| 1 | 1 | | 83R21931 YDB-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Flynn H.B. No. 165 |
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| 3 | 3 | | Substitute the following for H.B. No. 165: |
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| 4 | 4 | | By: Fallon C.S.H.B. No. 165 |
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| 5 | 5 | | |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 8 | 8 | | AN ACT |
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| 9 | 9 | | relating to suits affecting the parent-child relationship and |
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| 10 | 10 | | placement decisions for children in foster care. |
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| 11 | 11 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SECTION 1. Section 102.003, Family Code, is amended by |
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| 13 | 13 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as |
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| 14 | 14 | | follows: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (a) An original suit may be filed at any time by: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (1) a parent of the child; |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) the child through a representative authorized by |
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| 18 | 18 | | the court; |
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| 19 | 19 | | (3) a custodian or person having the right of |
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| 20 | 20 | | visitation with or access to the child appointed by an order of a |
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| 21 | 21 | | court of another state or country; |
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| 22 | 22 | | (4) a guardian of the person or of the estate of the |
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| 23 | 23 | | child; |
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| 24 | 24 | | (5) a governmental entity; |
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| 25 | 25 | | (6) an authorized agency; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (7) a licensed child placing agency; |
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| 27 | 27 | | (8) a man alleging himself to be the father of a child |
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| 28 | 28 | | filing in accordance with Chapter 160, subject to the limitations |
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| 29 | 29 | | of that chapter, but not otherwise; |
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| 30 | 30 | | (9) a person, other than a foster parent, who has had |
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| 31 | 31 | | actual care, control, and possession of the child for at least six |
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| 32 | 32 | | months ending not more than 90 days preceding the date of the filing |
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| 33 | 33 | | of the petition; |
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| 34 | 34 | | (10) a person designated as the managing conservator |
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| 35 | 35 | | in a revoked or unrevoked affidavit of relinquishment under Chapter |
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| 36 | 36 | | 161 or to whom consent to adoption has been given in writing under |
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| 37 | 37 | | Chapter 162; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (11) a person with whom the child and the child's |
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| 39 | 39 | | guardian, managing conservator, or parent have resided for at least |
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| 40 | 40 | | six months ending not more than 90 days preceding the date of the |
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| 41 | 41 | | filing of the petition if the child's guardian, managing |
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| 42 | 42 | | conservator, or parent is deceased at the time of the filing of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | petition; |
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| 44 | 44 | | (12) a person who is the foster parent of a child |
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| 45 | 45 | | placed by the Department of Family and Protective Services in the |
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| 46 | 46 | | person's home and with whom the child has resided for at least six |
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| 47 | 47 | | [12] months, or for at least three months if the child was placed |
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| 48 | 48 | | with the foster parent when the child was under two months of age, |
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| 49 | 49 | | ending not more than 90 days preceding the date of the filing of the |
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| 50 | 50 | | petition; |
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| 51 | 51 | | (13) a person who is a relative of the child within the |
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| 52 | 52 | | third degree by consanguinity, as determined by Chapter 573, |
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| 53 | 53 | | Government Code, if the child's parents are deceased at the time of |
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| 54 | 54 | | the filing of the petition; or |
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| 55 | 55 | | (14) a person who has been named as a prospective |
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| 56 | 56 | | adoptive parent of a child by a pregnant woman or the parent of the |
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| 57 | 57 | | child, in a verified written statement to confer standing executed |
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| 58 | 58 | | under Section 102.0035, regardless of whether the child has been |
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| 59 | 59 | | born. |
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| 60 | 60 | | (d) Subsection (a)(12) does not apply to a person who is the |
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| 61 | 61 | | foster parent of a child for whom the Department of Family and |
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| 62 | 62 | | Protective Services' goal is reunification with the child's parent |
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| 63 | 63 | | and the department determines, in accordance with department rules, |
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| 64 | 64 | | that the child's parent is making satisfactory progress on a plan to |
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| 65 | 65 | | return the child to the parent's home before the first anniversary |
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| 66 | 66 | | of the date the child was placed with the foster parent. |
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| 67 | 67 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 264, Family Code, is |
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| 68 | 68 | | amended by adding Section 264.1076 to read as follows: |
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| 69 | 69 | | Sec. 264.1076. CONSIDERATIONS IN MODIFYING PLACEMENT |
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| 70 | 70 | | DECISION. In determining whether to modify a foster care placement |
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| 71 | 71 | | decision, the department shall consider: |
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| 72 | 72 | | (1) the length of time the child has resided with the |
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| 73 | 73 | | foster care provider; |
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| 74 | 74 | | (2) the degree to which the child has formed an |
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| 75 | 75 | | attachment to the foster care provider; and |
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| 76 | 76 | | (3) the potential harm to the child caused by |
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| 77 | 77 | | separation from the foster care provider or by the disruption of a |
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| 78 | 78 | | stable placement. |
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| 79 | 79 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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