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  81R3928 UM-D
 
  By: Davis of Harris H.B. No. 620
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to behavioral health services for children and
  establishment of the Children's Behavioral Health Council.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 531.251, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 531.251.  TEXAS INTEGRATED FUNDING INITIATIVE PILOT
  PROJECT [CONSORTIUM]; DEFINITION; EXPANSION PLAN.  (a)  In this
  subchapter, "council" means the Children's Behavioral Health
  Council established under Section 531.425.
         (a-1)  The council [commission] shall [form a consortium to]
  develop criteria for and implement the expansion of the Texas
  Integrated Funding Initiative pilot project and [to] develop local
  mental health care systems in communities for minors who are
  receiving residential mental health services or who are at risk of
  residential placement to receive mental health services. [The
  consortium must include representatives of the Texas Department of
  Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Department of Protective and
  Regulatory Services, Texas Education Agency, Texas Youth
  Commission, Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, and Texas
  Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and an equal number of family
  advocates.]
         (b)  The commission and the council [consortium] shall:
               (1)  develop a model and guidelines for the delivery of
  mental health services and support to a minor, initiated before the
  person's 18th birthday, including best practices in the financing,
  administration, governance, and delivery of those services;
               (2)  establish a plan to expand the Texas Integrated
  Funding Initiative so that the initiative may operate in up to six
  communities; and
               (3)  identify appropriate sources of state and federal
  funding to finance mental health services under the initiative from
  a central fund for expansion communities.
         SECTION 2.  Section 531.252(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The commission and the council [consortium] shall
  develop criteria to evaluate proposals for selecting expansion
  communities to participate in the expanded initiative. The
  criteria must:
               (1)  reflect the underlying principles of the Texas
  Integrated Funding Initiative;
               (2)  emphasize services that are culturally competent,
  family-centered, and seamless;
               (3)  identify populations to be served under the
  proposals;
               (4)  establish for the expansion communities service
  outcome goals related to minors who are receiving residential
  mental health services or who are at risk of residential placement
  to receive mental health services, including:
                     (A)  decreasing incidents of abuse or neglect of
  the minors;
                     (B)  reducing recidivism rates of juvenile
  offenders;
                     (C)  increasing school attendance and progress of
  the minors;
                     (D)  reducing the rate of placement of the minors
  in residential treatment;
                     (E)  increasing the rate of reunification of the
  minors with their families;
                     (F)  improving the emotional, behavioral, and
  social adjustment of the minors; and
                     (G)  improving the stability of placements of the
  minors;
               (5)  provide for locations of participating
  communities in urban, suburban, and rural settings; and
               (6)  specify information that must be provided in a
  proposal for a community, including:
                     (A)  information on the costs of the activities
  proposed; and
                     (B)  the characteristics of minors in the
  community who are in residential care for mental health services or
  who are at risk of being placed in residential care to receive
  mental health services.
         SECTION 3.  Section 531.253, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 531.253.  SELECTION OF EXPANSION COMMUNITIES.  The
  commission and the council [consortium] shall review proposals for
  expansion communities and approve participation of not more than
  six communities to participate in the initiative. The selected
  communities must be those that best meet the criteria developed
  under Section 531.252.
         SECTION 4.  Section 531.254, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 531.254.  SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT COLLABORATION.  The
  commission, the council [consortium], and the expansion
  communities shall collaborate to develop and shall share technical
  assistance and training resources to aid communities in developing
  local systems for delivering mental health services to minors.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 531.255(a), (b), and (c), Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission and the council [Texas Department of
  Mental Health and Mental Retardation] jointly shall monitor the
  progress of the expansion communities.
         (b)  The commission, the council [consortium], and the
  expansion communities shall collaborate to develop a system to
  evaluate the success of the expansion communities in achieving
  outcome goals for the minors the communities serve, including
  outcome goals developed under Section 531.252. An evaluation under
  the system must include information on cost avoidance and net
  savings that result from participation in the initiative.
         (c)  Each expansion community shall identify the baseline
  information to compare with the information on outcomes in
  evaluating the achievements of the community. A community is
  responsible for collecting and reporting outcome information to the
  commission and the council in accordance with the requirements of
  the evaluation system developed under Subsection (b).
         SECTION 6.  Section 531.421, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subdivision (3-a) to read as follows:
               (3-a)  "Council" means the Children's Behavioral Health
  Council established under Section 531.425.
         SECTION 7.  Section 531.422(c), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  Each community resource coordination group shall submit
  the report described by Subsection (b) to the council [consortium].
  The council [consortium] shall provide a deadline to each group for
  submitting the reports. The time frame for completing the reports
  must be coordinated with any regional reviews by the commission of
  the delivery of related services.
         SECTION 8.  Section 531.423, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 531.423.  SUMMARY REPORT BY COUNCIL [TEXAS INTEGRATED
  FUNDING INITIATIVE CONSORTIUM].  (a)  The council [consortium]
  shall create a summary report based on the evaluations in the
  reports submitted to the council [consortium] by community resource
  coordination groups under Section 531.422. The council's
  [consortium's] report must include recommendations for policy and
  statutory changes at each agency that is involved in the provision
  of systems of care services and the outcome expected from
  implementing each recommendation.
         (b)  The council [consortium] shall coordinate, where
  appropriate, the recommendations in the report created under this
  section with recommendations in the assessment developed under
  Chapter 23, S.B. No. 491, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular
  Session, 2003, and with the continuum of care developed under
  Section 533.040(d), Health and Safety Code [S.B. No. 490, Acts of
  the 78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003].
         (c)  The council [consortium] may include in the report
  created under this section recommendations for the statewide
  expansion of sites participating in the Texas Integrated Funding
  Initiative under Subchapter G-1 [G, Chapter 531, as added by
  Chapter 446, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,]
  and the integration of services provided at those sites with
  services provided by community resource coordination groups.
         (d)  The council [consortium] shall provide a copy of the
  report created under this section to each agency for which the
  report makes a recommendation and to other agencies as appropriate.
         SECTION 9.  Subchapter L, Chapter 531, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 531.425, 531.426, 531.427, and 531.428
  to read as follows:
         Sec. 531.425.  CHILDREN'S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH COUNCIL. (a)
  The Children's Behavioral Health Council is established to provide
  a coordinated, comprehensive, interagency approach to the
  development and delivery of behavioral health services to children.
         (b)  The council is composed of one representative from each
  of the following state agencies, appointed by the chief
  administrative officer of the respective agency:
               (1)  the Health and Human Services Commission;
               (2)  the Department of State Health Services;
               (3)  the Department of Family and Protective Services;
               (4)  the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative
  Services;
               (5)  the Department of Aging and Disability Services;
               (6)  the Texas Education Agency;
               (7)  the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
  Medical or Mental Impairments;
               (8)  the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
               (9)  the Texas Youth Commission.
         (c)  The members of the council shall annually elect one
  member to serve as chairperson.
         (d)  The council, with the advice of the advisory committee
  established under Section 531.426, shall:
               (1)  develop and implement coordinated state policies
  to improve the behavioral health of children;
               (2)  develop a coordinated system for planning and
  budgeting that establishes priorities and strategies for the
  coordinated delivery of behavioral health services to children;
               (3)  develop a coordinated system to track and report
  spending on behavioral health services for children by agencies
  represented by a member of the council;
               (4)  administer state grants for development of local
  systems of care services;
               (5)  develop a plan to support the statewide expansion
  of local systems of care services;
               (6)  provide technical assistance and training to local
  providers of systems of care services;
               (7)  design an integrated funding structure for the
  provision of behavioral health services for children in accordance
  with Section 531.427; and
               (8)  assess the provision of behavioral health services
  to children to eliminate duplication of efforts and identify
  opportunities to consolidate those efforts.
         (e)  The council is administratively attached to the
  commission.  The commission shall provide administrative support
  and resources to the council as necessary to enable the council to
  perform its duties.
         (f)  The council is not subject to Chapter 2110.
         Sec. 531.426.  CHILDREN'S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ADVISORY
  COMMITTEE.  (a)  The commission shall establish the Children's
  Behavioral Health Advisory Committee to assist the council in the
  performance of its duties.
         (b)  The governor shall appoint to the advisory committee
  representatives from advocacy groups and organizations with
  expertise in behavioral health issues involving children and from
  other family advocates.  The governor shall appoint as many members
  to the advisory committee as the council considers necessary to
  assist the council in performing its duties, but not less than the
  number of agency representatives on the council.
         (c)  The advisory committee shall elect one member to serve
  as chairperson, and shall meet in accordance with commission rules.
         (d)  A member of the advisory committee may not receive
  compensation for serving on the committee, but is entitled to
  reimbursement for travel expenses incurred while conducting the
  business of the committee, as provided by the General
  Appropriations Act.
         (e)  The commission shall provide administrative support and
  resources to the advisory committee as necessary to enable the
  committee to perform its duties.
         (f)  The committee is not subject to Chapter 2110.
         Sec. 531.427.  INTEGRATED FUNDING STRUCTURE FOR CERTAIN
  BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES.  (a)  The council shall design an
  integrated cross-agency funding structure for the provision of
  behavioral health services to children.
         (b)  In creating the funding structure, the council shall
  consider:
               (1)  the use of existing categorical or noncategorical
  federal, state, and local funds;
               (2)  the use of blended or braided funding
  arrangements;
               (3)  which funds should be included in the funding
  structure and how the funds should be structured; and
               (4)  the persons that should control and manage the
  funds, including managed care financing structures.
         (c)  The council may hire a consultant to assist with
  designing the funding structure.
         (d)  Not later than June 1, 2010, the council shall submit a
  report to the governor and the Legislative Budget Board that:
               (1)  describes the funding structure designed by the
  council; and
               (2)  identifies the steps necessary to implement the
  structure, including identification of necessary statutory changes
  or federal approvals.
         (e)  Subsection (d) and this subsection expire September 1,
  2010.
         Sec. 531.428.  HOME AND COMMUNITY SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WITH
  SEVERE EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES.  (a)  The commission shall maximize
  funding for home and community-based services for children with
  severe emotional disturbances by providing those services, to the
  greatest extent possible, through a Section 1915(c) waiver program
  or other Medicaid program. Not later than September 1, 2010, the
  commission shall identify each service the commission anticipates
  could be delivered cost-effectively in that manner using existing
  resources and seek federal approval as necessary to permit the
  delivery of services in that manner.
         (b)  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
  the commission may implement maximization financing strategies at a
  location providing systems of care services.
         SECTION 10.  Section 531.421(3), Government Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 11.  Not later than October 1, 2009, the chief
  administrative officer of each agency listed in Section 531.425(b),
  Government Code, as added by this Act, shall appoint the agency's
  representative to the Children's Behavioral Health Council
  established by that section.
         SECTION 12.  (a)  Not later than November 1, 2009, the
  governor shall appoint the initial members of the Children's
  Behavioral Health Advisory Committee created by Section 531.426,
  Government Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  In making initial appointments, the governor must
  include the public members serving immediately before the effective
  date of this Act on the Texas Integrated Funding Initiative
  Consortium, as formed under Section 531.251, Government Code, as
  that section existed before amendment by this Act, provided that
  those members wish to continue to serve.
         SECTION 13.  The changes in law made by this Act to
  Subchapter G-1, Chapter 531, Government Code, do not affect the
  funding for or provision of services by a community participating
  in the Texas Integrated Funding Initiative under that subchapter
  before the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 14.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.