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New Year, Running Unopposed and CPS Review

As some of you may know, I have been blessed this year to be unopposed in both the Republican primary election and in the general election in November. That means that I will be “reelected” as your state representative for another two year term (2021-22). The best part of being unopposed is that it allows me to use the next 11 months to dig in on policy work as we prepare for the next legislative session.

As we have started the new year, my staff and I are setting goals and objectives for our legislative priorities.  Since the foster care system, Child Protective Services (CPS) and its parent agency, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), have long been a high priority for me, I thought it would be timely to share some of these ideas as we plan for the next legislative session.

Overall, there is a lot of reason to be optimistic for the future of foster care in Texas.  First, Texas families of all stripes continue to answer the call and take at-risk children into their homes, either on a temporary basis or as a new forever home through adoption. In December 2019, DFPS reported that they have seen an increase in the number of adoptions in the last fiscal year.  Second, staff turnover at the agency has steadily declined over the last several years, which can help lead to better results for kids.  Finally, Texas continues to roll out Community Based Care (CBC), a paradigm shift in the delivery of child welfare services, whereby non-profit organizations manage foster care services at a community level in order to better align services with the needs of foster children.

Notwithstanding these positive trends, there is always room for improvement.  Specifically, wrongful child welfare investigations and removals continue to be a problem for many families in our state creating trauma for children and unnecessary churn and distractions for the workers trying to improve outcomes for those kids.  I also am concerned for the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) (a federal law which significantly redirects federal funding around foster care services) as well as the ongoing saga of the federal court case surrounding case load standards and other CPS items.

With any area of large governmental involvement, there are two distinct but interrelated areas to monitor-legislation and administration. Drafting law and directing state spending are two essential activities for which the Legislature is solely responsible, yet when done poorly, create massive challenges for even the best agencies. Conversely, it is equally true that innovative and carefully crafted laws can be undermined by poor implementation. Both sides are essential to good governance!

If you are interested in additional detail about 2020 and beyond for child welfare, we’ve got more for you in the bulk of the newsletter.

May God bless you and your family,

James B. Frank

. . . this is an excerpt from a Newsletter sent on January 27, 2020

READ FULL NEWSLETTER HERE

End of Session Recap Part 2 – Income Tax & Health Care

Every session feels a little different as you get drawn into different issues and responsibilities. The 86th was one that was defined, for me, by my committee responsibilities and the world of healthcare that they encompassed. It’s an incredibly important policy arena and, while the learning curve is steep, I am very glad that I was able to dig in during this session (and in the upcoming interim).

There may be no more important issue to Texans and how they interact with their government than on healthcare. It is a vital issue but one too often characterized by overwhelming bureaucracy, bad information, high costs, and political fear-mongering. Also, to a large degree, healthcare and health insurance (not the same thing) policy is driven at the federal government level, leaving the state a smaller room for policy maneuvering.

In this newsletter, we have highlighted the major legislation that came through the Human Services and Public Health Committees on which I served. While by no means exhaustive (Human Services had 285 bills referred to it; Public Health had 360), it is intended to provide a window into many of the issues my staff and I worked on. We have also provided a brief synopsis of HJR 38 which will, if approved by voters in November, prohibit the imposition of a state income tax in Texas.

It has been fantastic to be back home now for over a month. Hope to run into you in the district soon!

May God bless you and your family,

… this is an excerpt from Newsletter dated April 22, 2018

End of Session Recap Part 1

We are just over one month removed from the end of the 86th Legislative Session. Since the 20-day deadline for the Governor to veto bills has come and gone, we now know what the final work product of the 86th Legislature looks like. These next few newsletters are my attempt to give you an overview of what the Texas Legislature did for you (and sometimes to you) during the 2019 legislative session.

With everything that took place in the 140-day legislative session, we thought it would be most convenient for the reader to break up the End of Session Recap Newsletter into 3 parts over the next 3 weeks. This newsletter, Part 1, will deal with the major legislation passed during the session . Part 2 will deal with what I spent the bulk of my time on this session — the work of the Human Services Committee and Public Health Committee. And Part 3 will discuss the interim and what to expect going forward from me, my office, and for state government as a whole.

Some of this, especially the information about SB 2 and HB 3, will seem familiar. We have already discussed these two bills in some depth in previous newsletters. However, these two issues (property tax transparency/reform and school finance reform) are what this session will be remembered for so we’re including information about them one last time.

It has truly been great being back hom e in Wichita Falls. I am thankful that a state rep in Texas gets to spend 19 months of every 24-month cycle living in his/her hometown. Not only is this much better for my own quality of life, it makes it much easier for representatives to stay connected to the needs and desires of their communities. I am also grateful for the opportunity recently to speak to various civic groups and organizations, including the Helen Farabee Centers Board, Wichita County Republicans, and Burkburnett Rotary Club. I fielded questions from them about the session and what law changes could mean.

Finally, the July 4th holiday is a reminder of the freedoms that we enjoy and should be a reminder of the sacrifices of those who died to give us these freedoms and opportunities. While it is fashionable in some circles to insult our country, it is clear by the number of people trying desperately to get into the United States that it remains a beacon of freedom and hope. These freedoms and opportunities seem evident to the world, but are missed by many within our borders.
May God bless you and your family,

… this is an excerpt from Newsletter dated April 22, 2018

Early Voting for Proposed Bonds Starts Monday, April 23rd

Election on May 5th, Early Voting Starts Monday, April 23

Early voting for the proposed bonds begins on Monday and continues through the actual election day of May 5^th.   It is my hope that every voter in Wichita Falls will take the time to review and decide how to vote on each and every bond proposal on the ballot. Before jumping into specifics on each proposal, I would like to share some general thoughts about the issue:

1. I am excited about some of the projects that are being proposed. I firmly believe that it is incredibly important that we look forward with both optimism and vision so that we can grow and prosper as a city and as a region.

2. I am also concerned about the increase in tax burden that these projects will be adding to the already high property taxes in the area. I am concerned from both a personal standpoint and the impact that these higher costs will have on existing and prospective businesses, especially capital intensive businesses which pay a disproportionate share of real estate taxes.’

3. That being said, the votes are not nearly as clear-cut as some would have you believe. I have heard many essentially suggest that you must “VOTE YES or you don’t love this city.” I completely reject that argument as it is fine to love this city and want it to grow, but have honest disagreements over the means. On the other hand, I have heard others imply that there is no such thing as a worthwhile government project, which is neither true nor particularly forward thinking.

There are real advantages of voting yes on these bonds and real costs and consequences as well.

… this is an excerpt from Newsletter dated April 22, 2018

Invitation to Event with Sanator Ted Cruz: Apr 4, 2018

Presidential Election Thoughts Aug 5, 2015

As a Representative to the Texas House, I typically limit my newsletters, posts and tweets to policies at the State level. Not only are these the issues that I can personally impact, these are the issues that typically need more press than better known national issues.I have decided that I will be making…