House Committee on Human Services - 87th R.S. (2021)

Committee: House Human Services
Title: Interim Report
Subjects: Border issues | Child abuse prevention | Child Protective Services | Coronavirus | Data management | Family and Protective Services, Texas Department of | Family preservation | Federal funds | Healthy Texas Women | Long-term care | Managed care | Medicaid | Medicare | Senior citizens | Services for persons with disabilities | Unaccompanied minors | Undocumented immigrants |
Library Call Number: L1836.87 H88
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View report [39 pages  File size: 2,582 kb]
Charges: This report should address the charges below.
1. Monitor the impact of children, including unaccompanied minors, crossing the Texas-Mexico border on the Department of Family and Protective Services child protective services programs. Consider ways to encourage consistent, transparent, and timely review of abuse and neglect of these children. Consider strategies to ensure better coordination and collaboration among local agencies, faith-based organizations, the private sector, non-profits, and law enforcement to reduce the incidence of abuse and neglect fatalities and human trafficking of migrating children. Identify any particularized services that these children will need and assess the costs of providing these services.
2. Review the ongoing development of federal laws, rules, and regulations associated with the distribution of the federal pandemic recovery funds, including reporting requirements, and make recommendations to the House Committee on Appropriations for use of the funds to respond to the Texas-Mexico border crisis.
3. Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 87th Legislature. Conduct active oversight of all associated rulemaking and other governmental actions taken to ensure the intended legislative outcome of all legislation, including the following:
  • Legislation implementing the Healthy Families, Healthy Texas initiative, including:
    • HB133, 87th R.S. relating to the provision of benefits under Medicaid and the Healthy Texas Women program; and
    • Relevant provisions of HB 2658, 87th R.S. relating to the administration and operation of the Medicaid managed care program, especially those provisions that relate to continuous eligibility for a child for Medicaid; and
  • HB 3041, 87th R.S. related to the implementation of the Family Preservation Services Pilot Program.
4. Complete study of assigned charges related to the Texas-Mexico border issued in June 2021.
5. Evaluate current prevention and early intervention programs and make recommendations for improving the effectiveness of these programs in reducing child abuse and neglect.
6. Monitor implementation of SB 1, 87th R.S., Rider 30 (Health and Human Services Commission) and make recommendations for reducing the interest list for waiver services for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities and reducing associated staffing shortages.
7. Evaluate further action needed to improve the safety and quality of the foster care system, including preventing children in foster care from being without a placement and increasing recruitment of foster families. Identify methods to strengthen Child Protective Services processes and services, focusing on efforts for family preservation and eliminating fatalities within the foster care system. This evaluation should:
  • Study the causes for children without placement;
  • Assess the safety concerns for children without placement, including the use of out-of- state and temporary emergency placement for children without placement; injuries while in the care of Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) employees; and exposure to child sex trafficking; and
  • Study how and why children without placement frequently enter the juvenile justice and adult criminal justice systems and the steps DFPS is taking to identify and prevent these instances.
8. Assess the quality and effectiveness of the DFPS IMPACT system for security, transparency, and accuracy. Review DFPS processes relating to the integrity of digital case management. Evaluate whether DFPS data collection adequately responds to child wellbeing indicators.
9. Examine the long-term services and support system of care in Texas. Study workforce challenges for both institutional and community services. Assess opportunities to improve patient safety at senior living facilities. Consider mechanisms to promote a stable, sustainable, and quality-based long-term care system to address current and future needs of the state.
10. Monitor federal decisions that may impact the delivery and financial stability of the state's health programs, including: the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ rescission of its prior approval of the State’s 1115 Waiver, the state and federal negotiations of the Medicaid directed payment programs (including hospital finance methods), federal changes to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Program and the exclusion of certain costs from the uncompensated care program authorized through the 1115 Waiver.
Supporting documents
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting handouts and testimony, March 2, 2021
Library Call Number:
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [174 pages  File size: 4,776 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting handouts and testimony, March 9, 2021
Library Call Number:
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [37 pages  File size: 4,900 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting handouts and testimony, March 16, 2021
Library Call Number:
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [117 pages  File size: 13,612 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting handouts and testimony, March 23, 2021
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Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [79 pages  File size: 8,025 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting handouts and testimony, March 30, 2021
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Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [71 pages  File size: 22,230 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting handouts and testimony, April 6, 2021
Library Call Number:
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [38 pages  File size: 221 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting testimony, April 13, 2021
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Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [65 pages  File size: 346 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting testimony, April 20, 2021
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Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [18 pages  File size: 140 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting testimony, May 4, 2021
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Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [7 pages  File size: 104 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting testimony, May 11, 2021
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Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [8 pages  File size: 472 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting testimony, May 18, 2021
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Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [6 pages  File size: 92 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting handouts and testimony, October 13, 2021
Library Call Number:
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [57 pages  File size: 3,189 kb]
Committee: House Human Services
Title: Committee meeting testimony, June 28, 2022
Library Call Number:
Session: 87th R.S. (2021)
Online version: View document [150 pages  File size: 611 kb]

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