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


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1758
By: Turner, Sylvester
Human Services
3/23/2001
Introduced



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) and the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) to
periodically review, document, and compare the accessibility 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, and treatment  that are subject to review to identify existing
disparities 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 disparities identified.  The bill requires each agency
to develop a plan to eliminate any disparities 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 and TYC 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

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.