Amends TCA Title 37.

Present law requires the department of children's services to maintain staffing levels of case managers so that each region has enough case managers to allow caseloads not to exceed an average, to be calculated at least monthly, of:<br /> <br /> (1) 20 active cases relating to initial assessments, including investigations of an allegation of child abuse or neglect; or<br /> <br /> (2) 20 children monitored and supervised in active cases relating to ongoing services.<br /> <br /> This bill rewrites the provisions above to, instead, provide that, by January 1, 2024, the department must maintain staffing levels of case managers so that each case manager has a caseload of no more than:<br /> <br /> (1) 20 active cases relating to initial assessments, including investigations of an allegation of child abuse or neglect;<br /> <br /> (2) 20 children monitored and supervised in active cases relating to ongoing in-home services; or<br /> <br /> (3) 20 children in active cases in which the children are in out-of-home placements relating to ongoing services.<br /> <br /> This bill further provides that by July 1, 2024, the department must lower from 20 to 12 the case number amounts in (1)-(3) above.<br />