S.B. No. 245

	AN ACT
	relating to eligibility of children's advocacy centers for
	contracts to provide services for children and family members in
	child abuse and neglect cases.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 264.411, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 264.411.  ELIGIBILITY FOR CONTRACTS. (a)  A public
	entity that operated as a center under this subchapter before
	November 1, 1995, or a nonprofit entity is eligible for a contract
	under Section 264.410 if the entity:
	(1)  has a signed memorandum of understanding as
	provided by Section 264.403;
	(2)  operates under the authority of a governing board
	as provided by Section 264.404;
	(3)  has a multidisciplinary team of persons involved
	in the investigation or prosecution of child abuse cases or the
	delivery of services as provided by Section 264.406;
	(4)  holds regularly scheduled case reviews as provided
	by Section 264.406;
	(5)  operates in a neutral and physically separate
	space from the day-to-day operations of any public agency partner;
	(6)  has developed a method of statistical information
	gathering on children receiving services through the center and
	shares such statistical information with the statewide
	organization, the department, and the office of the attorney
	general when requested;
	(7)  has an in-house volunteer program;
	(8)  employs an executive director who is answerable to
	the board of directors of the entity and who is not the exclusive
	salaried employee of any public agency partner; [and]
	(9)  operates under a working protocol that includes a
	statement of:
	(A)  the center's mission;
	(B)  each agency's role and commitment to the
	center;
	(C)  the type of cases to be handled by the center;
	(D)  the center's procedures for conducting case
	reviews and forensic interviews and for ensuring access to
	specialized medical and mental health services; and
	(E)  the center's policies regarding
	confidentiality and conflict resolution; and
	(10)  implements at the center the following program
	components:
	(A)  a case tracking system that monitors
	statistical information on each child and nonoffending family
	member or other caregiver who receives services through the center
	and that includes progress and disposition information for each
	service the multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to
	the client;
	(B)  a child-focused setting that is comfortable,
	private, and physically and psychologically safe for diverse
	populations of children and nonoffending family members and other
	caregivers;
	(C)  family advocacy and victim support services
	that include comprehensive case management and victim support
	services available to each child and the child's nonoffending
	family members or other caregivers as part of the services the
	multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
	(D)  forensic interviews conducted in a neutral,
	fact-finding manner and coordinated to avoid duplicative
	interviewing;
	(E)  specialized medical evaluation and treatment
	services that are available to all children who receive services
	through the center and coordinated with the services the
	multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a child;
	(F)  specialized trauma-focused mental health
	services that are designed to meet the unique needs of child abuse
	victims and the victims' nonoffending family members or other
	caregivers and that are available as part of the services the
	multidisciplinary team determines should be provided to a client;
	and
	(G)  a system to ensure that all services
	available to center clients are culturally competent and diverse
	and are coordinated with the services the multidisciplinary team
	determines should be provided to a client.
	(b)  The statewide organization may waive the requirements
	specified in Subsection (a) if it determines that the waiver will
	not adversely affect the center's ability to carry out its duties
	under Section 264.405. [Any waiver that is granted must be
	identified in the written contract with the center.]
	SECTION 2.  Section 264.411, Family Code, as amended by this
	Act, applies only to a contract entered into under Section 264.410,
	Family Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A contract
	entered into before the effective date of this Act is governed by
	the law in effect on the date the contract was entered into, and the
	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 245 passed the Senate on
	March 13, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 245 passed the House on
	May 8, 2013, by the following vote:  Yeas 142, Nays 5, two present
	not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor