Transcript Highlights:

• The organization conducted interviews with maternal healthcare providers, and one family physician noted
• According to the Human Resources Code, Title 12, Subtitle C, Chapter 242, Section 010, we require background
• remain in the foster care system, then they're left vulnerable out on their own, whether they have family
• consider the data on these kids, they don't have the proper resources to survive, not just from a loving family

Bills: HB2646, HB3941, HB5153, HB5155, HB5394, HB 1106, HB426, HB4529, HB3984, HB4273, HB 1097, HB3940, HB1941, HB4377, HB3153

Keywords: child care, task force, high-quality care, affordability, prekindergarten partnerships, foster care, transitional living, Medicaid reform, youth assistance, independent living, services for youth, employment training, educational support, mental health services, health care, public health, child health program, reimbursement, local health entities, maternal health

Transcript Highlights:

• Many youth run away from home due to family conflict, abuse, neglect, or instability.
• One is FASE, Family and Youth.
• They connect the entire family to services and foster healthy communication, providing counseling.
• These centers can provide support during mental health crises. ...resulting from family conflicts and
• So if youth are picked up for running away, they contact the family to try to provide services, but they

Bills: HB1821, HB1822, HB1943, HB3882, HB4263, HB4476, HB4628, HB4631, HB4885, HB4923, HB5461, HB5483, HB5525

Keywords: juvenile records, sealing, privacy, criminal justice, youth rehabilitation, legal procedures, juvenile court, record sealing, nondisclosure, age jurisdiction, criminal justice reform, juvenile board, compensation, Winkler County, juvenile justice, county funding, grants, career education, technical programs, workforce development

Transcript Highlights:

• But because of certain family code provisions requiring confidentiality, this is never disclosed to law
• The existing family code reinforces orders already issued by the court instead of making them go back
• And it's even in the family code.
• And if you look deep into the family code, interference with child custody is defined as domestic violence
• Family Code has a specific statute that says every court order must have, you know, the legal provisions

Bills: SB456, SB826, SB872, SB957, SB993, SB1660, SB2017, SB2611, SB2785, SB2794, SB442

Keywords: human organs, criminal penalties, physician license, medical ethics, illegal trade, SB 826, Texas, DWI, driving while intoxicated, intoxicated driving, school crossing zone, school zone, reduced speed limit, traffic safety, child safety, pedestrian safety, felony DWI, state jail felony, Penal Code Section 49.04, Transportation Code Section 541.302

Transcript Highlights:

• Current law requires that the Department of Family and Protective Services to consider several factors
• This is a child-centered policy that supports both the children and foster families by reducing disruption
• Uh, Julia Hatcher, Texas Association of Family Defense Attorneys, and yourself, and you are neutral on
• So we, we, we hope that this bill is not an attack on family members, especially grandparents.
• They get upset when kids are taken away from them when family is found.

Bills: SB 2041, SB 1777, SB 1681, SB 2311

Keywords: child welfare, foster care, Department of Family and Protective Services, DFPS, Family Code, conservatorship, placement selection, contract residential care, kinship care, relative placement, designated caregiver, best interest of the child, least restrictive setting, placement stability, child protective services, residential treatment, group home, family reunification, Texas foster system, residential care

Transcript Highlights:

• Association of Family Defense Attorneys and yourself, and you are neutral on the bill.
• We hope that this bill is not an attack on family members, especially grandparents.
• They get upset when kids are taken away from them when family is found.
• Erica Banuelos, Department of Family and Protective Services, neutral on the bill. Correct?
• Will always be family first, from the beginning and even throughout the life of the case.

Bills: SB2041, SB1777, SB1681, SB2311

Keywords: child welfare, foster care, Department of Family and Protective Services, DFPS, Family Code, conservatorship, placement selection, contract residential care, kinship care, relative placement, designated caregiver, best interest of the child, least restrictive setting, placement stability, child protective services, residential treatment, group home, family reunification, Texas foster system, residential care

Transcript Highlights:

• from the Christmas ornament store. to the tree, and it's almost as if we're trying to take the penal code
• Lastly, HB 214 amends the penal code to expand the offense of firearms smuggling to include the smuggling
• very appropriate as the, as the House bill. 214 was originally filed, pretty much moved the penal code
• Um, the penal code, of course, requires a, a, uh, uh, mens rea that is, is, uh, a mental state that's
• Um, We have provisions in the penal code for uh organized criminal activity, enhancement for organized

Bills: HB 214

Keywords: Texas Women's Privacy Act, HB 214, sex-segregated facilities, bathroom bill, restroom access, locker room, changing room, shower room, single-sex spaces, gender identity, transgender, biological sex, women's privacy, public facilities, state agency, political subdivision, correctional facility, prison housing, jail housing, family violence shelter

Transcript Highlights:

• So House Bill 215 adds a section in the part of the family code that references the relative and other
• Sorry, Department of Family and Protective Services. OK.
• APT codes like MNT does.
• So from my understanding, my family My family works in health coaching and all that kind of stuff.
• It's kind of been our whole family business. we see with a lot of families, if getting healthy is just

Bills: HB26, HB140, HB141, HB142, HB215, HB26, HB140, HB141, HB142, HB215

Keywords: Medicaid, nutrition support, maternal health, chronic conditions, pilot program, DFPS, Department of Family and Protective Services, child protective services, child abuse investigations, child neglect, child exploitation, advisory committee, Family and Protective Services Council, council abolition, foster care, due process, investigative procedures, child welfare, parental rights, family preservation services

Transcript Highlights:

• And, you know, ultimately, these things come down to kids and their families.
• And so parents, teachers, administrators, kids all working together to... ...and their families.
• I think it’s violent offenses is what we focus on, and we can look to that code and make sure that it
• We have student codes of conduct.
• That really is a family sort of culture, I think.

Bills: SB27, SB226, SB326, SB570, SB605, SB870, SB991, SB1871, SB1872, SB1873, SB1874, SB1924, SB1925

Keywords: residency, public schools, child safety placement, enrollment, education code, antisemitism, student conduct, education, disciplinary actions, Texas Education Code, truancy, attendance policy, chronic absenteeism, school attendance, student absence notifications, parent notification, home visit, attendance officer, truancy court, school district

Summary: The committee heard a series of school safety and discipline bills, beginning with SB 870, which would codify an attorney general opinion allowing local school boards to decide whether school marshals may openly carry, conceal carry, or store a firearm in a secure safe on campus. The bill was laid out with no public testimony and left pending. The chair then moved to a combined discussion of SB 1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, and 1924, all focused on school discipline, teacher authority, and student safety. Senators Perry and Creighton described the package as a response to rising classroom disruptions, assaults on teachers, and concerns that districts lack effective tools to maintain order. SB 1871 would expand teacher removal authority, require return-to-class plans before a student removed for certain conduct can return, make some serious offenses mandatory for placement in juvenile justice settings, and provide telehealth mental health services through a consortium. SB 1872 would require expulsion to a JJAEP for assaults on teachers or school volunteers and extend certain expulsion-eligible conduct to off-campus offenses. SB 1873 would restore the prior understanding that in-school suspension is not subject to a three-day limit. SB 1874 would grant teachers immunity from disciplinary action for reporting discipline violations or acting in compliance with Chapter 37. SB 1924 would restore authority for local police and school district police to issue Class C citations for school offenses and require criminal referrals for students posing an imminent threat or assaulting a teacher, with a substitute clarifying referral rules when a citation has already been issued. The committee adopted the substitutes for the bills and moved them forward. Invited witnesses from teacher and administrator groups largely supported the overall goal of stronger discipline and safer classrooms, while asking for refinements. The Texas Classroom Teachers Association testified that teachers need more autonomy to remove disruptive or violent students and that classroom removals should not mean removal from learning. Superintendents from San Angelo, Grandview, and Wiley ISDs supported the bills’ emphasis on safety, expanded ISS flexibility, mandatory placement for serious offenses, and telehealth mental health services, but asked for more local control, flexibility for Districts of Innovation, more than one campus behavior coordinator in large districts, clearer timelines for return-to-class plans, and more precise definitions for disruptive conduct. Several witnesses stressed that teacher retention and student learning are being harmed by current discipline problems, while some members raised concerns about vague standards and the risk of overuse or public humiliation through citations and removals.

Transcript Highlights:

• Ultimately, these things come down... ...to kids and their families.
• Offenses are what we focus on, and we can look to that code and make sure that it's violent offenses.
• Assuming it was a family disturbance and unfortunately something bad happened in that house, and that
• And that committee is supposed to be comprised of, under the law, as it stands, two families.
• So, in the code, there's no length of time for the committee.

Bills: SB27, SB226, SB326, SB570, SB605, SB870, SB991, SB1871, SB1872, SB1873, SB1874, SB1924, SB1925

Keywords: residency, public schools, child safety placement, enrollment, education code, antisemitism, student conduct, education, disciplinary actions, Texas Education Code, truancy, attendance policy, chronic absenteeism, school attendance, student absence notifications, parent notification, home visit, attendance officer, truancy court, school district

Bills: SB27, SB226, SB326, SB570, SB605, SB870, SB991, SB1871, SB1872, SB1873, SB1874, SB1924, SB1925

Keywords: residency, public schools, child safety placement, enrollment, education code, antisemitism, student conduct, education, disciplinary actions, Texas Education Code, truancy, attendance policy, chronic absenteeism, school attendance, student absence notifications, parent notification, home visit, attendance officer, truancy court, school district

Transcript Highlights:

• Data will be provided to resource family partners, and this data will be used to help the resource partners
• In the bill, the family partners are the private child placing agencies under contract with DHS.
• Would you believe that as a former foster parent and recruiter of foster families that throughout the
• We'll make a real difference in the lives of foster families and Thus, kids across our great state.
• If we're going to have a system in which we are removing children, separating them from their families

Bills: SB1558, SB1983, SB1796, SB1806, SB1426, SB633

Keywords: child care, licensing, definitions, foster care, child welfare, SB1983, resource family partner, resource family partners, Department of Human Services, DHS, foster homes, foster children, placement data, data sharing, de-identified data, aggregated data, sibling groups, placement disruptions, foster parent recruitment, foster parent retention

Bills: SB19

Keywords: SB19, prostate cancer, prostate cancer screening, PSA test, digital rectal exam, preventive screening, health insurance mandate, no cost sharing, copay, deductible, coinsurance, high-risk men, African American men, men over 50, men over 40, family history, genetic marker, health benefit plan, insurer coverage, Alabama insurance code

Transcript Highlights:

• Pray for his family and all who are blessed by his dedicated service.
• I ask now that you would bless the families of this. body, their staff, and all who support the work
• She served as a as a physician first window from family medicine from 2003 to 2005 before taking on the
• role of Medical Director at First Physicians East University Family Medicine, where she made a strong
• They've shared knowledge and provided essential support to ensure that family families in every corner

Bills: SJR34, SB10, SB18, SB19, SB21, SB72, SB140, SB262, SB370, SB480, SB495, SB627, SB703, SB767, SB790

Keywords: parental rights, parents, children, custody, care and control, upbringing, family law, constitutional amendment, Texas Constitution, child welfare, education policy, medical decisions, parental authority, primary decision makers, family autonomy, education, Ten Commandments, public schools, religious display, First Amendment

Transcript Highlights:

• First, the bill amends the Texas Family Code to require parents whose rights have been terminated and
• A family code has 20. protecting families from needless destructions at the hands of the state.
• Family Code has 22 unique grounds under which the state may terminate parental rights involuntarily.
• That vagueness, that subjectivity, those concerns lead us to support removing O from our family code
• That vagueness, that subjectivity, those concerns lead us to support removing O from our family code

Bills: HB18, HB37, HB 116, HB388, HB879, HB913, HB 1151, HB2216, HB2358, HB2809, SB577, SB1590, SB1782, SB1887, SB2744

Keywords: rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, perinatal bereavement, healthcare, hospital training, bereavement support, maternal care, fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, parent-child relationship, involuntary termination, family law, child welfare, child protection, HB 388, HB388

Summary: The committee first reopened testimony on House Bill 2216, which would strengthen child welfare requirements by expanding “active efforts” to help families avoid removal and support reunification, while also raising standards related to removals and terminations. Supporters from child welfare and family defense groups said the bill would better protect families and align Texas more closely with ICWA-style principles, but several warned it would require significant new funding, staffing, and community services such as mental health care, housing, child care, and substance use treatment. The committee then left HB 2216 pending. The committee next heard Senate Bill 1782, aimed at boarding and group homes. Senator Miles said the bill closes enforcement gaps left by prior law by requiring retention of background-check records and creating misdemeanor penalties for failing to conduct or keep them, or for knowingly hiring people with serious convictions. Harris County sheriff’s investigators testified in support, describing illegal boarding homes, operators who evade permits and background checks, and exploitation of vulnerable residents; the bill was left pending. The committee also took up Senate Bill 481 on emergency preparedness for nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, adopted a new committee substitute that softened some requirements and removed the fiscal note, and left the bill pending. The committee then heard House Bill 388, which would require the Texas Department of Insurance to create a single standardized coordination-of-benefits form for dual health plans to reduce errors and surprise bills; it was left pending. Senate Bill 1590 would move paternity registry searches for adoptions to an electronic process with a 10-day target, and House Bill 2809 would track child suicide attempts in managing conservatorship and require related reporting and parental notice; both were left pending. The committee also heard Senate Bill 1887, which would prohibit administering mRNA-containing products for immunization for 10 years, with exceptions for cancer and genetic disorders. Supporters argued the bill was needed for safety, informed consent, and medical freedom, while opponents from the medical, research, and public health communities said mRNA vaccines are well-studied, save lives, and that the bill would harm access, research, and Texas’s biotech economy. The bill remained under discussion as testimony concluded.

Transcript Highlights:

• That helps families... That helps families connect with the community of understanding.
• It gives families...
• House Bill 2216 seeks to incorporate the principles of ICWA directly into the Texas Family Code.
• , we need safe families, not just families.
• Kids do better with family.

Bills: HB18, HB37, HB 116, HB388, HB879, HB913, HB 1151, HB2216, HB2358, HB2809, SB577, SB1590, SB1782, SB1887, SB2744

Keywords: rural health, hospital funding, healthcare access, mental health services, financial stability, perinatal bereavement, healthcare, hospital training, bereavement support, maternal care, fetal demise, stillbirth, neonatal death, parent-child relationship, involuntary termination, family law, child welfare, child protection, HB 388, HB388

Summary: The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services met with a quorum and took up several House and Senate bills, with public testimony limited to two minutes per witness. The committee first heard HB 2358, a cleanup bill requested by HHSC that would repeal outdated training and conference requirements for long-term care facility surveyors and certain providers; there were no witnesses, and the bill was left pending. The committee then heard HB 18, the rural hospital stabilization bill, which would create financial assessment tools, a rural hospital finance office at HHSC, an academy for rural hospital officers, multiple grant programs, enhanced Medicaid reimbursement tied to average cost, OB/GYN add-on payments, expanded pediatric telehealth connectivity, and a rural pediatric mental health program. Senator Perry and witnesses from TORCH, a rural hospital, AARP Texas, and ARCHI strongly supported the bill as a way to stabilize rural hospitals, improve OB access, and address workforce and financial pressures. Committee members discussed rural hospital closures, low-volume quality metrics, system affiliation, and the need for predictable monthly reimbursement; the bill was left pending after testimony and questions. The committee next heard HB 37, which would create a perinatal bereavement care initiative for families experiencing stillbirth, neonatal death, or intrauterine fetal demise, including counseling, staff training, and access to cooling devices, with possible grants and a recognition program for hospitals. Senator Huffman explained the bill, and several witnesses testified in support, sharing personal stories about infant loss and the importance of time with the baby, trained staff, and cuddle cots or similar devices. A neonatologist also supported the bill while suggesting clarification that hospitals should not be penalized if state funding is unavailable and recommending use of regional advisory councils to help implement training. Public testimony was then closed and the bill left pending. The committee also heard HB 879, which would create a streamlined licensing pathway for veterans with medical or nursing experience to practice in Texas, and HB 913, which would add new state hospitals to statute and split the North Texas State Hospital into two separate hospitals with their own superintendents; both bills had no opposition testimony and were left pending. Later, the committee heard SB 2744, a heart disease screening bill that would update the 2009 Texas Heart Attack Prevention Act to require insurance coverage for coronary CT angiography with plaque analysis, including soft plaque detection, as a preventive screening tool. The author and invited witnesses argued the technology is more effective than calcium scoring alone, can identify patients before symptoms appear, and could save lives at a cost comparable to or lower than colonoscopy. An insurance industry witness opposed the bill, arguing the technology has not been recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force for universal screening and that the mandated coverage and payment level would raise costs; the bill was left pending after testimony. Finally, the committee heard HB 1151, a parental rights bill clarifying that refusing psychotropic medication or psychiatric treatment is not neglect unless the child is harmed. Supporters, including parent advocates and attorneys, said the bill would protect parents from CPS overreach and preserve medical decision-making authority, while one witness urged broader attention to physical causes of behavioral issues. Public testimony was closed and HB 1151 was left pending.

Transcript Highlights:

• House Bill 557 amends the Texas Family Code to create reasonable safeguards.
• This will amend Chapter 104 of the Family Code to strengthen due process protections for parents involved
• Chief Justice Blacklock also pointed out that the Family Code often stacks the deck against parents before
• House Bill 2301 is a straightforward amendment to the Texas Family Code and clarifies the timing of providing
• Since our inception in 2024, we have been providing advice or representation in Texas Family Code caregiver

Bills: HB557, HB732, HB1892, HB1954, HB2301, HB3180, HB3405, HB3650, HB3758, HB4035, HB4621, HB4795, HB4870, HB5069, HB5137, HB5149

Keywords: child support, arrears, court enforcement, contempt, legal protections, healthcare, insurance, cost reduction, accessibility, regulations, impotency, marriage annulment, Family Code, Texas law, family law, Texas legislation, dissolution of marriage, annulment, marriage, child custody

Bills: SB746, SB1404, SB1536, SB1559, SB1838

Keywords: guardianship, guardian ad litem, incapacitated person, proposed ward, ward, probate, Estates Code, Texas probate, elder abuse, adult protective services, capacity restoration, guardian removal, annual account, annual report, estate guardian, person guardian, civil immunity, court-appointed representative, judiciary, civil jurisprudence

Transcript Highlights:

• and military members in their families. families in the state of Texas.
• Veterans and their families ended up attending that.
• Texas Veterans and Family Alliance Program.
• Cohen Military Family Clinic at MetroCare.
• We want to make sure military families and veteran families are taken care of and Texas leads the way

Bills: SB651, SB897, SB1814, SB1818

Keywords: SB 651, Texas Government Code, Section 434.032, veterans county service office, county veterans services, commissioners court, county executive official, county administration, local government, veterans affairs, veterans benefits, county oversight, reporting structure, public administration, large counties, population 200,000 or more, mental health, veterans, community support, grant program

Transcript Highlights:

• Okay, in the street, and the family, okay?
• We must also be pro-mother, pro-father, and pro-family. child, pro-family, pro-economy, and pro-Texas
• Many families are challenged in today's atmosphere.
• Families with young children are especially burdened.
• No, ma'am, we're a family-owned pet store. Oh, you're a family-owned pet store.

Bills: HB74, HB175, HB460, HB576, HB2271, HB2294, HB2874, HB3016, HB3133, HB3191, HB3458, HB3929, HB4063, HB4115, HB4394, HB74, HB175

Keywords: Puerto Verde, Port Authority, eminent domain, bonds, tax assessments, economic development, infrastructure, transportation, public welfare, child care, certifications, Texas Rising Star Program, grant program, disability inclusion, family income, affordability, economic impact, state study, cost analysis, government support

Transcript Highlights:

• The property code chapter 51 governs liens on real property. and authorizes trustees and sub-trustees
• So, HB 5- 576 clarifies property the property code chapter 51 by leveraging the definition of person
• from the Texas Code Construction Act to determine which entities may serve as a trustee or substitute
• My name is Charlotte Young and I'm testifying on behalf of auction.com Texas Property Code Chapter 51
• who- are lucky to have them in their families.

Bills: HB74, HB175, HB460, HB576, HB2271, HB2294, HB2874, HB3016, HB3133, HB3191, HB3458, HB3929, HB4063, HB4115, HB4394, HB74, HB175

Keywords: Puerto Verde, Port Authority, eminent domain, bonds, tax assessments, economic development, infrastructure, transportation, public welfare, child care, certifications, Texas Rising Star Program, grant program, disability inclusion, family income, affordability, economic impact, state study, cost analysis, government support