,
including:
(i) pre-adoption and post-adoption
assistance;
(ii) services for children in the
conservatorship of the department who must transition to
independent living; and
(iii) services related to family
reunification, including services to support a monitored return;
(F) the assumption of court-related duties
regarding the child, including:
(i) providing any required notifications or
consultations;
(ii) preparing court reports;
(iii) attending judicial and permanency
hearings, trials, and mediations;
(iv) complying with applicable court
orders; and
(v) ensuring the child is progressing
toward the goal of permanency within state and federally mandated
guidelines; and
(G) any other function or service that the
department determines necessary to allow a single source continuum
contractor to assume responsibility for case management.
(5) "Faith-based organization" means a religious or
denominational institution or organization, including an
organization operated for religious, educational, or charitable
purposes and operated, supervised, or controlled, in whole or in
part, by or in connection with a religious organization.
(6) "Family preservation service" means time-limited,
family-focused services, including services subject to the Family
First Prevention Services Act (Title VII, Div. E, Pub. L.
No. 115-123), family-based safety services, and services approved
under the Title IV-E state plan provided to the family of a child
who is:
(A) a candidate for foster care to prevent or
eliminate the need to remove the child and to allow the child to
remain safely with the child's family;
(B) a pregnant or parenting foster youth;
(C) a member of a household that is subject to an
order rendered under Section 264.203; or
(D) the subject of a monitored return under
Section 263.403.
SECTION 7. The heading to Section 264.155, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 264.155. [REQUIRED] CONTRACT PROVISIONS.
SECTION 8. Section 264.155, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as
follows:
(a) A contract with a single source continuum contractor to
provide community-based care services in a catchment area must
include provisions that:
(1) establish a timeline for the implementation of
community-based care in the catchment area, including a timeline
for implementing:
(A) family preservation services;
(B) case management services for children,
families, and relative and kinship caregivers receiving services in
the catchment area; and
(C) [(B)] family reunification support services
to be provided after a child receiving services from the contractor
is returned to the child's family;
(2) establish conditions for the single source
continuum contractor's access to relevant department data and
require the participation of the contractor in the data access and
standards governance council created under Section 264.159;
(3) require the single source continuum contractor to
create a single process for the training and use of alternative
caregivers for all child-placing agencies in the catchment area to
facilitate reciprocity of licenses for alternative caregivers
between agencies, including respite and overnight care providers,
as those terms are defined by department rule;
(4) require the single source continuum contractor to
maintain a diverse network of service providers that offer a range
of foster capacity options and that can accommodate children from
diverse cultural backgrounds;
(5) require [allow] the department to conduct a
performance review of the contractor beginning 18 months after the
contractor has begun providing case management, family
preservation, and family reunification support services [to all
children and families] in the catchment area and determine if the
contractor has achieved [any] performance outcomes specified in the
contract, including:
(A) the percentage of children reunified with
their families within six months, 12 months, 18 months, and 24
months or later, after the date a suit is filed by the department;
(B) the percentage of children who reenter the
conservatorship of the department within six months, 12 months, or
three years after the date the child leaves the conservatorship of
the department, disaggregated by case outcome and reason for
reentry;
(C) the percentage of children who remain in the
conservatorship of the department until the age of majority,
including the percentage of children receiving extended foster care
services;
(D) the number of placement moves per 1,000 days
a child is in substitute care, disaggregated by placement type and
the number of days in each placement type;
(E) the percentage of families completing family
preservation services within three months, six months, nine months,
and 12 months, and after 12 months after the date a suit is filed by
the department, disaggregated by type of service;
(F) the percentage of children entering the
conservatorship of the department within six months, 12 months, and
24 months of the date the child's family begins receiving family
preservation services, including the reason the department was
granted conservatorship;
(G) the percentage of children entering the
conservatorship of the department within six months, 12 months, two
years, and four years of the date the child's family completes
family preservation services, including the reason the department
was granted conservatorship; and
(H) the percentage of children residing with one
parent, with both parents, or in a shared custody arrangement
between parents on completion of family preservation services;
(6) following the review under Subdivision (5),
require [allow] the department to:
(A) impose financial penalties on the contractor
for failing to meet [any specified] performance outcomes under
Subdivision (5); and [or]
(B) award financial incentives to the contractor
for exceeding [any specified] performance outcomes under
Subdivision (5);
(7) following the review under Subdivision (5),
transfer the provision of family preservation services to the
contractor;
(8) require the contractor to give preference for
employment to employees of the department:
(A) whose position at the department is impacted
by the implementation of community-based care; and
(B) who are considered by the department to be
employees in good standing;
(9) [(8)] require the contractor to implement
[provide] preliminary and ongoing community engagement plans to
ensure communication and collaboration with local stakeholders in
the catchment area, including any of the following:
(A) community faith-based organizations
[entities];
(B) the judiciary;
(C) court-appointed special advocates;
(D) child advocacy centers;
(E) service providers;
(F) foster families;
(G) biological parents;
(H) foster youth and former foster youth;
(I) relative or kinship caregivers;
(J) child welfare boards, if applicable;
(K) attorneys ad litem;
(L) attorneys that represent parents involved in
suits filed by the department; and
(M) any other stakeholders, as determined by the
contractor; and
(10) [(9)] require that the contractor comply with any
applicable court order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction
in the case of a child for whom the contractor has assumed case
management responsibilities or an order imposing a requirement on
the department that relates to functions assumed by the contractor.
(a-1) A contract with a single source continuum contractor
to provide community-based care services in a catchment area may
include provisions that require the contractor to develop a program
to recruit and retain foster parents from faith-based
organizations, including requirements for the contractor to:
(1) collaborate with faith-based organizations to
inform prospective foster parents about:
(A) the need for foster parents in the community;
(B) the requirements for becoming a foster
parent; and
(C) any other aspect of the foster care program
that is necessary to recruit foster parents;
(2) provide training for prospective foster parents;
and
(3) identify and recommend ways in which faith-based
organizations may support persons as they are recruited, are
trained, and serve as foster parents.
SECTION 9. Section 264.156(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(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 and services for relative and
kinship caregivers, including the contractor's ability to provide:
(1) family preservation services;
(2) case management services for children and
families;
(3) [(2)] evidence-based, promising practice, or
evidence-informed supports for children and families; and
(4) [(3)] sufficient available capacity for inpatient
and outpatient services and supports for children at all service
levels who have previously been placed in the catchment area.
SECTION 10. Sections 264.158(a) and (b), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) In each initial catchment area where community-based
care has been implemented or a contract with a single source
continuum contractor has been executed before September 1, 2017,
the department shall transfer to the single source continuum
contractor providing foster care services in that area:
(1) family preservation services;
(2) the case management of children, relative and
kinship caregivers, and families receiving services from that
contractor; and
(3) [(2)] family reunification support services to be
provided after a child receiving services from the contractor is
returned to the child's family for the period of time ordered by the
court.
(b) The commission shall include a provision in a contract
with a single source continuum contractor to provide foster care
services and services for relative and kinship caregivers in a
catchment area to which community-based care is expanded after
September 1, 2017, that requires the transfer to the contractor of
the provision of:
(1) family preservation services;
(2) the case management services for children,
relative and kinship caregivers, and families in the catchment area
where the contractor will be operating; and
(3) [(2)] family reunification support services to be
provided after a child receiving services from the contractor is
returned to the child's family.
SECTION 11. The heading to Section 264.2031, Family Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 264.2031. SELECTION OF SERVICE PROVIDER;
REIMBURSEMENT.
SECTION 12. Section 264.2031, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (d) to
read as follows:
(b) A [parent,] managing conservator, guardian, or other
member of a household who is not a parent and who obtains services
from a provider selected by the person is responsible for the cost
of those services.
(b-1) The department shall reimburse a service provider
selected by the parent under Subsection (a) who is not under
contract with the department in an amount equal to the average cost
for the specific service, including any virtual services, from
department contractors providing the service in the region where
the parent resides.
(d) The department shall:
(1) adopt rules relating to the manner in which
providers are reimbursed for services provided under this section;
(2) implement this section using existing resources;
and
(3) prioritize payments to providers of in-home
support services under Section 264.2011.
SECTION 13. Sections 264.113(a), (b), and (c), Family Code,
are repealed.
SECTION 14. (a) Section 263.0022, Family Code, as added by
this Act, applies to a placement review hearing of a child
regardless of the date on which the Department of Family and
Protective Services is named the child's managing conservator.
(b) Sections 264.152, 264.155, 264.156(a), and 264.158(a)
and (b), Family Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a
contract with a single source continuum contractor entered into on
or after the effective date of this Act. A contract with a single
source continuum contractor entered into before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the contract
was entered into, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.