Bill Text: TX HB730 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to policies and procedures regarding certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship, investigations by the Department of Family and Protective Services, and parental child safety placements.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-09 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB730 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB730-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to policies and procedures regarding certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship, investigations by the Department of Family and Protective Services, and parental child safety placements.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2023-06-09 - Effective on 9/1/23 [HB730 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB730-Introduced.html
By: Frank | H.B. No. 730 |
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relating to procedures and standards for certain investigations and | ||
suits affecting the parent child relationship. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Chapter 105, Family Code, is amended by adding | ||
Section 105.010 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 105.010. BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD. In a suit between | ||
a parent and a non-parent under this title, it is a rebuttable | ||
presumption that it is in a child's best interest to be raised by | ||
the child's parents and that a parent's decisions are in the best | ||
interest of the child. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 261.303, Family Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read | ||
as follows: | ||
(b) If admission to the home, school, or any place where the | ||
child may be cannot be obtained |
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court having family law jurisdiction finds probable cause to | ||
believe that admission is necessary to protect the child from abuse | ||
or neglect, then the court shall order the parent, the person | ||
responsible for the care of the children, or the person in charge of | ||
any place where the child may be to allow entrance for the | ||
interview, examination, and investigation. | ||
(c) If a parent or person responsible for the child's care | ||
does not consent to release of the child's prior medical, | ||
psychological, or psychiatric records or to a medical, | ||
psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child that is | ||
requested by the department |
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jurisdiction finds probable cause to believe that release or | ||
examination is necessary to protect the child from abuse or | ||
neglect, then the court shall |
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records to be released or the examination to be made at the times | ||
and places designated by the court. | ||
(f) An order described by subsections (b) or (c) may only be | ||
issued after notice and a hearing. The hearing may not be ex parte | ||
unless the court finds probable cause to believe that there is an | ||
immediate risk to the physical health or safety of the child and | ||
there is no time, consistent with the physical health or safety of | ||
the child, for a full hearing. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 261.307, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 261.307. INFORMATION RELATING TO INVESTIGATION | ||
PROCEDURE AND CHILD PLACEMENT RESOURCES. (a) After [ |
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person having legal custody of a child, the department shall, upon | ||
first contact with the person, provide to the person: | ||
(1) a summary that: | ||
(A) is brief and easily understood; | ||
(B) is written in a language that the person | ||
understands, or if the person is illiterate, is read to the person | ||
in a language that the person understands; and | ||
(C) contains the following information: | ||
(i) the department's procedures for | ||
conducting an investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect, | ||
including: | ||
(a) a description of the | ||
circumstances under which the department would request to remove | ||
the child from the home through the judicial system; and | ||
(b) an explanation that the law | ||
requires the department to refer all reports of alleged child abuse | ||
or neglect to a law enforcement agency for a separate determination | ||
of whether a criminal violation occurred; | ||
(ii) the person's right to file a complaint | ||
with the department or to request a review of the findings made by | ||
the department in the investigation; | ||
(iii) the person's right to review all | ||
records of the investigation unless the review would jeopardize an | ||
ongoing criminal investigation or the child's safety; | ||
(iv) the person's right to seek legal | ||
counsel; | ||
(v) references to the statutory and | ||
regulatory provisions governing child abuse and neglect and how the | ||
person may obtain copies of those provisions; [ |
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(vi) the process the person may use to | ||
acquire access to the child if the child is removed from the home; | ||
and | ||
(vii) the rights listed under Subdivision | ||
(2); | ||
(2) a verbal notification of the right to: | ||
(A) not speak with any agent of the department | ||
without legal counsel present; | ||
(B) assistance by an attorney; | ||
(C) have a court-appointed attorney if the person | ||
is indigent; | ||
(D) record any interaction or interview subject | ||
to the understanding that the recording may be disclosed to the | ||
department, law enforcement, or another party under a court order; | ||
(E) refuse to allow the investigator to enter the | ||
home or interview the children without legal counsel present; | ||
(F) withhold consent to the release of any | ||
medical or mental health records; | ||
(G) withhold consent to any medical or | ||
psychological examination of the child; | ||
(H) refuse to submit to a drug test; and | ||
(I) consult with legal counsel prior to agreeing | ||
to any proposed voluntary safety plan; | ||
(3) if the department determines that removal of the | ||
child may be warranted, a proposed child placement resources form | ||
that: | ||
(A) instructs the parent or other person having | ||
legal custody of the child to: | ||
(i) complete and return the form to the | ||
department or agency; | ||
(ii) identify in the form at least three | ||
individuals who could be relative caregivers or designated | ||
caregivers, as those terms are defined by Section 264.751; | ||
(iii) ask the child in a developmentally | ||
appropriate manner to identify any adult, particularly an adult | ||
residing in the child's community, who could be a relative | ||
caregiver or designated caregiver for the child; and | ||
(iv) list on the form the name of each | ||
individual identified by the child as a potential relative | ||
caregiver or designated caregiver; and | ||
(B) informs the parent or other person of a | ||
location that is available to the parent or other person to submit | ||
the information in the form 24 hours a day either in person or by | ||
facsimile machine or e-mail; and | ||
(4) [ |
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261.3071. | ||
(b) The child placement resources form described by | ||
Subsection (a)(3) [ |
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of time by which the department must complete a background check. | ||
(c) The department shall adopt a form for the purpose of | ||
verifying that the parent or other person having legal custody of | ||
the child received the verbal notification and written summary | ||
required by this section. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 262.206, Family Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 262.206. EX PARTE HEARINGS |
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otherwise authorized by this chapter or other law, a hearing held by | ||
a court in a suit under this chapter may not be ex parte. | ||
(b) An ex parte hearing held under this Chapter must be | ||
recorded by a court reporter or by audio or video tape recording. | ||
(c) The record of an ex parte hearing held under this | ||
Chapter must be made available to all parties to the suit upon | ||
request. | ||
SECTION 5. Section 263.307, Family Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows: | ||
(a-1) The presumption described by Section 105.010 shall be | ||
the court's primary consideration. | ||
SECTION 6. Section 264.902, Family Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) A parental child safety placement agreement must | ||
include terms that clearly state: | ||
(1) the respective duties of the person making the | ||
placement and the caregiver, including a plan for how the caregiver | ||
will access necessary medical treatment for the child and the | ||
caregiver's duty to ensure that a school-age child is enrolled in | ||
and attending school; | ||
(2) conditions under which the person placing the | ||
child may have access to the child, including how often the person | ||
may visit and the circumstances under which the person's visit may | ||
occur; | ||
(3) the duties of the department; | ||
(4) subject to Subsection (f), the date on which the | ||
agreement will terminate unless terminated sooner or extended to a | ||
subsequent date as provided under department policy; and | ||
(5) any other term the department determines necessary | ||
for the safety and welfare of the child. | ||
(e) The department must notify the parent, caregiver, or | ||
other person with whom the child resides of their right to consult | ||
with an attorney before entering into a parental child safety | ||
placement agreement and provide the parent, caregiver, or other | ||
person with whom the child resides with a reasonable time in which | ||
to do so. | ||
(1) If the parent or caregiver exercises their right | ||
to consult with an attorney, the department may continue to monitor | ||
the child to ensure the child's safety. | ||
(2) If the parent or caregiver waives their right to | ||
consult with an attorney prior to entering into the agreement, the | ||
agreement shall include language stating that the parent or | ||
caregiver waived this right. | ||
(f) A parental child safety placement agreement | ||
automatically terminates on the earlier of the 30th day after the | ||
date: | ||
(1) the agreement is signed; or | ||
(2) the child is placed with the caregiver. | ||
(g) On the expiration of a parental child safety placement | ||
agreement, the department may for good cause enter into not more | ||
than one additional parental child safety placement agreement for | ||
the child. On entering the parental child safety placement | ||
agreement, the department shall: | ||
(1) reevaluate the terms and conditions of the | ||
original agreement; and | ||
(2) notify the parents of their right to: | ||
(A) refuse to enter into the agreement; and | ||
(B) be represented by an attorney or a | ||
court-appointed attorney if the parent is indigent and if the | ||
department subsequently seeks a court order to require the parents | ||
to participate in services. | ||
SECTION 7. Subchapter L, Chapter 264, Family Code, is | ||
amended by adding Sections 264.907 and 264.908 to read as follows: | ||
Sec. 264.907. INCLUSIONS IN REPORTS OF PARENTAL CHILD | ||
SAFETY PLACEMENTS. The department shall include children who are | ||
placed with a caregiver under a parental child safety placement | ||
agreement in any report, including reports submitted to the United | ||
States Department of Health and Human Services or another federal | ||
agency, in which the department is required to report the number of | ||
children in the child protective services system who are removed | ||
from the children's homes. | ||
Sec. 264.908. REPORT ON COURT-ORDERED PARTICIPATION IN | ||
SERVICES. The department shall report the number of cases in which | ||
a court under Section 264.203 orders the parent, managing | ||
conservator, guardian, or other member of the child's household of | ||
a child who is placed with a caregiver under a parental child safety | ||
placement to participate in services. | ||
SECTION 8. Section 105.010, Family Code, as added by this | ||
Act applies only to an order rendered in a suit affecting the | ||
parent-child relationship on or after the effective date of this | ||
Act. An order rendered in a suit affecting the parent-child | ||
relationship before that date is governed by the law in effect on | ||
the date the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in | ||
effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 9. Section 261.303, Family Code, as amended by this | ||
Act applies only to orders in aid of investigation requested on or | ||
after the effective date of this Act. An order in aid of | ||
investigation requested before the effective date of this Act is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the date the order was rendered, | ||
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 10. Section 261.307, Family Code, as amended by | ||
this Act applies only to an investigation of a report of child abuse | ||
or neglect that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. | ||
An investigation of a report of abuse or neglect made before the | ||
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the | ||
date the report was made, and the former law is continued in effect | ||
for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 11. Section 262.206, Family Code, as amended by | ||
this Act applies only to an ex parte hearing held on or after the | ||
effective date of this Act. An ex parte hearing held before the | ||
effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed | ||
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is | ||
continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 12. Section 264.902, Family Code, as amended by | ||
this Act and Sections 264.907 and 264.908, Family Code, as added by | ||
this Act apply only to parental child safety placement agreements | ||
executed on or before the effective date of this Act. Parental | ||
child safety placement agreements executed before the effective | ||
date of this Act are governed by the law as it existed immediately | ||
before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in | ||
effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |