Sec. 264.169. PILOT PROGRAM FOR FAMILY-BASED SAFETY SERVICES. (a) In this section, "case management services" means the direct delivery and coordination of a network of formal and informal activities and services in a catchment area where the department has entered into, or is in the process of entering into, a contract with a single source continuum contractor to provide family-based safety services and case management and includes:

(1) caseworker visits with the child and all caregivers;

(2) family visits;

(3) family group conferencing or family group decision-making;

(4) development of the family plan of service;

(5) monitoring, developing, securing, and coordinating services;

(6) evaluating the progress of children, caregivers, and families receiving services;

(7) assuring that the rights of children, caregivers, and families receiving services are protected;

(8) duties relating to family-based safety services ordered by a court, including:

(A) providing any required notifications or consultations;

(B) preparing court reports;

(C) attending judicial hearings, trials, and mediations;

(D) complying with applicable court orders; and

(E) ensuring the child is progressing toward the goal of permanency within state and federally mandated guidelines; and

(9) any other function or service that the department determines is necessary to allow a single source continuum contractor to assume responsibility for case management.

(b) The department shall develop and implement in two child protective services regions of the state a pilot program under which the commission contracts with a single nonprofit entity that has an organizational mission focused on child welfare or a governmental entity in each region to provide family-based safety services and case management for children and families receiving family-based safety services. The contract must include a transition plan for the provision of services that ensures the continuity of services for children and families in the selected regions.

(c) The contract with an entity must include performance-based provisions that require the entity to achieve the following outcomes for families receiving services from the entity:

(1) a decrease in recidivism;

(2) an increase in protective factors; and

(3) any other performance-based outcome specified by the department.

(d) The commission may only contract for implementation of the pilot program with entities that the department considers to have the capacity to provide, either directly or through subcontractors, an array of evidence-based, promising practice, or evidence-informed services and support programs to children and families in the selected child protective services regions.

(e) The contracted entity must perform all statutory duties of the department in connection with the delivery of the services specified in Subsection (b).

(f) The contracted entity must give preference for employment to employees of the department:

(1) whose position at the department is impacted by the implementation of community-based care; and

(2) who are considered by the department to be employees in good standing.

(g) Not later than December 31, 2018, the department shall report to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature having jurisdiction over child protective services and foster care matters on the progress of the pilot program. The report must include:

(1) an evaluation of each contracted entity's success in achieving the outcomes described by Subsection (c); and

(2) a recommendation as to whether the pilot program should be continued, expanded, or terminated.

Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 319 (S.B. 11), Sec. 18(a), eff. September 1, 2017.