State lawmakers are discussing whether to require 35 hours of training for potential foster care parents, more than double what some are now required to have.
The House Human Services Committee is discussing the proposal by Republican Rep. Cindy Burkett of Sunnyvale at a Monday afternoon hearing.
Burkett's bill would broadly toughen the foster-care screening process.
Critics, though, worry the plan would make already-difficult recruitment of foster parents even more difficult.
Texas already requires 35 training hours for state foster-care recruits but only 16 hours of training for potential parents retained through private contractors.
The bill comes after 13 children died while in Child Protective Services custody in fiscal years 2013 and 2014.
