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  | S.B. No. 593 |
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relating to an independent assessment of the Health and Human | ||
Services Commission's and the Department of Family and Protective | ||
Services' rules, minimum standards, and contract requirements that | ||
apply to certain residential child-care providers. | ||
       BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
       SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, | ||
is amended by adding Section 42.027 to read as follows: | ||
       Sec. 42.027.  INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT. (a) Not later than | ||
March 31, 2024, the commission shall contract with an independent | ||
entity that has demonstrated expertise in evaluating state child | ||
welfare systems and conducting statistical and operational | ||
analysis to conduct an assessment of: | ||
             (1)  the commission's and the department's rules, | ||
minimum standards, and contract requirements that apply to | ||
child-placing agencies, residential child-care facilities | ||
including foster homes, relative caregivers, and adoptive homes; | ||
and | ||
             (2)  the standards or oversight requirements | ||
prescribed by law to determine: | ||
                   (A)  the relevance of the standard or oversight | ||
requirement; | ||
                   (B)  whether the standard or oversight | ||
requirement complies with federal laws, rules, or guidelines; and | ||
                   (C)  whether the standard or oversight | ||
requirement is the best practice. | ||
       (b)  Not later than September 30, 2024, or the date of the | ||
next comprehensive review required under Section 42.042(b), | ||
whichever occurs first, the independent entity shall complete the | ||
assessment and submit to the commission and the department a report | ||
that includes the findings of the assessment and recommendations | ||
for: | ||
             (1)  simplifying the commission's minimum standards for | ||
the purposes of: | ||
                   (A)  prioritizing the health, safety, and | ||
well-being of children residing in a residential child-care | ||
facility including a foster home or the home of a relative caregiver | ||
or an adoptive parent; and | ||
                   (B)  reducing any barriers to opening a | ||
child-placing agency or a residential child-care facility or | ||
becoming a relative caregiver, a foster parent, or an adoptive | ||
parent; | ||
             (2)  adjusting the commission's system for assigning | ||
weights to minimum standards to ensure that the system is | ||
methodical, consistent, and reflective of a strategic model for | ||
increasing the focus on the health, safety, and well-being of | ||
children residing in a residential child-care facility including a | ||
foster home or the home of a relative caregiver or an adoptive | ||
parent, including an explanation of the recommended adjustments; | ||
             (3)  taking into consideration the model licensing | ||
standards recommended by the Administration for Children and | ||
Families of the United States Department of Health and Human | ||
Services, eliminating any minimum standards that are weighted as | ||
low, medium-low, or medium by the commission and are not directly | ||
related to child safety; | ||
             (4)  addressing any licensing, training, or oversight | ||
requirements that are barriers to retaining high-quality | ||
residential child-care facilities including foster homes, relative | ||
caregivers, or adoptive parents; | ||
             (5)  updating licensing standards for the purposes of: | ||
                   (A)  prioritizing the health, safety, and | ||
well-being of children residing in a residential child-care | ||
facility including a foster home or the home of a relative caregiver | ||
or an adoptive parent; and | ||
                   (B)  reducing any barriers to the hiring and | ||
retention of high-quality leadership, administrators, and staff at | ||
child-placing agencies and residential child-care facilities; | ||
             (6)  providing maximum flexibility in applying | ||
standards to ensure that services are provided in response to the | ||
needs of each individual child residing in a residential child-care | ||
facility including a foster home or the home of a relative caregiver | ||
or an adoptive parent; | ||
   Statutes affected: Introduced: () Senate Committee Report: () Engrossed: () House Committee Report: () Enrolled: () |