1. DFPS Budget Overview
Presentation to the Family and Protective Services Council
August 9, 2019
Rand Harris and David Kinsey

2. HB 1 Funding Overview

3. Appropriations Highlights
Appropriation Highlights ($ amounts reflect All Funds)
Adult Protective Services (APS)
$12.2 million for APS caseworker and supervisor salary increases of approximately $9,000 per year.
$6.8 million for 57 additional staff to address growing caseloads for Adult Protective Services workers.  
Statewide Intake (SWI)
$4.3 million for SWI frontline staff salary increases of $6,000 per year
Community-based Care (CBC) rollout funding totaling of $66.9 million to expand CBC in stage 1 to a total of 5 areas and stage II to 3 of those areas. Funding includes:
$10.6 million for Start-up costs
$27.4 million for network support
$22.7 million for additional case management resources (above the DFPS resource transfer)
$0.7 million for CANS Assessment
$5.5 million for DFPS implementation and oversight

4. Appropriations Highlights
Provider Rate Increases
$12 million for targeted foster care provider rate increases including Emergency Shelters, Supervised Independent Living and Child Placing Agency support costs.
Child Protective Services (CPS)
$6.0 million for critical client services staff including:
30 staff to be distributed among eligibility workers, human services technicians, and local permanency specialists;
10 Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) specialists; and
5 Medical Services Well-Being staff
$1.8 million for Supervised Independent Living case management services for children with complex needs who are living on their own.
$2.5 million for Post Adoption/Post-Permanency Residential Treatment services for children with complex behavioral health needs.

5. Appropriations Highlights
Child Protective Investigations (CPI)
$5.1 million for 33 additional staff including 13 for Child Care Investigations, 7 Screener Staff, 4 Child Safety Specialists, and 4 Child Protective Investigation Risk Managers.
$1.2 million to maintain Human Trafficking Team staffing and functions
Prevention Early Intervention (PEI)
$1.5 million increase for Health Outcomes through Prevention and Early Support (HOPES).
$2.9 million increase for Texas Nurse-Family Partnership (TNFP).
Strengthening Agency Wide Operations
$2.7 million for contract oversight including 18 new positions
$0.9 million for quality legal representation including 4 new positions
$0.4 million for data and strategic systems support including 3 new positions

6. Overview of Filed Bills
86th Legislature
Overview of Filed Bills
House Bills Filed: 5,098
Senate Bills Filed: 2,697
Bills Tracked by DFPS: 794
Request for Cost Estimates: 239

7. Child Protective Services (CPS)
Overview of Filed CPS Bills
Enrolled Bills: 58
House Bills: 38
Senate Bills: 20

8. House Bill 53 by Representative Minjarez
CPS Key Bills
House Bill 53 by Representative Minjarez
Revamps the Transitional Living Services Program’s financial literacy education by requiring collaboration with the Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner and the State Securities Board.
Adds several new topics to previously included program components including:
understanding the time requirements and process for filing federal taxes;
forms of identity & credit theft; and
using insurance to protect against the risk of financial loss.

9. House Bill 72 by Representative White
CPS Key Bills cont. (1)
House Bill 72 by Representative White
Requires the Health and Human Services Commission to ensure that children with adoption assistance Medicaid or Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) Medicaid remain enrolled in STAR Health until the child is enrolled in another Medicaid managed care program and have continuity of care protected.
Requires children who receive or have received SSI prior to receiving adoption assistance or PCA benefits to allow the adoptive parent or PCA conservator to elect to continue receiving Medicaid under STAR Health or STAR Kids.

10. House Bill 1884 by Representative Minjarez
CPS Key Bills cont. (2)
House Bill 1884 by Representative Minjarez
Ensures DFPS communicates to relative or other designated caregivers information regarding the option to pursue verification to become a foster parent and the heightened supports and benefits that may be available to those who choose that route.

11. House Bill 3390 by Representative Stanford
CPS Key Bills cont.(3)
House Bill 3390 by Representative Stanford
Broadens the current DFPS relative and other designated caregiver program by:
expanding the definition of a "designated caregiver" to also include an individual with a longstanding and significant relationship to the family of a child that is in DFPS conservatorship;
directing attorneys ad litem, guardians ad litem, parents, and DFPS caseworkers throughout the child's case to ask the child in a developmentally appropriate manner if there is an adult, and specifically an adult who resides within the child's community, who could potentially be a designated caregiver for the child; and
requires the court at each hearing regarding the child's case to ensure the child has been given the opportunity to identify any such adult.

12. Senate Bill 355 by Senator West
CPS Key Bills cont.(4)
Senate Bill 355 by Senator West
Requires DFPS to develop a strategic plan for coordinated implementation of community-based care (CBC) and foster care prevention services that meet the requirements of the Family First Prevention Act (FFPSA). DFPS will submit the plan to the Governor and key members of the legislature by September 1, 2020.
Requires DFPS to conduct a study and prepare a report for the legislature evaluating whether DFPS provides foster parents with adequate resources to ensure they are able to comply with all of the regulations relating to providing care for a child in DFPS conservatorship.

13. Senate Bill 781 by Senator Kolkhorst
CPS Key Bills cont. (5)
Senate Bill 781 by Senator Kolkhorst
Amends existing regulations and adds new regulations for general residential operations (GRO’s) licensed by HHSC and requires DFPS to do the following:
establish a strategy to develop trauma-informed protocols to reduce the number of runaway incidents from a residential treatment center (RTC);
balance measures aimed at protecting child safety with federal and state requirements related to normalcy and decision making under the reasonable and prudent parent standard;
monitor and coordinate with GROs providing treatment services to children or youth with emotional disorders in order to improve the quality of services purchased by DFPS;
develop a strategic plan regarding the placement of children in settings eligible for federal financial participation under the requirements of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA); and
make available on the DFPS website information and training regarding trauma-informed practices to assist school districts with training district employees by increasing staff awareness of trauma-informed care.

14. Senate Bill 195 by Senator Perry
CPI
Senate Bill 195 by Senator Perry
Requires DFPS to make changes in the next IMPACT update to collect the following data regarding children who test positive at birth for alcohol or a controlled substance:
the number of children reported to DFPS who tested positive for alcohol or a controlled substance;
the controlled substances for which the children tested positive;
the number of children who were removed who have a disability or chronic medical condition resulting from the presence of alcohol or controlled substances; and
the number of parents who test positive for a controlled substance during a DFPS investigation.

15. House Bill 883 by Representative Thierry
APS
House Bill 883 by Representative Thierry
Increases the award amount to up to three times the amount of actual damages in a civil action for Internet fraud when the victim is a senior citizen.
Targets perpetrators of Internet fraud who take advantage of the elderly, many of whom are APS clients.

16. Senate Bill 1494 by Senator Paxton
Operations
Senate Bill 1494 by Senator Paxton
Permits current and former APS, CPS, and CPI caseworkers to choose to keep their home address confidential and not subject to release by a local appraisal district.
Requires caseworkers to notify the local appraisal district of their choice.
Adds current and former APS, CPS, and CPI caseworkers to the list of persons whose personal information is exempted from disclosure under the Public Information Act.
Adds the same protections to caseworkers and investigators employed by DFPS contractors performing child or adult protection work.

17. Senate Bill 1640 by Senator Watson
Operations cont.
Senate Bill 1640 by Senator Watson
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found a section of the Open Meetings Act unconstitutionally vague – February 2019
SB 1640 address this ruling:
Clarifies the definition of deliberation to include verbal or written communication during a meeting of a governmental body with a quorum.
Prohibits a member of a governmental body from knowingly engaging in a communication with other members outside of a meeting on an issue within the jurisdiction of that body.