Bill Text: TX HB1633 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Relating to creating an advisory committee to study child abuse and neglect fatalities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2013-05-10 - Referred to Health & Human Services [HB1633 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-HB1633-Engrossed.html

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By: Dukes, et al. H.B. No. 1633

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to creating an advisory committee to study child abuse and
neglect fatalities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. PROTECT OUR KIDS COMMISSION. (a) The Protect Our
Kids Commission is composed of the following members:
(1) six members appointed by the governor;
(2) three members appointed by the lieutenant
governor;
(3) three members appointed by the speaker of the
house of representatives;
(4) one member with experience in behavioral health
and substance abuse appointed by the commissioner of the Department
of State Health Services;
(5) one member who represents the Department of Family
and Protective Services appointed by the commissioner of the
department; and
(6) one member who represents the Office of Title V and
Family Health of the Department of State Health Services appointed
by the office director.
(b) The appropriate appointing authority shall appoint the
members to the commission not later than December 31, 2013.
SECTION 2. QUALIFICATIONS. Each member appointed to the
commission must have experience in one or more of the following
areas:
(1) child welfare administration;
(2) child welfare research;
(3) child development;
(4) legislation, including legislation involving
child welfare matters;
(5) trauma and crisis intervention;
(6) pediatrics;
(7) psychology and mental health;
(8) emergency medicine;
(9) neonatology;
(10) forensic pathology or medical investigation of
injury and fatality;
(11) social work, with field experience;
(12) child protective services, with field
experience;
(13) law enforcement, with experience handling child
abuse and neglect matters;
(14) civil law, with experience handling child abuse
and neglect matters;
(15) criminal law, with experience handling child
abuse and neglect matters;
(16) substance abuse treatment;
(17) provision of services to families who had a child
die of sudden infant death syndrome;
(18) provision of services to or advocacy for victims
of family violence;
(19) service on a task force for reducing child abuse
and neglect and improving child welfare;
(20) education at an elementary school or secondary
school;
(21) education at an institution of higher education;
(22) epidemiology; or
(23) computer science or software engineering, with a
background in interoperability standards.
SECTION 3. DIVERSITY OF QUALIFICATIONS. In making
appointments to the commission, each appointing authority shall
make every effort to select individuals:
(1) whose qualifications are not already represented
by other members of the commission; and
(2) who reflect the geographical, cultural, racial,
and ethnic diversity of the state.
SECTION 4. PRESIDING OFFICER. The governor shall designate
one of the governor's appointees as presiding officer of the
commission.
SECTION 5. VACANCY. A vacancy on the commission shall be
filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
SECTION 6. MEETINGS. (a) Not later than the 30th day after
the date on which a majority of the members of the commission have
been appointed, the commission shall hold its first meeting.
(b) The commission shall meet at least once each calendar
quarter and at other times as necessary at the call of the presiding
officer.
(c) The commission may take testimony and receive evidence
the commission considers advisable to carry out its duties.
SECTION 7. COMPENSATION. Members of the commission serve
without compensation and are not entitled to reimbursement for
expenses.
SECTION 8. DUTIES OF COMMISSION. The commission shall
study the relationship between child protective services and child
welfare services and the rate of child abuse and neglect
fatalities. As part of the study, the commission shall:
(1) evaluate current programs and prevention efforts,
and recommend a comprehensive statewide strategy to reduce and
prevent fatalities from child abuse and neglect; and
(2) review:
(A) current research, including the National
Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and research and
recommendations from the United States Government Accountability
Office, to identify lessons, solutions, and needed improvements
related to reducing fatalities from child abuse and neglect;
(B) the effectiveness of child protective
services and child welfare services in preventing child fatalities
that are intentionally caused or that occur due to negligence,
neglect, or a failure to exercise proper care;
(C) the effectiveness of the Department of Family
and Protective Services' policies and systems aimed at collecting
accurate, uniform data on child fatalities in a coordinated
fashion, including the identification of the most and least
effective policies and systems in practice;
(D) any existing barriers to preventing
fatalities from child abuse and neglect, and how to improve child
welfare outcomes;
(E) trends in demographic and other risk factors
that may predict or that are related to child abuse, including age
of the child, child behavior, family structure, parental stress,
and poverty;
(F) methods of prioritizing child abuse and
neglect prevention for families with the highest need; and
(G) methods of improving data collection and use,
including increasing interoperability among state, local, and
other data systems.
SECTION 9. RECOMMENDATIONS. The commission shall:
(1) identify promising practices and evidence-based
strategies to address and reduce fatalities from child abuse and
neglect;
(2) develop recommendations and identify resources
necessary to reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect for
implementation by state and local agencies and private sector and
nonprofit organizations, including recommendations to implement a
comprehensive statewide strategy for reducing those fatalities;
(3) develop guidelines for ensuring that each county
in the state is covered by a child fatality review team created
under Subchapter F, Chapter 264, Family Code, and provide specific
recommendations for a child fatality review team investigating a
child fatality that is caused by abuse or neglect; and
(4) develop guidelines for the types of information
that should be tracked to improve interventions to prevent
fatalities from child abuse and neglect.
SECTION 10. GIFTS. The commission may accept gifts and
grants of money, property, and services from any source to be used
to conduct a function of the commission.
SECTION 11. REPORT. Not later than December 1, 2015, the
commission shall submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, and
speaker of the house of representatives a report containing:
(1) the commission's findings and recommendations;
(2) a complete explanation of each of the commission's
recommendations;
(3) proposed legislation necessary to implement the
recommendations made in the report; and
(4) any administrative recommendations proposed by
the commission.
SECTION 12. APPLICATION OF LAW GOVERNING ADVISORY
COMMITTEES. The commission is not subject to Chapter 2110,
Government Code.
SECTION 13. EXPIRATION DATE. The Protect Our Kids
Commission is abolished and this Act expires December 31, 2015.
SECTION 14. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
September 1, 2013.