89th Legislative Session Outcomes
Child Welfare & Texas CASA Outcomes for the 89th Sesión legislativa
The final day of the 89th Regular Legislative Session in Texas was Monday, June 2. Texas CASA tracked over 366 bills, testified before committees 20 times and registered in support of 122 bills. Texas CASA is very thankful for our local Legislative Advocacy Teams (LATs) for their hard work and advocacy with their local legislative offices. This session, the LATs responded to 240 Action Alerts from Texas CASA. These efforts reflect our continued commitment to both responding to urgent needs and proactively building a more just and responsive child welfare system.
Prioridades de financiación
SB 1: Legislators included a $1.5M increase in funding to cover the Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) new background check requirements for CASA, bringing CASA’s biennial HHSC funding to a total of $33,401,000
Prioridades políticas
Texas CASA apoya políticas que preserven a las familias, promuevan la reunificación familiar cuando sea posible y reduzcan al mínimo el tiempo que los niños pasan en hogares de acogida.
SB 1: Legislators funded $23 million to sustain the Texas Family First Pilots and expand eligible populations. These pilots serve families with youth at imminent risk of removal.
SB 1: The legislature funded $40 million to the Health and Human Services Commission for youth mobile crisis outreach teams.
SB 226: Establishes residency for children who are the subject of parental child safety placement agreements for purposes of admission into public schools.
HB 694: Adds parents’ attorneys to the list of notice of significant events, changes the notice of significant events from 10 days to 48 hours for the child’s team, and ensures parents receive notice of placement changes within 24 hours.
HB 3963: Consolidates the early childhood education data systems across Texas and federal agencies into a single comprehensive platform to identify gaps in services, underserved populations, and opportunities to align programs and services across agencies.
Texas CASA apoya la financiación y las políticas que proporcionan a un niño el acceso a colocaciones seguras y estables en su comunidad que satisfagan sus necesidades individuales y apoyen sus objetivos de permanencia.
SB 1: The Legislature Sustained Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C) Rates and allocated another $12 million for provider readiness grant
SB 2165: Prohibits courts from dismissing a foster care case solely because a child is missing or has run away.
HB 2809: Requires DFPS to include suicide attempts by children in its managing conservatorship in the annual report and to provide notice to the parent of a child who attempts suicide within 24 hours.
HB 451: Requires the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and the Texas Juvenile Justice Department to screen children for the risk of commercial sexual exploitation.
HB 908: Mandates that law enforcement report missing children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children within two hours of receiving a report.
Texas CASA apoya la financiación y las políticas que apoyan y fomentan aún más la colocación con cuidadores familiares.
Texas CASA supports funding and policies that improve services and supports for older youth in foster care, and older youth exiting foster care.
Community-Based Care Bills
SB 1: The Legislature included funding for sustained implementation of current Community-Based Care areas and funded expansion into the final 4 legacy regions in Texas: 7A, 7B, 11A, and 11B.
SB 513: Creates a rural Community-Based Care pilot program
SB 1158: Clarifies liability protection for non-profit providers, including SSCCs, under the Charitable Immunity and Liability Act and establishes a framework for “good standing.”
SB 1398: Strengthens DFPS oversight of Community-Based Care by adding performance metrics for SSCCs and requiring community advisory committees in each region.
SB 1589: Allows DFPS to reclaim the case management authority over any or all of the cases in a catchment area from an SSCC or to transfer the case management authority over any or all of the cases in a catchment area from one SSCC to another SSCC.
HB 4129: Enables DFPS to implement performance remedies on Single Source Continuum Contractors (SSCC) before the 18-month mark, allowing for earlier intervention in cases of poor contract performance.
HB 2789: Removes Child Placing Agency Licensure requirements for SSCCs, Tuberculosis testing requirements, minimum liability insurance requirements, trespass posting, and more.
SB 2032: Increases the required notice period for contract termination between DFPS and SSCCs to 180 days in addition to extending DFPS’s authority to utilize emergency procurement processes to contract with another SSCC, ensuring continuity of care for children in a catchment area.
SB 2034: Allows DFPS to petition a court for receivership of an SSCC when there are serious performance issues or risks to child safety. This will ensure DFPS can act swiftly to maintain continuity of services and protect children in community-based care.