Relating to the contract requirements for a contract between a single source continuum contractor and the Department of Family and Protective Services.
relating to the contract requirements for a contract between a
single source continuum contractor and the Department of Family and
Protective Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 264.155(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A contract with a single source continuum contractor to
provide community-based care services in a catchment area must
include provisions that:
(1) establish a timeline for the implementation of
community-based care in the catchment area, including a timeline
for implementing:
(A) case management services for children,
families, and relative and kinship caregivers receiving services in
the catchment area; and
(B) family reunification support services to be
provided after a child receiving services from the contractor is
returned to the child’s family;
(2) establish conditions for the single source
continuum contractor’s access to relevant department data and
require the participation of the contractor in the data access and
standards governance council created under Section 264.159;
(3) require the single source continuum contractor to
create a single process for the training and use of alternative
caregivers for all child-placing agencies in the catchment area to
facilitate reciprocity of licenses for alternative caregivers
between agencies, including respite and overnight care providers,
as those terms are defined by department rule;
(4) require the single source continuum contractor to
maintain a diverse network of service providers that offer a range
of foster capacity options and that can accommodate children from
diverse cultural backgrounds;
(5) allow the department to conduct a performance
review of the contractor beginning 18 months after the contractor
has begun providing case management and family reunification
support services to all children and families in the catchment area
and determine if the contractor has achieved any performance
outcomes specified in the contract;
(6) following the review under Subdivision (5), allow
the department to:
(A) impose financial penalties on the contractor
for failing to meet any specified performance outcomes; or
(B) award financial incentives to the contractor
for exceeding any specified performance outcomes;
(7) require the contractor to give preference for
employment to employees of the department:
(A) whose position at the department is impacted
by the implementation of community-based care; and
(B) who are considered by the department to be
employees in good standing;
(8) require the contractor to provide preliminary and
ongoing community engagement plans to ensure communication and
collaboration with local stakeholders in the catchment area,
including any of the following:
(A) community faith-based entities;
(B) the judiciary;
(C) court-appointed special advocates;
(D) child advocacy centers;
(E) service providers;
(F) foster families;
(G) biological parents;
(H) foster youth and former foster youth;
(I) relative or kinship caregivers;
(J) child welfare boards, if applicable;
(K) attorneys ad litem;
(L) attorneys that represent parents involved in
suits filed by the department; and
(M) any other stakeholders, as determined by the
contractor; [and]
(9) require that the contractor comply with any
applicable court order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction
in the case of a child for whom the contractor has assumed case
management responsibilities or an order imposing a requirement on
the department that relates to functions assumed by the contractor;
and
(10) allow the department to implement formal measures
to ensure the contractor is delivering high-quality service,
including quality improvement plans, financial interventions, and
other appropriate interventions or restrictions.
SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a contract entered into or amended, modified, renewed, or
extended on after the effective date of this Act. A contract
entered into or amended, modified, renewed, or extended before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the contract was entered into or amended, modified, renewed,
or extended, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
