Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2039 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R24640 MCK-D
2	2	By: Burkett H.B. No. 2039
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2039:
4	4	By: Raymond C.S.H.B. No. 2039
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the exclusion of certain information from the
10	10	Department of Family and Protective Services central registry of
11	11	child abuse or neglect cases and the report of certain information
12	12	regarding those cases to the legislature.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 261.002(b), Family Code, as amended by
15	15	S.B. No. 219, Acts of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015,
16	16	is amended to read as follows:
17	17	(b) The executive commissioner may adopt rules necessary to
18	18	carry out this section. The rules shall:
19	19	(1) prohibit the department from making a finding of
20	20	abuse or neglect against a person in a case in which the department
21	21	is named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
22	22	disturbance only because the child's family is unable to obtain
23	23	mental health services for the child; and
24	24	(2) establish guidelines for reviewing the records in
25	25	the registry and removing those records in which the department was
26	26	named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
27	27	disturbance only because the child's family was unable to obtain
28	28	mental health services for the child [provide for cooperation with
29	29	local child service agencies, including hospitals, clinics, and
30	30	schools, and cooperation with other states in exchanging reports to
31	31	effect a national registration system].
32	32	SECTION 2. Section 262.352, Family Code, is amended to read
33	33	as follows:
34	34	Sec. 262.352. JOINT MANAGING CONSERVATORSHIP OF CHILD. (a)
35	35	Before the department files a suit affecting the parent-child
36	36	relationship requesting managing conservatorship [a person
37	37	relinquishes custody] of a child who suffers from a severe
38	38	emotional disturbance in order to obtain mental health services for
39	39	the child, the department must, unless [if] it is not in the best
40	40	interest of the child, discuss with the child's parent or legal
41	41	guardian [person relinquishing custody of the child] the option of
42	42	seeking a court order for joint managing conservatorship of the
43	43	child with the department.
44	44	(b) Not later than November 1 of each even-numbered year,
45	45	the department shall report the following information to the
46	46	legislature:
47	47	(1) with respect to children described by Subsection
48	48	(a):
49	49	(A) the number of children for whom the
50	50	department has been appointed managing conservator;
51	51	(B) the number of children for whom the
52	52	department has been appointed joint managing conservator; and
53	53	(C) the number of children who were diverted to
54	54	community or residential mental health services through another
55	55	agency; and
56	56	(2) the number of persons whose names were entered
57	57	into the central registry of cases of child abuse and neglect only
58	58	because the department was named managing conservator of a child
59	59	who has a severe emotional disturbance because the child's family
60	60	was unable to obtain mental health services for the child.
61	61	(c) Subsection (b) and this subsection expire September 1,
62	62	2019.
63	63	SECTION 3. Section 262.353, Family Code, is repealed.
64	64	SECTION 4. The Department of Family and Protective Services
65	65	shall implement the changes in law made by this Act using funds
66	66	appropriated to the department for the state fiscal biennium ending
67	67	August 31, 2017.
68	68	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.