By: Nelson	S.B. No. 76

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to certain providers of subsidized child care.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, is amended by
	adding Chapter 313 to read as follows:
	CHAPTER 313.  REQUIREMENTS FOR PROVIDERS OF RELATIVE CHILD CARE
	Sec. 313.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
	(1)  "Department" means the Department of Family and
	Protective Services.
	(2)  "Relative child care" means child care that is:
	(A)  funded wholly or partly from money received
	under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42
	U.S.C. Section 9858 et seq.); and
	(B)  provided by a provider who:
	(i)  is at least 18 years of age;
	(ii)  complies with any federal or state
	requirements regarding subsidized child care that apply to the
	provider;
	(iii)  provides child-care services for less
	than 24 hours a day to a child who is, by marriage, blood
	relationship, or court decree:
	(a)  the grandchild of the provider;
	(b)  the great-grandchild of the
	provider;
	(c)  the sibling of the provider, and
	the child resides in a separate residence from the provider; or
	(d)  the niece or nephew of the
	provider; and
	(iv)  does not hold a license, listing, or
	registration issued under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, to
	provide care for children not related to the provider for less than
	24 hours a day.
	(3)  "Teen parent" means an individual 18 years of age
	or younger, or 19 years of age and fully enrolled in a secondary
	school in a program leading toward a high school diploma, who is the
	parent of a child.
	Sec. 313.002.  LOCATION OF CARE. (a)  Except as provided by
	Subsections (b) and (c), relative child care must be provided in the
	child-care provider's home.
	(b)  The commission shall allow relative child care in the
	child's home:
	(1)  for a disabled child and the child's siblings;
	(2)  for a child under 18 months of age and the child's
	siblings;
	(3)  for a child of a teen parent; and
	(4)  when the parent's work schedule necessitates
	child–care services during the evening, overnight, or on the
	weekend and taking the child outside of the child's home would be
	disruptive to the child.
	(c)  The commission may allow relative child care in the
	child's home if the commission determines that other child-care
	provider arrangements are not available in the community.
	Sec. 313.003.  LISTING AS FAMILY HOME. A relative
	child-care provider must list the provider's home with the
	department as a family home.
	Sec. 313.004.  NOTICE OF BACKGROUND AND CRIMINAL HISTORY
	CHECKS.  The commission must provide notice of the background and
	criminal history check requirement to the parent or guardian of the
	child who will receive care through a relative child-care provider
	before the parent or guardian selects the provider.
	Sec. 313.005.  MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. The commission
	and the department shall adopt a memorandum of understanding
	regarding the administration and payment of costs of listing a
	relative child-care provider as required by this chapter.
	SECTION 2.  Chapter 301, Labor Code, is amended by adding
	Subchapter K to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER K. DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF CHILD-CARE FRAUD, WASTE,
	AND ABUSE
	Sec. 301.191.  PREVENTION AND DETECTION OF CHILD-CARE FRAUD,
	WASTE, AND ABUSE. (a)  The commission shall develop risk
	assessment protocols to identify and assess possible instances of
	fraud, waste, and abuse in child-care programs, including:
	(1)  the use of unemployment insurance wage records to
	identify:
	(A)  potential ineligible parents due to a change
	in income or underreporting of income;
	(B)  relative child-care providers who are
	engaged in other employment; and
	(C)  parents who do not have the required work
	history; and
	(2)  the identification of parents who apply for or
	receive child-care services in multiple workforce areas
	simultaneously.
	(b)  The commission shall ensure that local workforce
	development boards implement procedures to prevent and detect
	fraud, waste, and abuse in child-care programs.
	Sec. 301.192.  CORRECTION OF CHILD-CARE FRAUD, WASTE, AND
	ABUSE. (a)  The commission shall ensure that corrective action is
	initiated against a child-care provider who commits fraud,
	including:
	(1)  temporarily or permanently withholding payments
	to the provider for child-care services already delivered;
	(2)  recovering money paid for child care from the
	child-care provider;
	(3)  stopping the provision of authorized child care at
	the provider's facility or location; or
	(4)  taking any other action consistent with the intent
	of the governing statutes or rules to investigate, prevent, or stop
	suspected fraud.
	(b)  The commission shall ensure that corrective action is
	initiated against a parent who commits fraud, including:
	(1)  recovering money paid for child care from the
	parent;
	(2)  declaring the parent ineligible for future child
	care under a commission program;
	(3)  limiting the enrollment of the parent's child to a
	regulated child-care provider; or
	(4)  taking any other action consistent with the intent
	of the governing statutes or rules to investigate, prevent, or stop
	suspected fraud.
	(c)  If the commission proposes to take a corrective action
	under Subsection (a) or (b), the provider or parent is entitled to
	appeal the proposed corrective action in accordance with procedures
	adopted by the commission by rule.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter C, Chapter 42, Human Resources Code,
	is amended by adding Section 42.0523 to read as follows:
	Sec. 42.0523.  LISTING OF RELATIVE CHILD-CARE PROVIDERS.
	(a)  A child-care provider who only provides child care under
	Chapter 313, Labor Code, to children related to the provider may
	list the provider's home as a family home.
	(b)  Before the department may list a child-care provider's
	home under this section, in addition to conducting any other
	background or criminal history check required for a family home
	listing, the department must search the central database of sex
	offender registration records maintained by the Department of
	Public Safety under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to
	determine whether the provider is listed in the registry as a sex
	offender.
	(c)  The address of a family home listed under this section
	is the address of the child-care provider's home, regardless of
	whether the child care is provided in the provider's home or in the
	child's home.
	(d)  A relative child-care provider's home listed as a family
	home under this section is exempt from the health and safety
	requirements of 45 C.F.R. Section 98.41(a).
	SECTION 4.  Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is
	amended by adding Section 302.0047 to read as follows:
	Sec. 302.0047.  ELECTRONIC VALIDATION OF CHILD-CARE
	SERVICES AND ATTENDANCE.  If feasible, the commission shall use an
	electronic validation system to ensure that parents verify that a
	provider of relative child care is providing care and that the child
	for whom the care is provided is in attendance during the period for
	which the child-care provider is being reimbursed for services.
	SECTION 5.  Subsection (g), Section 42.054, Human Resources
	Code, is amended to read as follows:
	(g)  The provisions of Subsections (b) through (f) of this
	section do not apply to:
	(1)  licensed foster homes and licensed foster group
	homes;
	(2)  nonprofit facilities regulated under this chapter
	that provided 24-hour care for children in the managing
	conservatorship of the department during the 12-month period
	immediately preceding the anniversary date of the facility's
	license; [or]
	(3)  facilities operated by a nonprofit corporation or
	foundation that provides 24-hour residential care and does not
	charge for the care provided; or
	(4)  a family home listed under Section 42.0523 in
	which the relative child-care provider cares for the child in the
	child's own home.
	SECTION 6.  The Texas Workforce Commission and the
	Department of Family and Protective Services shall adopt the
	memorandum of understanding required by Section 313.005, Labor
	Code, as added by this Act, not later than October 1, 2011.
	SECTION 7.  If before implementing any provision of this Act
	a state agency determines that a waiver or authorization from a
	federal agency is necessary for implementation of that provision,
	the agency affected by the provision shall request the waiver or
	authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
	waiver or authorization is granted.
	SECTION 8.  Notwithstanding Chapter 313, Labor Code, as
	added by this Act, the Texas Workforce Commission shall ensure that
	payments made on or after November 1, 2011, to providers of relative
	child care, as defined by Section 313.001, Labor Code, as added by
	this Act, are made only to providers with respect to whom a
	background and criminal history check has been conducted as
	required by that chapter.
	SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.