HBA-MPM H.B. 1921 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1921
By: Maxey
Human Services
7/10/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (PRS) provides
adoption assistance to the adoptive parents of children who are adopted
after having been in the conservatorship of Child Protective Services.
This assistance includes Medicaid and a monthly adoption subsidy for the
adoptive parents of children meeting special needs criteria.  A child with
special needs is one for whom the state has terminated the parental rights
of a child's biological parents due to abuse or neglect and who, at the
time of adoptive placement, is at least six years old, is two years old or
older and a member of certain minority groups, is being adopted as part of
a group of siblings, or has a verifiable physical, mental, or emotional
handicap. These children often have needs that exceed those of children in
other adoptive situations.  These children and their adoptive families need
continued adoption assistance to ensure that the child remains in school
and the child's needs are met. State law authorizes PRS to pay foster care
assistance for certain children after the child becomes 18 years of age.
However, prior to the 77th Legislature, adoption assistance ended once a
child turned 18. House Bill 1921 requires PRS to extend adoption assistance
for children with special needs. 

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 1921 amends the Family Code to require the Department of
Protective and Regulatory Services (PRS), in accordance with PRS rules, to
offer adoption assistance to adoptive parents of a child with special needs
after a child's 18th birthday under an existing adoption assistance
agreement between the adoptive parents and PRS until:  

_the first day of the month of the child's 21st birthday if PRS determines
as provided by PRS rules that the child has a mental or physical disability
that warrants the assistance, the child or child's adoptive parent has
applied for federal benefits under the supplemental security income (SSI)
program, and the child's adoptive parents are providing the child's
financial support; or 

_if the child does not meet the above requirements the earlier of the date
the child ceases to regularly attend high school or a vocational or
technical program, the date the child obtains a high school diploma or high
school equivalency certificate, the date the child's adoptive parents stop
providing financial support to the child, or the first day of the month of
the child's 19th birthday. 

H.B. 1921 authorizes PRS to conduct an assessment of the child's mental or
physical disability or contract for the assessment to be conducted in order
to determine the child's eligibility.  PRS and any person with whom PRS
contracts are required to inform the adoptive parent of the application
requirements for federal benefits for the child under SSI, provide
assistance to the parents and child in preparing the application, and
provide ongoing consultation and guidance to the parents and child
throughout the eligibility  determination process.   

The bill provides that if the legislature does not appropriate sufficient
money to provide assistance to all adoptive parents, PRS is required to
provide assistance only to the adoptive parents of the children whose
mental or physical disability warrants it until age 21.  PRS is required to
implement  the extended adoption assistance only if the legislature
appropriates money specifically for that purpose. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.