Bill Text: TX HB267 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the rights of a foster parent.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-07-13 - Filed [HB267 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB267-Introduced.html
| 87S10947 MCK-D | ||
| By: Sherman, Sr. | H.B. No. 267 | |
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| relating to the rights of a foster parent. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 263, Family Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 263.0081 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 263.0081. FOSTER PARENT'S BILL OF RIGHTS. (a) In this | ||
| section: | ||
| (1) "Child-placing agency" has the meaning assigned by | ||
| Section 42.002, Human Resources Code. | ||
| (2) "Foster care" means the temporary placement of a | ||
| child who is in the conservatorship of the department or an | ||
| authorized agency in a facility licensed or certified under Chapter | ||
| 42, Human Resources Code, in which care is provided for 24 hours a | ||
| day. | ||
| (3) "Foster parent's bill of rights" means the rights | ||
| described by Subsection (c). | ||
| (b) The state recognizes that foster parents: | ||
| (1) play an important and significant role in the | ||
| lives of foster children; | ||
| (2) are an essential part of the child protective | ||
| services system; and | ||
| (3) should be treated with respect by all employees of | ||
| the department and child-placing agency. | ||
| (c) It is the policy of this state that, to the extent | ||
| provided by state or federal law or policy, each foster parent has | ||
| the right: | ||
| (1) to be treated with dignity, respect, and | ||
| consideration as a professional member of the child protective | ||
| services team; | ||
| (2) to be free from being discriminated against on the | ||
| basis of religion, race, color, sex, national origin, age, or | ||
| disability; | ||
| (3) to be assured that all members of the foster | ||
| parent's family are safe from physical violence, emotional abuse, | ||
| and harassment; | ||
| (4) to be given standardized preservice training, | ||
| including cultural competence training and appropriate ongoing | ||
| training to meet mutually assessed needs and improve the foster | ||
| parent's skills; | ||
| (5) to be informed of the contact information of and | ||
| the process to contact the appropriate child-placing agency or | ||
| other source to receive information and assistance and to access | ||
| supportive services 24 hours a day, seven days a week; | ||
| (6) to receive timely financial reimbursement | ||
| commensurate with the level of care the foster child requires, | ||
| considering any medical or psychiatric care specified in the | ||
| child's service plan, any previous hospitalization due to medical | ||
| or psychiatric care, and the child's runaway status; | ||
| (7) to receive post-placement counseling for loss, | ||
| secondary trauma, and grief; | ||
| (8) to communicate with other professionals who work | ||
| with foster children, including therapists, physicians, and | ||
| teachers; | ||
| (9) to be considered as a placement option for a foster | ||
| child who was formerly placed with the foster parent if the child | ||
| reenters foster care, subject to a determination that the placement | ||
| is consistent with the best interest of the child and any other | ||
| child in the foster parent's home; | ||
| (10) to refuse a placement; | ||
| (11) to file a grievance and be informed of the process | ||
| for filing a grievance; | ||
| (12) to be timely notified of and be provided access to | ||
| the appeals process of the department or child-placing agency, as | ||
| appropriate; | ||
| (13) to be free from acts of harassment and | ||
| retaliation by any other party when exercising the right to appeal | ||
| or refuse a placement; | ||
| (14) to be provided, in a consistent and timely | ||
| manner, any information: | ||
| (A) that is pertinent to the care and needs of the | ||
| child or to the child's permanency plan and essential to the foster | ||
| parent's understanding of the needs of and care required for the | ||
| child, including information regarding the foster child and the | ||
| foster child's family and information related to previous | ||
| placements; and | ||
| (B) that the child's family consents to disclose | ||
| regarding the child or the child's family; | ||
| (15) to be provided a clear, written accounting of a | ||
| child-placing agency's plan concerning the placement of a foster | ||
| child in the foster parent's home, including a summary of the foster | ||
| parent's responsibility to support activities that promote the | ||
| foster child's right to relationships with the child's family and | ||
| cultural heritage; | ||
| (16) to provide comments concerning the service plan | ||
| for the child and to have those comments fully considered in the | ||
| same manner as information presented by any other child protective | ||
| services professional; | ||
| (17) except as otherwise provided by a court order or | ||
| when a child is at imminent risk of harm, to be provided written | ||
| notice of and a description of the reasons for: | ||
| (A) changes in a foster child's case plan; or | ||
| (B) any plan to terminate the placement of the | ||
| child with the foster parent; | ||
| (18) to be notified of relevant staffing and scheduled | ||
| meetings regarding the foster child to allow the foster parent to | ||
| actively participate in the case-planning and decision-making | ||
| process with regards to the child, including individual service | ||
| planning meetings, administrative case reviews, interdisciplinary | ||
| staffings, and individual educational planning meetings; | ||
| (19) to be provided timely, written notice of all | ||
| court hearings, including the following details: | ||
| (A) the date and time; | ||
| (B) the name of the judge or hearing officer; | ||
| (C) the location; and | ||
| (D) the docket number; | ||
| (20) to be reminded in writing that the foster parent | ||
| has a right to speak at the court hearings; | ||
| (21) to be informed of decisions made by the court or | ||
| the department concerning the child; | ||
| (22) to be provided a fair, timely, and impartial | ||
| investigation of any complaint concerning the foster parent's | ||
| licensure; | ||
| (23) to be provided an opportunity to have a person of | ||
| the foster parent's choosing present during any investigation; | ||
| (24) to receive mediation or an administrative review, | ||
| or both, regarding decisions that affect the foster parent's | ||
| license; and | ||
| (25) to be presented with a specific explanation of | ||
| any licensing corrective action plan, including the specific | ||
| licensing standard violated. | ||
| (d) The department or the child-placing agency that places a | ||
| foster child with a foster parent shall: | ||
| (1) provide the foster parent with: | ||
| (A) a written copy of the foster parent's bill of | ||
| rights; and | ||
| (B) the grievance process; and | ||
| (2) orally inform the foster parent of the rights | ||
| provided by the foster parent's bill of rights. | ||
| (e) The department's child protective services division or | ||
| a contractor shall provide the cultural competence training | ||
| described by Subsection (c)(4) to assist foster parents in | ||
| providing care that is respectful of the child's cultural identity | ||
| and needs. The training must: | ||
| (1) assist the foster parents in learning cultural | ||
| competence; and | ||
| (2) specifically address cultural needs of children, | ||
| including information on: | ||
| (A) skin and hair care; | ||
| (B) any specific religious or cultural practices | ||
| of the child's biological family; and | ||
| (C) referrals to community resources for ongoing | ||
| education and support. | ||
| (f) The commissioner of the department shall ensure that the | ||
| rules and policies governing foster care are consistent with the | ||
| state policy outlined by Subsection (c). | ||
| SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the | ||
| legislative session. | ||
