82R9857 TJB-F
By: Parker H.B. No. 3175
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notice to certain persons that a child is in the
managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 262, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 262.1095 to read as follows:
Sec. 262.1095. NOTICE TO RELATIVES AND CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS;
INVESTIGATION. (a) When the Department of Family and Protective
Services or another agency takes possession of a child under this
chapter, the department shall give written notice as prescribed by
this section to each of the following individuals the department is
able to identify and locate:
(1) each adult who is related or is alleged to be
related to the child within the third degree by consanguinity or the
second degree by affinity as determined under Chapter 573,
Government Code; and
(2) each adult who has a long-standing and significant
relationship with the child.
(b) The written notice must include:
(1) a statement that the child has been removed from
the child's home and is in the temporary managing conservatorship
of the department;
(2) an explanation of the options available to the
individual to participate in the care and placement of the child and
the support of the child's family; and
(3) a statement that some options available to the
individual may be lost if the individual fails to respond to the
notice in a timely manner.
(c) The department is not required to provide notice to an
individual if the department determines that the individual's
history of family violence makes notification inappropriate.
(d) The department shall conduct an investigation to
identify and locate all individuals entitled to notice under this
section. The department shall complete the investigation not later
than the 30th day after the date the child is taken into possession.
(e) The department shall use due diligence in conducting the
investigation under this section, including interviewing:
(1) each individual the department identifies and
locates; and
(2) the child in an age-appropriate manner about
adults who may have a long-standing and significant relationship
with the child.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 263, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 263.007 to read as follows:
Sec. 263.007. NOTIFICATION OF RELATIVE AFFIDAVIT. Not
later than the 10th day before the date set for a hearing under
Subchapter C, the department shall file with the court an affidavit
stating:
(1) the efforts the department made to identify,
locate, and notify the individuals described by Section 262.1095;
and
(2) the name of each individual the department
identified, located, or notified.
SECTION 3. Section 263.202, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (e) and
(f), a status hearing shall be limited to matters related to the
contents and execution of the service plan filed with the
court. The court shall review the service plan that the department
or other agency filed under this chapter for reasonableness,
accuracy, and compliance with requirements of court orders and make
findings as to whether:
(1) a plan that has the goal of returning the child to
the child's parents adequately ensures that reasonable efforts are
made to enable the child's parents to provide a safe environment for
the child; and
(2) the child's parents have reviewed and understand
the service plan and have been advised that unless the parents are
willing and able to provide the child with a safe environment, even
with the assistance of a service plan, within the reasonable period
of time specified in the plan, the parents' parental and custodial
duties and rights may be subject to restriction or to termination
under this code or the child may not be returned to the parents.
(f) The court shall review the affidavit filed by the
department under Section 263.007 and inquire into the sufficiency
of the department's efforts to identify, locate, and notify
relatives and alleged relatives of the child and adults who have a
long-standing and significant relationship with the child. The
court shall order the department to make further efforts to
identify, locate, and notify relatives and alleged relatives of the
child and adults who have a long-standing and significant
relationship with the child if the court determines that the
department's efforts have not been sufficient.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a child taken into possession by the Department of Family and
Protective Services or another agency on or after the effective
date of this Act. A child taken into possession before that date is
governed by the law in effect on the date the child is taken into
possession, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.