84R17284 YDB-D
By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 1217
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1217:
By: Dutton C.S.H.B. No. 1217
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reporting information for certain foster children who
are missing or are victims of sex trafficking.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Section 264.123, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 264.123. REPORTS CONCERNING CHILDREN WHO ARE MISSING
OR VICTIMS OF SEX TRAFFICKING [CHILD].
SECTION 2. Section 264.123, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (f) and adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read
as follows:
(f) After a missing child returns to the child's substitute
care provider, the department shall interview the child to
determine the reasons why the child was missing, [and] where the
child stayed during the time the child was missing, and whether,
while missing, the child was a victim of conduct that constitutes an
offense under Section 20A.02(a)(7), Penal Code. The department
shall report to an appropriate law enforcement agency any
disclosure made by a child that indicates that the child was the
victim of a crime during the time the child was missing. The
department shall make a report under this subsection not later than
24 hours after the time the disclosure is made. The department is
not required to interview a missing child under this subsection if,
at the time the child returns, the department knows that the child
was abducted and another agency is investigating the abduction.
(g) The department shall collect information on each child
in the department's managing conservatorship who is missing from
the child's substitute care provider and on each child who, while in
the department's managing conservatorship, is a victim of conduct
that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(7), Penal Code.
The collected information must include information on:
(1) whether the managing conservatorship of the
department is temporary or permanent;
(2) the type of substitute care in which the child is
placed; and
(3) the child's sex, age, race, and ethnicity and the
department region in which the child resides.
(h) The department shall prepare an annual report on the
information collected under Subsection (g) and make the report
available on the department's Internet website. The report may not
include any individually identifiable information regarding a
child who is the subject of information in the report.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.