CHAPTER 265. PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES
Sec. 265.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Department" means the Department of Family and Protective Services.
(2) "Division" means the prevention and early intervention services division within the department.
(3) "Prevention and early intervention services" means programs intended to provide early intervention or prevent at-risk behaviors that lead to child abuse, delinquency, running away, truancy, and dropping out of school.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 489, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 632, Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2007.
Sec. 265.002. PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES DIVISION. The department shall operate a division to provide services for children in at-risk situations and for the families of those children and to achieve the consolidation of prevention and early intervention services within the jurisdiction of a single agency in order to avoid fragmentation and duplication of services and to increase the accountability for the delivery and administration of these services. The division shall be called the prevention and early intervention services division and shall have the following duties:
(1) to plan, develop, and administer a comprehensive and unified delivery system of prevention and early intervention services to children and their families in at-risk situations;
(2) to improve the responsiveness of services for at-risk children and their families by facilitating greater coordination and flexibility in the use of funds by state and local service providers;
(3) to provide greater accountability for prevention and early intervention services in order to demonstrate the impact or public benefit of a program by adopting outcome measures; and
(4) to assist local communities in the coordination and development of prevention and early intervention services in order to maximize federal, state, and local resources.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 489, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Sec. 265.003. CONSOLIDATION OF PROGRAMS. (a) In order to implement the duties provided in Section 265.002, the department shall consolidate into the division programs with the goal of providing early intervention or prevention of at-risk behavior that leads to child abuse, delinquency, running away, truancy, and dropping out of school.
(b) The division may provide additional prevention and early intervention services in accordance with Section 265.002.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 489, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Sec. 265.004. USE OF EVIDENCE-BASED PROGRAMS FOR AT-RISK FAMILIES. (a) To the extent that money is appropriated for the purpose, the department shall fund evidence-based programs offered by community-based organizations that are designed to prevent or ameliorate child abuse and neglect. The evidence-based programs funded under this subsection may be offered by a child welfare board established under Section 264.005, a local governmental board granted the powers and duties of a child welfare board under state law, or a children’s advocacy center established under Section 264.402.
(b) The department shall place priority on programs that target children whose race or ethnicity is disproportionately represented in the child protective services system.
(c) The department shall periodically evaluate the evidence-based abuse and neglect prevention programs to determine the continued effectiveness of the programs.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268, Sec. 1.64, eff. September 1, 2005.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 526, Sec. 4, eff. June 16, 2007.
For expiration of this section, see Subsection (c).
Sec. 265.005. STRATEGIC PLAN FOR CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION SERVICES. (a) Not later than December 1, 2008, in consultation with the Interagency Coordinating Council for Building Healthy Families, the department shall develop a statewide, long-range strategic plan for child abuse and neglect prevention services. The plan must include:
(1) a strategy for the state and political subdivisions of the state to:
(A) reduce their need for services addressing child maltreatment; and
(B) transition to a system that promotes child abuse and neglect prevention services in order to use cost savings to increase prevention services funding in the future; and
(2) details for child abuse and neglect public awareness efforts and outreach.
(b) The department shall assist the Interagency Coordinating Council for Building Healthy Families in any reasonable manner requested by the council in preparing the portion of the council’s report to the legislature regarding the strategic plan required by Section 267.001(g).
(c) This section expires September 1, 2009.
Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 632, Sec. 2, eff. June 15, 2007.