(a) The commission shall annually evaluate the use of benefits under the Medicaid program in the STAR Health program offered to children in foster care and provide recommendations to the Department of Family and Protective Services and each single source continuum contractor in this state to better coordinate the provision of health care and use of those benefits for children in foster care.
(b) In conducting the evaluation required under Subsection (a), the commission shall:
(1) collaborate with residential child-care providers regarding any unmet needs of children in foster care and the development of capacity for providing quality medical, behavioral health, and other services for children in foster care; and
(2) identify options to obtain federal matching funds under the Medical Assistance Program to pay for a safe home-like or community-based residential setting for a child in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services:
(A) who is identified or diagnosed as having a serious behavioral or mental health condition that requires intensive treatment;
(B) who is identified as a victim of serious abuse or serious neglect;
(C) for whom a traditional substitute care placement contracted for or purchased by the department is not available or would further denigrate the child’s behavioral or mental health condition; or
(D) for whom the department determines a safe home-like or community-based residential placement could stabilize the child’s behavioral or mental health condition in order to return the child to a traditional substitute care placement.

(c) The commission shall report its findings to the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives having jurisdiction over the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Text of section effective until April 01, 2025