Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB948 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R636 MCK-D
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 948
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to investigations and other procedures with respect to
8	8	allegations of child abuse and neglect.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 261.103, Family Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
12	12	(d) The department or other entity receiving a report of
13	13	abuse or neglect shall maintain an audio recording of each report
14	14	made over the telephone.
15	15	SECTION 2. Section 261.302, Family Code, is amended by
16	16	amending Subsections (a) and (f) and adding Subsections (e-1),
17	17	(e-2), and (e-3) to read as follows:
18	18	(a) The investigation may include:
19	19	(1) a visit to the child's home, unless the alleged
20	20	abuse or neglect can be confirmed or clearly ruled out without a
21	21	home visit; and
22	22	(2) an interview with and examination of the subject
23	23	child, any other child in the home, or the child's parents, which
24	24	may include a medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination as
25	25	authorized by Subsection (e-1).
26	26	(e-1) Except as provided by Subsection (e-2), an
27	27	investigation that includes an examination of the subject child or
28	28	any other child in the household may not include a medical,
29	29	psychological, or psychiatric examination of the child unless:
30	30	(1) the child's parent, conservator, or legal guardian
31	31	consents in writing to the examination; or
32	32	(2) the department obtains a court order for the
33	33	medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination.
34	34	(e-2) If during the investigation a department investigator
35	35	believes that a child needs emergency medical attention before a
36	36	representative of a law enforcement agency is able to arrive, the
37	37	investigator may obtain medical assistance for the child from
38	38	emergency medical services personnel, as defined by Section
39	39	773.003, Health and Safety Code.
40	40	(e-3) This section does not limit the authority of a law
41	41	enforcement agency to perform its duties under any other law.
42	42	(f) A person commits an offense if the person is notified of
43	43	the time of the transport of a child by the department and the
44	44	location from which the transport is initiated and the person is
45	45	present at the location when the transport is initiated and
46	46	attempts to interfere with the department's investigation. An
47	47	offense under this subsection is a Class B misdemeanor. It is an
48	48	exception to the application of this subsection that the department
49	49	requested the person to be present at the site of the transport.
50	50	This subsection only applies when the department has taken custody
51	51	of a child under Section 262.104, an ongoing court-ordered
52	52	investigation is being conducted, or the child's parent,
53	53	conservator, or legal guardian has consented to the transport.
54	54	SECTION 3. Section 261.3021, Family Code, is amended to
55	55	read as follows:
56	56	Sec. 261.3021. CASEWORK DOCUMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT. (a)
57	57	Subject to the appropriation of money for these purposes, the
58	58	department shall:
59	59	(1) identify critical investigation actions that
60	60	impact child safety and require department caseworkers to document
61	61	those actions in a child's case file not later than the day after
62	62	the action occurs;
63	63	(2) identify and develop a comprehensive set of
64	64	casework quality indicators that must be reported in real time to
65	65	support timely management oversight;
66	66	(3) provide department supervisors with access to
67	67	casework quality indicators and train department supervisors on the
68	68	use of that information in the daily supervision of caseworkers;
69	69	(4) develop a case tracking system that notifies
70	70	department supervisors and management when a case is not
71	71	progressing in a timely manner;
72	72	(5) use current data reporting systems to provide
73	73	department supervisors and management with easier access to
74	74	information; and
75	75	(6) train department supervisors and management on the
76	76	use of data to monitor cases and make decisions.
77	77	(b) The department shall record and maintain all interviews
78	78	and documents pertaining to an investigation, including original
79	79	notes.
80	80	SECTION 4. Section 261.307(a), Family Code, is amended to
81	81	read as follows:
82	82	(a) As soon as possible after initiating an investigation of
83	83	a parent or other person having legal custody of a child, the
84	84	department shall provide to the person:
85	85	(1) a summary that:
86	86	(A) is brief and easily understood;
87	87	(B) is written in a language that the person
88	88	understands, or if the person is illiterate, is read to the person
89	89	in a language that the person understands; and
90	90	(C) contains the following information:
91	91	(i) the department's procedures for
92	92	conducting an investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect,
93	93	including:
94	94	(a) a description of the
95	95	circumstances under which the department would request to remove
96	96	the child from the home through the judicial system; and
97	97	(b) an explanation that the law
98	98	requires the department to refer all reports of alleged child abuse
99	99	or neglect to a law enforcement agency for a separate determination
100	100	of whether a criminal violation occurred;
101	101	(ii) the person's right to file a complaint
102	102	with the department or to request a review of the findings made by
103	103	the department in the investigation;
104	104	(iii) the person's right to review all
105	105	records of the investigation unless the review would jeopardize an
106	106	ongoing criminal investigation or the child's safety;
107	107	(iv) the person's right to seek legal
108	108	counsel;
109	109	(v) references to the statutory and
110	110	regulatory provisions governing child abuse and neglect and how the
111	111	person may obtain copies of those provisions; and
112	112	(vi) the process the person may use to
113	113	acquire access to the child if the child is removed from the home;
114	114	(2) if the department determines that removal of the
115	115	child may be warranted, a proposed child placement resources form
116	116	that:
117	117	(A) instructs the parent or other person having
118	118	legal custody of the child to:
119	119	(i) complete and return the form to the
120	120	department or agency; and
121	121	(ii) identify in the form three individuals
122	122	who reside in the state within 100 miles from the child's primary
123	123	residence who could serve as [be] relative caregivers or designated
124	124	caregivers, as those terms are defined by Section 264.751, before a
125	125	suit affecting the parent-child relationship is filed and until the
126	126	suit is dismissed; and
127	127	(B) informs the parent or other person of a
128	128	location that is available to the parent or other person to submit
129	129	the information in the form 24 hours a day either in person or by
130	130	facsimile machine or e-mail; and
131	131	(3) an informational manual required by Section
132	132	261.3071.
133	133	SECTION 5. Section 261.309, Family Code, is amended by
134	134	amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsections (b-1), (c-1), (c-2),
135	135	and (e-1) to read as follows:
136	136	(b-1) The immediate supervisor shall submit a written
137	137	report at the conclusion of the informal review under Subsection
138	138	(b). The report must summarize the person's case or complaint and
139	139	contain the supervisor's findings relating to the person's case or
140	140	complaint. The department shall make the written report available
141	141	to the person under investigation.
142	142	(c-1) At the administrative review under Subsection (c),
143	143	the person conducting the review for the department shall allow the
144	144	person challenging the findings to question the investigative
145	145	workers and immediate supervisors who developed the department's
146	146	findings. The department may postpone the administrative review for
147	147	not more than 30 days to ensure attendance of necessary
148	148	investigative workers and immediate supervisors.
149	149	(c-2) The department shall make an audio recording of the
150	150	administrative review and preserve the recording until the first
151	151	anniversary of the date the administrative review concludes. The
152	152	department shall make the audio recording available to any party
153	153	involved in the review not later than the 10th day after the date
154	154	the person requests access to the recording.
155	155	(d) Unless a civil or criminal court proceeding or an
156	156	ongoing criminal investigation relating to the alleged abuse or
157	157	neglect investigated by the department is pending, the department
158	158	employee shall conduct the review prescribed by Subsection (c) as
159	159	soon as possible but not later than the 45th day after the date the
160	160	department receives the request. If a civil court proceeding
161	161	initiated by the department, a [or] criminal court proceeding, or
162	162	an ongoing criminal investigation is pending, the department may
163	163	postpone the review until the court proceeding is completed. The
164	164	department shall conduct the review not later than the 45th day
165	165	after the date the court proceeding or investigation is completed.
166	166	(e-1) A person under investigation for allegedly abusing or
167	167	neglecting the person's child is not subject to, and cannot be
168	168	required to submit to, the jurisdiction of the State Office of
169	169	Administrative Hearings in any proceeding in connection to the
170	170	alleged abuse or neglect.
171	171	SECTION 6. Section 261.310(d), Family Code, is amended to
172	172	read as follows:
173	173	(d) The standards shall:
174	174	(1) recommend that videotaped and audiotaped
175	175	interviews be uninterrupted;
176	176	(2) recommend a maximum number of interviews with and
177	177	examinations of a suspected victim;
178	178	(3) provide procedures to preserve evidence,
179	179	including the original audio recordings of the intake telephone
180	180	calls, original notes, videotapes, and other audiotapes, for one
181	181	year from the later of the date the evidence is created or the date
182	182	of a final judgment in a case for which the evidence is created; and
183	183	(4) provide that an investigator of suspected child
184	184	abuse or neglect make a reasonable effort to locate and inform each
185	185	parent of a child of any report of abuse or neglect relating to the
186	186	child.
187	187	SECTION 7. Sections 262.112(a) and (b), Family Code, are
188	188	amended to read as follows:
189	189	(a) The Department of Family and Protective [and
190	190	Regulatory] Services and the parent, conservator, or legal guardian
191	191	of a child are [is] entitled to an expedited hearing under this
192	192	chapter in any proceeding in which a hearing is required if the
193	193	department determines that a child should be removed from the
194	194	child's home because of an immediate danger to the physical health
195	195	or safety of the child.
196	196	(b) In any proceeding in which an expedited hearing is held
197	197	under Subsection (a), the department, parent, conservator,
198	198	guardian, or other party to the proceeding is entitled to an
199	199	expedited appeal on a ruling by a court that the child may or may not
200	200	be removed from the child's home.
201	201	SECTION 8. Section 262.114, Family Code, is amended to read
202	202	as follows:
203	203	Sec. 262.114. EVALUATION OF IDENTIFIED RELATIVES AND OTHER
204	204	DESIGNATED INDIVIDUALS; PLACEMENT. (a) If a governmental entity
205	205	determines, after completing an investigation, that a child should
206	206	be removed from the child's home and placed in the custody of the
207	207	Department of Family and Protective Services, the department shall,
208	208	on receiving the child placement resources form as provided under
209	209	Section 261.307, [Before a full adversary hearing under Subchapter
210	210	C, the Department of Family and Protective Services must]
211	211	immediately perform a background and criminal history check of:
212	212	(1) the relatives or other designated individuals
213	213	identified as a potential relative or designated caregiver, as
214	214	defined by Section 264.751; and
215	215	(2) each person over 18 years of age who resides in the
216	216	designated person's household [, on the proposed child placement
217	217	resources form provided under Section 261.307].
218	218	(a-1) The department shall evaluate each person listed on
219	219	the form by the standards outlined in Section 262.115 to determine
220	220	the relative or other designated individual who would be the most
221	221	appropriate substitute caregiver for the child [and must complete a
222	222	home study of the most appropriate substitute caregiver, if any,
223	223	before the full adversary hearing].
224	224	(a-2) The right of the parent, conservator, or legal
225	225	guardian of the child to designate the person with whom the child is
226	226	placed continues until the date the suit affecting the parent-child
227	227	relationship is dismissed. The parent, conservator, or legal
228	228	guardian may change the person designated on the child placement
229	229	resources form as a relative or designated caregiver. The
230	230	department shall place the child with the person subsequently
231	231	designated as a relative or designated caregiver, if the child is
232	232	removed from the care of a person who was previously designated.
233	233	(a-3) If the parent, conservator, or legal guardian fails to
234	234	designate [Until the department identifies] a relative or other
235	235	designated individual qualified to be a substitute caregiver, the
236	236	department must continue to explore substitute caregiver options.
237	237	The time frames in this subsection do not apply to a relative or
238	238	other designated individual located more than 100 miles from the
239	239	child's primary residence [in another state].
240	240	(b) [The department may place a child with a relative or
241	241	other designated individual identified on the proposed child
242	242	placement resources form if the department determines that the
243	243	placement is in the best interest of the child.] The department may
244	244	place the child with the relative or designated individual before
245	245	conducting the background and criminal history check or home study
246	246	required under Subsection (a). The department shall provide a copy
247	247	of an informational manual required under Section 261.3071 to the
248	248	relative or other designated caregiver at the time of the child's
249	249	placement.
250	250	(c) The department shall provide the mother of a child who
251	251	is breast-feeding with scheduled visitation periods at appropriate
252	252	intervals to allow the mother to continue breast-feeding the child,
253	253	unless the court finds after a hearing that the mother is not fit
254	254	for these visitation periods.
255	255	(d) At each hearing conducted in a suit affecting the
256	256	parent-child relationship filed under this chapter, the court shall
257	257	inform the child's parent, conservator, or legal guardian orally
258	258	and in writing of that person's right to designate a relative or
259	259	designated caregiver with whom the child is placed.
260	260	SECTION 9. Subchapter B, Chapter 262, Family Code, is
261	261	amended by adding Section 262.115 to read as follows:
262	262	Sec. 262.115. LIMITATION ON PLACEMENT WITH DESIGNATED
263	263	PERSON. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the department
264	264	may not place a child with a person designated by the child's
265	265	parent, conservator, or legal guardian under Section 262.114 if the
266	266	department determines that:
267	267	(1) the placement would expose the child to immediate
268	268	danger to the child's physical health or safety; or
269	269	(2) the designated person or another person in the
270	270	designated person's household:
271	271	(A) is listed in the department's statewide
272	272	central registry system with a finding that the department
273	273	confirmed, had reason to believe, or could not determine that the
274	274	person abused or neglected a child;
275	275	(B) is the subject of a report of child abuse or
276	276	neglect being investigated by the department;
277	277	(C) has been found to have committed family
278	278	violence and is or has been the subject of a protective order
279	279	rendered under Title 4;
280	280	(D) has been convicted of a felony, is under
281	281	indictment for or charged with an offense punishable as a felony, or
282	282	is under investigation by a state or federal law enforcement agency
283	283	for an offense punishable as a felony; or
284	284	(E) has previously voluntarily relinquished
285	285	parental rights as the result of an allegation of child abuse or
286	286	neglect.
287	287	(b) A law enforcement agency in this state, on request by
288	288	the department, shall assist in conducting a criminal background
289	289	check on a designated person or any other person in the designated
290	290	person's household.
291	291	(c) The department may place a child with a person described
292	292	by Subsection (a) if the department determines that placement of
293	293	the child with the designated person will not endanger the child.
294	294	(d) If the department determines that the designated person
295	295	under Section 262.114 is not an appropriate placement for the
296	296	child, the department shall immediately provide the parent,
297	297	conservator, or legal guardian with written notice stating the
298	298	specific facts leading to the department's objections to the
299	299	placement. The parent, conservator, or legal guardian may
300	300	challenge the department's placement decision by filing a motion
301	301	for a hearing before the court. The court shall render an order
302	302	regarding placement of the child after hearing testimony from the
303	303	parties. The court may approve the placement of the child with the
304	304	designated person and order any modification the court determines
305	305	necessary to address the department's written objections.
306	306	SECTION 10. Sections 263.103(a) and (d), Family Code, are
307	307	amended to read as follows:
308	308	(a) Before the service plan is signed, the child's parents
309	309	and the representative of the department or other agency shall
310	310	discuss each term and condition of the plan. The representative
311	311	shall inform the parents that the service plan is voluntary and can
312	312	only be made mandatory by the department if a suit affecting the
313	313	parent-child relationship has been filed and the department has
314	314	obtained court authorization.
315	315	(d) The plan takes effect when[:
316	316	[(1)] the child's parents and the appropriate
317	317	representative of the department or other authorized agency sign
318	318	the plan. If the child's parents refuse to sign the plan, a motion
319	319	may be filed by any party for a hearing at which the court shall
320	320	either accept the plan or modify the plan based on the testimony of
321	321	the parties[; or
322	322	[(2) the department or other authorized agency files
323	323	the plan without the parents' signatures].
324	324	SECTION 11. Section 264.751(1), Family Code, is amended to
325	325	read as follows:
326	326	(1) "Designated caregiver" means an individual
327	327	qualified under Section 262.114 [who has a longstanding and
328	328	significant relationship with a child for whom the department has
329	329	been appointed managing conservator and] who:
330	330	(A) is appointed to provide substitute care for
331	331	the child, but is not licensed or certified to operate a foster
332	332	home, foster group home, agency foster home, or agency foster group
333	333	home under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code; or
334	334	(B) is subsequently appointed permanent managing
335	335	conservator of the child after providing the care described by
336	336	Paragraph (A).
337	337	SECTION 12. Section 264.753, Family Code, is amended to
338	338	read as follows:
339	339	Sec. 264.753. EXPEDITED PLACEMENT. Because there is a
340	340	rebuttable presumption that placing a child in the care of a person
341	341	designated by the child's parent, conservator, or legal guardian is
342	342	in the child's best interest, the [The] department or other
343	343	authorized entity shall expedite the completion of the background
344	344	and criminal history check according to Section 262.114[, the home
345	345	study,] and any other administrative procedure to ensure that the
346	346	child is placed with a qualified relative or caregiver as soon as
347	347	possible after the date the caregiver is identified.
348	348	SECTION 13. Section 264.754, Family Code, is amended to
349	349	read as follows:
350	350	Sec. 264.754. INVESTIGATION OF [PROPOSED] PLACEMENT OF
351	351	CHILD WITH DESIGNATED CAREGIVER. After [Before] placing a child
352	352	with a proposed relative or other designated caregiver under the
353	353	standards of Sections 262.114 and 262.115, the department may
354	354	[must] conduct a comprehensive [an] investigation, including a home
355	355	study, to determine whether the designated [proposed] placement
356	356	meets the minimum standards for the health and safety of the child.
357	357	There is a rebuttable presumption that a placement with a
358	358	designated caregiver is in the child's best interest.
359	359	SECTION 14. Section 261.302(c), Family Code, is repealed.
360	360	SECTION 15. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
361	361	to an investigation of a report of child abuse or neglect that is
362	362	made, or a suit affecting the parent-child relationship that is
363	363	commenced, on or after the effective date of this Act. A report
364	364	that is made or a suit that is commenced before the effective date
365	365	of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the report
366	366	was made or the suit was commenced, and the former law is continued
367	367	in effect for that purpose.
368	368	SECTION 16. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.