1. The 86th Legislative Session Update for Mental Health Connection Wayne Carson, Ph.D April 8, 2019

2. Looking Ahead and the Texas Need…
There are a number of factors impacting the Texas Child Welfare System:
Implementation of last session’s legislation and funding
Growth in intakes and need for services
Capacity deficits
Foster Care Lawsuit
Families First Act
Availability of private funding
These are just a few external factors that drive the need and change the landscape in Texas. Thse are just a few that I came up with, but certainly there are more – not to mention regional variations. Any others specific to your area?

3. Bills of Interest Filed
Aging Out of Care/Transitional Living
SB 480 (Watson): Aging out of care omnibus bill
HB 45 (Minjarez): Mentor program created by community organizations for all children in foster care age 14 and older
HB 123(White): Removes fee for foster youth for obtaining personal documentation such as a driver’s license, birth certificate etc.
Residential Child Care Licensing
SB 781 (Kolkhorst): Establishes new regulatory and licensure procedures for RTCs and GROs.
HB 1084 (Raymond): Establishes a committee to look at RCCL and CCL licensure including child deaths in substitute care and licensure violations.
HB 1109 (Swanson): Allows HHSC to waive annual training requirements for foster parents not related to directly caring for a child.
SB 1345 (Watson): Establishes progressive sanctions and administrative penalties for community organizations
Ombudsman
SB 1101 (Kolkhorst): Gives the HHSC foster youth ombudsman more authority.
SB 1347 (Watson): Requires additional communication between the ombudsman and DFPS for a report made to ombudsman’s office.
SB 1535 (Menendez): Requires additional communication between HHSC, DFPS, the ombudsman, and the SSCC and allows a youth to view the findings of an ombudsman report.

4. Bills of Interest Filed (So Far)
Kinship Care
HB 576 (White): Allows DFPS to pay families who have children in a parental child safety placement (PCSP).
SB 98 (Menendez): Allows kinship caregivers to receive foster care payments without being a licensed foster parent.
HB 1884(Minjarez): Requires the court to inform a kinship family of the option to become verified by a CPA to operate an agency foster home and permanency care assistance program.
Training
HB 2764 (Frank): Caps training at 35 hours to license foster parents.
Anticipate a bill related to verification of kinship caregivers
Anticipate a bill related to eliminating the mandatory requirement for foster parent training

5. Family First Prevention Service Act (FFPSA)
On February 9, 2018, Congress passed FFPSA.
FFPSA Goals:
Prevent children from coming into foster care
Decrease use of congregate care
Support kinship care
Improve services to families
FFPSA has 8 parts, with a total of 24 sections.
Some sections have little or no impact on DFPS, while others have a substantial impact.
FFPSA restructures child welfare Title IV-E and Title IV-B funding that pays for children in foster care and services for families.

6. FFPSA – Congregate Care/QRTPs
QRTP Requirements - in order to get federal reimbursement:
Independent child assessment and reviewed every 6 months
Trauma-informed treatment model
Registered/licensed nurse or clinical staff consistent with treatment model
Outreach and engagement of family in treatment plan
Have a child discharge plan and provide at least 6 months of after care
Licensed and accredited
Over 60 day stay requires approval by court
A Qualified Residential Treatment Program (QRTP):
Uses a trauma-informed treatment model and has a registered or licensed nursing and other licensed clinical staff onsite and available 24/7, consistent with the QRTP’s treatment model.
Facilitates outreach to the child’s family members and their participation in the child’s treatment program.
Provides discharge planning and family-based aftercare supports for at least six months after the child is discharged.
Licensed in accordance with the state standards for child-care for institutions providing foster care.
Is accredited.
Also, This section requires an assessment of each QRTP placements. The assessment must be:
Completed within 30 days
Made using age-appropriate evidence-based, validated functional assessment tool
Determined appropriate and thoroughly documented by a qualified individual not employed by the state or affiliated with a particular placement setting (unless ACF grants exception)
Include list of long and short term mental and behavioral health goals
Re-determined to be appropriate by court (or administrative body approved by court) within 60 days of placement
Include a qualified individual who must work with a family and permanency team assembled by the state.
Additionally:
States must meet lengthy and involved case documentation requirements in case plan and show evidence of appropriateness at each hearing.
The Commissioner must sign a submission to ACF if a child of any age remains in a QRTP 12 or more consecutive or 18 or more non-consecutive months; and if any child under 13 is in a QRTP for over six months.