Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3466 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R7893 NC-F
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 3466
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the exchange of information among certain governmental
8	8	entities concerning at-risk youth.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 51.01, Family Code, is amended to read as
11	11	follows:
12	12	Sec. 51.01. PURPOSE AND INTERPRETATION. This title shall
13	13	be construed to effectuate the following public purposes:
14	14	(1) to provide for the protection of the public and
15	15	public safety;
16	16	(2) consistent with the protection of the public and
17	17	public safety:
18	18	(A) to promote the concept of punishment for
19	19	criminal acts;
20	20	(B) to remove, where appropriate, the taint of
21	21	criminality from children committing certain unlawful acts; and
22	22	(C) to provide treatment, training, and
23	23	rehabilitation that emphasizes the accountability and
24	24	responsibility of both the parent and the child for the child's
25	25	conduct;
26	26	(3) to provide for the care, the protection, and the
27	27	wholesome moral, mental, and physical development of children
28	28	coming within its provisions;
29	29	(4) to protect the welfare of the community and to
30	30	control the commission of unlawful acts by children;
31	31	(5) to identify at-risk behaviors and prevent the
32	32	commission of unlawful acts by children through interagency
33	33	information sharing to the full extent allowed by federal law;
34	34	(6) to achieve the foregoing purposes in a family
35	35	environment whenever possible, separating the child from the
36	36	child's parents only when necessary for the child's welfare or in
37	37	the interest of public safety and when a child is removed from the
38	38	child's family, to give the child the care that should be provided
39	39	by parents; and
40	40	(7) [(6)] to provide a simple judicial procedure
41	41	through which the provisions of this title are executed and
42	42	enforced and in which the parties are assured a fair hearing and
43	43	their constitutional and other legal rights recognized and
44	44	enforced.
45	45	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 58, Family Code, is
46	46	amended by adding Section 58.0052 to read as follows:
47	47	Sec. 58.0052. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION CONCERNING AT-RISK
48	48	YOUTH. (a) In this section:
49	49	(1) "Agency" means any of the following entities or a
50	50	person with an agency relationship with any of the following
51	51	entities:
52	52	(A) the Texas Youth Commission;
53	53	(B) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission;
54	54	(C) the Department of Family and Protective
55	55	Services;
56	56	(D) the Texas Education Agency;
57	57	(E) a juvenile probation department;
58	58	(F) a school district or open-enrollment charter
59	59	school;
60	60	(G) a local mental health or mental retardation
61	61	authority;
62	62	(H) a county health department;
63	63	(I) a county department that provides services to
64	64	at-risk youth or their families;
65	65	(J) a child advocacy center established under
66	66	Section 264.402, Family Code; or
67	67	(K) a hospital district.
68	68	(2) "At-risk youth" means a person who is under 18
69	69	years of age and:
70	70	(A) has been taken into custody under Section
71	71	52.01;
72	72	(B) has been referred to a juvenile court for
73	73	allegedly engaging in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a
74	74	need for supervision;
75	75	(C) is likely to engage in deliquent conduct
76	76	based on one or more prior referrals to a court for having engaged
77	77	in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for supervision;
78	78	(D) has three or more absences from school in a
79	79	six-month period that have not been excused by a school official;
80	80	(E) has been removed three or more times from a
81	81	classroom by a teacher under Section 37.002, Education Code, during
82	82	a six-month period; or
83	83	(F) is at risk of removal from the child's home
84	84	into institutional care.
85	85	(b) At the request of an agency for specific information
86	86	relating to an at-risk youth, an agency shall disclose the at-risk
87	87	youth's personally identifiable information that is otherwise
88	88	confidential, including information contained in educational
89	89	records.
90	90	(c) The requesting agency must certify in writing that the
91	91	agency will not disclose confidential information received under
92	92	this section to a third party, other than another agency.
93	93	(d) An agency may use information provided to the agency
94	94	under this section only to identify an at-risk youth and to assist
95	95	the agency in providing prevention and intervention services to the
96	96	at-risk youth.
97	97	(e) An agency may establish an internal protocol for sharing
98	98	information with other agencies as necessary to efficiently and
99	99	promptly disclose and accept the information and to maintain the
100	100	confidential status of the information. The protocol may specify
101	101	the types of information that may be shared under this section
102	102	without violating federal law, including any federal funding
103	103	requirements. An agency may enter into a memorandum of
104	104	understanding with another agency to share information according to
105	105	the agencies' protocols.
106	106	(f) This section does not affect the confidential status of
107	107	the information being shared. The information may be released as
108	108	directed by a court order or as otherwise authorized by law.
109	109	Personal information is not subject to disclosure under Chapter
110	110	552, Government Code.
111	111	SECTION 3. Section 58.0051, Family Code, is repealed.
112	112	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
113	113	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
114	114	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
115	115	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
116	116	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.