HBA-DMH S.B. 1238 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1238 By: Moncrief Human Services 4/23/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, there is no program in place to facilitate finding qualified child-care providers. Senate Bill 1238 requires the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services to establish and maintain a registry of child-care providers who meet certain requirements. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in SECTION 1 (Sections 41.003 and 41.010, Human Resources Code) of this bill. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 1238 amends the Human Resources Code to require the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services (PRS) to establish and maintain a voluntary registry of child-care providers (registry) and to make rules, employ sufficient personnel, and provide training for the personnel to maintain the registry (Secs. 41.002 and 41.003). The bill sets forth application procedures, including fingerprinting requirements, for a registry applicant and provides what the application for registration must include (Sec. 41.004). The bill requires PRS to provide standard forms for applications and for the submission of fingerprints (Sec. 41.003). The bill requires PRS to conduct a background and criminal history check on an applicant using information provided by the application, the central registry of reported cases of child abuse or neglect, the Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or other criminal justice agency, and PRS records of reported abuse and neglect. The bill requires the background and criminal history check to be completed and the application for registration accepted or denied not later than two months after the date PRS received the application except where delayed by the response time of the FBI or in the case of a pending investigation (Sec. 41.005). The bill sets forth provisions regarding registration and conditions under which PRS is required to deny an application for registration or revoke the registration of a registered child-care provider. The bill authorizes PRS to make provisions governing the right of appeal by an applicant from the denial of an application for registration (Secs. 41.006-41.008). The bill requires PRS to continually update the registry to reflect criminal convictions and substantiated child abuse information concerning registered child-care providers (Sec. 41.009). The bill requires PRS by rule to require an applicant to pay to PRS a fee in an amount not to exceed the administrative costs PRS incurs in conducting a background and criminal history check. The bill requires PRS to retain such fees for the purpose of administering the registry (Sec. 41.010). The bill authorizes an individual to receive information about a registered child-care provider from PRS if the individual provides to PRS the name and the Texas driver's license number or state identification number of the registered child-care provider and sets forth what the information provided about a registered child by PRS is to include (Sec. 41.011). The bill requires PRS to provide a toll-free telephone number for use by the public to obtain access to registry information. The bill provides that a caller may inquire whether an individual is a registered child-care provider and may receive the information available from the registry (Sec. 41.012). The bill requires PRS to develop a plan to publicize the availability, benefits, and methods of accessing the registry and to distribute applications for registration. The bill requires PRS to prepare and maintain a written plan that describes how persons who do not speak English can be provided reasonable access to the registry. The bill requires a private employment agency to only refer for employment as a child-care provider an individual who is a registered child-care provider (Secs. 41.013-41.015). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.