By: Uresti S.B. No. 993
(Rodriguez)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain arrangements to provide care for a child during
an investigation of abuse or neglect.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 264, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter L to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENTS
Sec. 264.901. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Caregiver" means an individual, other than a
child's parent, conservator, or legal guardian, who is related to
the child or has a long-standing and significant relationship with
the child or the child's family.
(2) "Parental child safety placement" means a
temporary out-of-home placement of a child with a caregiver that is
made by a parent or other person with whom the child resides in
accordance with a written agreement approved by the department that
ensures the safety of the child:
(A) during an investigation by the department of
alleged abuse or neglect of the child; or
(B) while the parent or other person is receiving
services from the department.
(3) "Parental child safety placement agreement" means
an agreement between a parent or other person making a parental
child safety placement and the caregiver that contains the terms of
the placement and is approved by the department.
Sec. 264.902. PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENT AGREEMENT.
(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) 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.
(b) A parental child safety placement agreement must
contain the following statement in boldface type and capital
letters: "YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENT IS
NOT AN ADMISSION OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT ON YOUR PART AND CANNOT
BE USED AGAINST YOU AS AN ADMISSION OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT."
(c) A parental child safety placement agreement must be in
writing and signed by the person making the placement and the
caregiver.
(d) The department must provide a written copy of the
parental child safety placement agreement to the person making the
placement and the caregiver.
Sec. 264.903. CAREGIVER EVALUATION. (a) The department
shall develop policies and procedures for evaluating a potential
caregiver's qualifications to care for a child under this
subchapter, including policies and procedures for evaluating:
(1) the criminal history of a caregiver;
(2) allegations of abuse or neglect against a
caregiver; and
(3) a caregiver's home environment and ability to care
for the child.
(b) A department caseworker who performs an evaluation of a
caregiver under this section shall document the results of the
evaluation in the department's case records.
(c) If, after performing an evaluation of a potential
caregiver, the department determines that it is not in the child's
best interest to be placed with the caregiver, the department shall
notify the person who proposed the caregiver and the proposed
caregiver of the reasons for the department's decision, but may not
disclose the specifics of any criminal history or allegations of
abuse or neglect unless the caregiver agrees to the disclosure.
Sec. 264.904. DEPARTMENT PROCEDURES FOR CLOSING CASE.
(a) Before closing a case in which the department has approved a
parental child safety placement, the department must develop a plan
with the person who made the placement and the caregiver for the
safe return of the child to the person who placed the child with the
caregiver or to another person legally entitled to possession of
the child, as appropriate.
(b) The department may close a case with a child still
living with the caregiver in a parental child safety placement if
the department has determined that the child could safely return to
the parent or person who made the parental child safety placement
but the parent or other person agrees in writing for the child to
continue to reside with the caregiver.
(c) If the department determines that the child is unable to
safely return to the parent or person who made the parental child
safety placement, the department shall determine whether the child
can remain safely in the home of the caregiver or whether the
department must seek legal conservatorship of the child in order to
ensure the child's safety.
(d) Before the department may close a case with a child
still living in a parental child safety placement, the department
must:
(1) determine and document in the case file that the
child can safely remain in the placement without the department's
supervision;
(2) obtain the written agreement of the parent or
person who made the parental child safety placement, if possible;
(3) obtain the caregiver's agreement in writing that
the child can continue living in the placement after the department
closes the case; and
(4) develop a written plan for the child's care after
the department closes the case.
(e) The department is not required to comply with Subsection
(d) if the department has filed suit seeking to be named conservator
of the child under Chapter 262 and been denied conservatorship of
the child.
Sec. 264.905. REMOVAL OF CHILD BY DEPARTMENT. This
subchapter does not prevent the department from removing a child at
any time from a person who makes a parental child safety placement
or from a caregiver if removal is determined to be necessary by the
department for the safety and welfare of the child as provided by
Chapter 262.
Sec. 264.906. PLACEMENT PREFERENCE DURING CONSERVATORSHIP.
If, while a parental child safety placement agreement is in effect,
the department files suit under Chapter 262 seeking to be named
managing conservator of the child, the department shall give
priority to placing the child with the parental child safety
placement caregiver as long as the placement is safe and available.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.