Texas House passes child welfare reforms
The Texas House on Thursday passed a package of sweeping measures aimed at addressing a crisis in the state's child welfare system.
After a lengthy debate, the House passed Senate Bill 11, a measure that would have Texas shift to a "community-based care" model for handling some endangered children and allowing contracted organizations not just the resources-strapped state to monitor children in foster care and adoptive homes.
State Rep. James Frank, R-Wichita Falls, the bill's sponsor, told members the bill would give the state the chance to run its foster care system beyond Austin.
"I truly believe we must leave the status quo," Frank said.
Under SB 11, by the end of 2019, the Department of Family and Protective Services would have to find eight areas in Texas to implement a new community-based care system and come up with a plan for implementation. The legislation would also create a pilot program for non-profit organizations to handle behavioral health care for children and require managed care organizations be notified of a childs placement change within 24 hours. Children under conservatorship would have to have medical exams within three days of entering into the system, under the bill. Organizations that do not get children those medical exams by the end of three days would be fined.
Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2017/05/18/Texas-House-passes-child-welfare-reforms/