HBA-DMH H.B. 1758 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1758
By: Turner, Sylvester
Human Services
7/2/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Female juvenile offenders commit different types of offenses than their
male counterparts.  Females are three times as likely to experience sexual
abuse, which may be an underlying factor in some female delinquency.
Service providers must take these differences into account when designing
services and treatment programs for teenage girls.  Sometimes, a
substantially new approach is necessary to effectively treat and serve
females. House Bill 1758 directs each state health and human services
agency that provides services for teenagers to assess the effectiveness of
its services for females and report its progress to the Health and Human
Services Commission. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1758 amends the Government Code to require the Health and Human
Services Commission (HHSC), the Texas Youth Commission (TYC), and  Texas
Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC) to periodically review, document, and
compare the accessibility and funding of facilities, services, and
treatment provided to females under 18 years of age to the accessibility of
those provided to males in the same age group.  The bill requires HHSC to
coordinate the review, documentation, and comparison and provides that the
review must  include the equity and the nature, extent, and effectiveness
of specified services.  The bill requires each health and human services
agency and other state agency that provides facilities, services,
treatment, or funding subject to review to identify existing differences
within the agency in the allocation and expenditures of money and services
for males under 18 years of age in comparison with females in the same age
group.  The bill requires each agency to submit a report to HHSC describing
any differences identified.  The bill requires each agency to develop a
plan to address any lack of services for females under 18 years of age
reported by the agency and submit a progress report to HHSC. The bill
requires HHSC to assemble the reports, prepare an executive summary, and
deliver it to the legislature no later than July 1 of each even-numbered
year.  The bill requires HHSC, TYC, and TJPC to jointly establish a
timetable for the submission of agency reports as soon as practicable after
the effective date of the Act. The provisions of this bill expire September
1, 2005. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

June 14, 2001.