SB+2080+Texas+Legislature+81st+Session


 * SB 2080**

The [|Bill S.B. 2080] relates to treating and reducing child abuse and neglect and improving welfare, including providing assistance for adoptive parents and foster care providers.

The subjects regarding this bill consist of Minors –Health and Safety, adoption, Child abuse, Foster Care, Strategic Plans, Welfare, and Family & Protective Services. The Bill 2080 was filed on 3/13/09 by the primary author, [|Senator Carlos Uresti]. Carlos Uresti is the Senator from State Senate District 19. Uresti has been directly involved in the establishment and authorization of a number of bills and has also served as co-sponsor in many. However, he serves as author of Bill 2080, child abuse reporting. He orders that the Department of Family and Protective Services discharge findings and information about children who have had a fatal fate because of mistreatment and negligence, such disclosure will increase public scrutiny of abuse cases with the results of death, leading to improvements in child welfare policy and practices. The author’s statement of intent consists of treating and reducing child abuse and neglect and reducing the increase of abused children placed in foster homes. According to Uresti, negligence and abuse of children kills more than 3 children every day in America. About 85 percent of abused children are under the age six and about half as many child victims are less than one year old. In Texas every 11 minutes a child is a victim of abuse and neglect, and the amount of foster children put in foster homes because of child abuse in their dominance has been raised to 30 percent from 2001-2005. Negligence and child abuse is preventable, however, in 2006, close to 68,000 Texas children were proved to be victims. Nationwide that number increase to one million. When the state takes a neglected or abused child from their parent, the court authorizes the Texas Department of Family and protective Services (DFPS) as the legal caretaker of the child, making the state the caregiver of the child. The state then has to provide for the child what a parent provides, such as clothing, food, and shelter. Still in January 2007, the state has needed to retain over 500 neglected and abused children for partly one night in a state office or a hotel room. Every district in the state has needed to use offices or hotel rooms because the state does not have a sufficient amount of foster homes. Child abuse reports are increasing quickly. The children security system has deficient ability to give sufficient and appropriate research for all the reports. Child victims of abuse and neglect suffer from problems in school and are at jeopardy of establishing some health problems or assume certain unhealthy behaviors. A main issue about child abuse causing problems in school is that about 22 percent of victims suffer from learning disabilities and this causes them to be put into a special education program. Mistreatment that takes place during infancy and the early years of childhood can cause essential sections of the brain to develop poorly, which then leads to enduring physical and mental complications. Death from shaken baby syndrome is a consequence of infancy abuse. There are twenty-five to thirty infants whom suffer from shaken baby syndrome. However, the infants who do survive are at high risk of developing motor, visual or cognitive impairments. The payment for the analysis, medical care and distribution linked to children abuse in this state comes close to $900 million per year.

This Senate Bill helps adoptive and foster families by extending benefits. It permits the extension of adoption assistance, foster care expenses, and permanency care assistance reimbursement for the young whom meet certain surpassing education and employment criteria. This was signed by the governor and becomes effective September 1, 2009. This bill also includes provisions to expedite permanency for foster youth. It creates the Permanency Care Assistance Program to give adequate kinship care providers financial assistance if they decide to take permanent guardianship of a child in following the federal Fostering Connections to Success Act. This was signed by the governor and will be effective on September 1, 2009. The bill was read for the first time in the Senate on March 31, 2009. The bill was read in the House for the first time on May 13, 2009. Co-authors, Nelson and Dan Patrick, were authorized on May 4, 2009. The House Conferees appointed sponsor McCledon on May 30, 2009. The Bill was voted out of Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on May 1, 2009 with vote of 9 Ayes, 0 Nays, 0 Present Not Voting, 0 Absent. On May 8, 2009 Bill 2080 passed the Senate. On May 20, 2009 the Bill was reported out of House Committee on Human Services with vote of 5 Ayes, 0 Nays, 0 Present Not Voting, 0 Absent. On May 27, 2009, the Bill passed the House. On June 03, 2009 Bill 2080 was sent to the governor and signed by the governor on June 19, 2009.

Rule Making Authority: Bill 2080 does not explicitly endow any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. On May 27, 2009 the bill was read for the second time in the House. Also on May 27, 2009, 3 amends were made in the Bill, two of which were requested by sponsor McCledon and one from Dukes. The chapter 1001, Health and Safety code, was amended by adding Subchapter F. Texas Medical Child Abuse Resources and Education System (Medicares). The Texas Medical Child Abuse Resources and Education System Grant Program was established under the Sect. 1001.151. This portion of the bill necessitates that the Department of Family and Protective Services to authorize the Texas Medical Child Abuse Resources and Education System grant program for the intentions to improve the assessment, treatment and diagnoses of child abuse and neglect as recited in a report by the pediatric centers of excellence. The grants will be used for evaluations, analysis and services, development of knowledge, case reviews and conferences, research and data accumulations, use of telemedicine, and other such actions as determined. A Medicares counseling committee will be entrenched and include the medical director for Department of Family and Protective Services, will receive donations from public and private sources, and must address to the governor and the legislature no later then December first of each even numbered year concerning the actions of the grant program, along with the conclusion and consequences. The first initial report must be provided before December 1, 2010 as is required by Section 1001.155, Health and safety code. This was signed by the governor and will be effective starting September 1, 2009.

As intended, the Senate Bill establishes a task force to investigate the issue of child abuse and neglect and welfare and depends upon the task force to establish goals for state arrangements on the issue and present a strategic plan to achieve these goals. Task force members will consist of members appointed by the Governor, the lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House and must be vigorously implicated with the fields of child welfare and the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The task force will also assemble information relating to child safety, mistreating and negligence toward a child, and child welfare throughout a state, evaluate exemptions from criminal responsibility to a mother whom harms her unborn child by using a controlled substance and inspect the effect that repelling the exemptions would have on decreasing the amount of newborns being born addicted, obtain reports and testimony, establish goals for state policy for progress in child security, preventing child abuse and neglect, and advance child welfare and present an imperative plan to achieve these goals. The strategic plan may contain proposals for lawful changes, establishment of new programs, techniques to advance assistance among state agencies and state and local government. Members of the task force must be selected by October 1, 2009. The imperative plan must be presented to the Governor and the Speaker of the House before August 1, 2011. The task force shall be eradicated on September 1, 2011.

__Adoptive Assistance:__ This bill increases adoption assistance to a child’s adoptive caregivers after age 18 and until age 21 if the initial adoption assistance contract was first entered after the youth was age 16. Adoption Assistance is granted if the youth is recurrently going to school or in a program that will help them receive their high school diploma, going to post secondary or vocational school, partaking in a plan that eliminates the blockade to employment, is employed at a least 80 hours per month, or is unable to do such activities due to a reported medical circumstance. The department has no necessity to supply expanded adoption assistance if money is not particularly suited for this purpose.

__Extended Foster Care:__ Bill 2080 permits this division to resume to pay the fee of foster care after a person is age 18 until age 22 as long as the person is recurrently attending school or a program that will help them receive their high school diploma. The rest of Extended Foster Care requirements are the same as Adoption Assistance. __Designated and Relative Caregivers:__ Bill 2080 amends the description of designated and relative caregivers by adding that they are not licensed or confirmed to operate a foster home. If designated or relative caregivers do receive their license to operate a foster home, group homes, etc, then they may obtain foster care payments in substitute of the caregiver assistance payments.

__Permanency care assistance program:__ This section develops the permanency care assistance program which is a composed contract between the Department of Family and Protective Services and a kinship provider for fiscal benefits. A kinship provider is classified as a relative or an adult who has an enduring and essential relationship with the foster child and with whom the child lives with for at least six months after the person is certified to offer foster care. Qualified kinship contributors may obtain reimbursement for non-reiterating operating cost as a consequence of the pursuit of receiving permanent supervision conservatorship of the child, along with attorney fees and the court costs, not to surpass $2000. This program must be conventional to the necessities of the federal Fostering Connections Act. The highest monthly sum under this agreement must not surpass the sum of monthly paid foster care.

__Extended Permanency Care Assistance:__ Extendedg Permanency Care Assistance may be prolonged after age 18 and until age 21 if the original contract was first input when the adolescent was 16. The benefits can still be provided if the youth is continually attending school or a program that will help them earn their high school diploma, attending a post secondary or vocational school, take part in a program that eliminates the blockade to employment, is working for at least 80 hours, or is not able to of doing these things due to a reported medical state. The department has no necessity to offer extended permanency care assistance if the money is not particularly appropriated for this purpose. Department of Family and Protective Services may not take part into the permanency care assistance arrangements after August 31, 2017, but may carry on paying benefits for agreements entered in to before this date. The sections on Adoption Assistance, Extended Foster Care, and Extended Permanency Care Assistance are effective October 1, 2010.

[|SB 2080 Timeline] Above is the link to the timeline of Bill 2080.

In conclusion, The Secretary of the Senate accredited that S.B. No. 2080 has passed the Senate on May, 8, 2009, with the following vote Yeas 3, Nays 0, and the Senate consented in House amendments on June 1, 2009 with the following votes Yeas 31; Nays 0. The Chief Clerk of the House accredited that S.B. No. 2080 has passed the House with amendments, on May 27, 2009 with the following votes of Yeas 148; Nays 0; and one not present voting. This was approved by the governor. This act will become effective September 1, 2009, except, as amended by this bill, sections 162.3041 and 264.101 (Family Code); and as supplemented by this act, Family Code section 264.855 take effect October 1, 2010. This Bill was envisioned to promote the security and safety of our children and provide for them a healthy future.