84R6982 MCK-D
By: Farney H.B. No. 2053
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the protection of certain children who may be subject to
child abuse or neglect through the operation of the child safety
check alert list.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 261.301, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (i) to read as follows:
(i) If at any time during an investigation of a report of
child abuse or neglect to which the department has assigned the
highest priority the department is unable to locate the child who is
the subject of the report of abuse or neglect or the child's
family, the department shall notify the Department of Public Safety
that the location of the child and the child's family is unknown.
The Department of Public Safety shall conduct an investigation to
determine the location of the child and the child's family using all
available resources to locate the child and the child's family,
including use of the child safety check alert list under Section
261.3022. If the Department of Public Safety locates the child and
the child's family, the Department of Public Safety shall notify
the department of the location of the child and the child's family.
SECTION 2. Section 261.3022, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 261.3022. CHILD SAFETY CHECK ALERT LIST. (a) Subject
to the availability of funds, the Department of Public Safety of the
State of Texas shall create a child safety check alert list as part
of the Texas Crime Information Center to help locate a child or the
child's family for purposes of investigating a report of child
abuse or neglect.
(b) If the child safety check alert list is established and
the department is unable to locate a child or the child's family
for purposes of investigating a report of child abuse or neglect,
after the department has exhausted all means available to the
department for locating the child or the child's family, the
department shall notify the Texas Department of Public Safety that
the department is unable to locate the child or the child's family.
On receiving the notice, the Texas Department of Public Safety
shall [may seek assistance under this section from the appropriate
county attorney, district attorney, or criminal district attorney
with responsibility for representing the department as provided by
Section 264.009.
[(c) If the department requests assistance, the county
attorney, district attorney, or criminal district attorney, as
applicable, may file an application with the court requesting the
issuance of an ex parte order requiring the Texas Crime Information
Center to place the members of the family the department is
attempting to locate on a child safety check alert list. The
application must include a summary of:
[(1) the report of child abuse or neglect the
department is attempting to investigate; and
[(2) the department's efforts to locate the family.
[(d) If the court determines after a hearing that the
department has exhausted all means available to the department for
locating the family, the court shall approve the application and
order the appropriate law enforcement agency to] notify the Texas
Crime Information Center to place the child and the child's family
on a child safety check alert list. The alert list must include, if
available:
(1) the name and physical description of the family
member alleged to have abused or neglected a child according to the
report the department is attempting to investigate;
(2) the name and physical description of the child who
is the subject of the report;
(3) a code identifying the type of child abuse or
neglect alleged to have been committed against the child;
(4) the family's last known address; [and]
(5) a description of the motor vehicle, including the
vehicle's make, color, style of body, model year, and vehicle
identification number, in which the child is suspected to be
transported;
(6) the case number assigned by the department;
(7) the telephone number for the department employee
responsible for the investigation at which the employee can be
reached 24 hours a day;
(8) the date and time when and location where the child
was last seen; and
(9) any other information required [the minimum
criteria] for an entry as established by the center.
SECTION 3. Section 261.3023, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 261.3023. LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO CHILD SAFETY
CHECK ALERT. (a) If a law enforcement officer encounters a person
listed on the Texas Crime Information Center's child safety check
alert list who is alleged to have abused or neglected a child, or
encounters a child listed on the alert list who is the subject of a
report of child abuse or neglect the department is attempting to
investigate, the officer shall:
(1) immediately detain all individuals in the
officer's presence that are described in the child safety check
alert list and take temporary custody of the child who is the
subject of a report of child abuse or neglect;
(2) immediately take into investigative detention all
motor vehicles described in the child safety check alert list;
(3) immediately notify the department of the
detention, including the location of the detention; and
(4) hold all persons detained at the location of the
initial contact by the law enforcement officer [request information
from the person or the child regarding the child's well-being and
current residence].
(b) A person detained under Subsection (a) may not be
transported from the location of the detention unless the person is
lawfully arrested. A person may not be detained under Subsection
(a) for more than six hours. If the department notifies the law
enforcement officer that the department is unable to respond to the
location of the detention within six hours of initial detention,
the law enforcement officer shall obtain the child's current
address and any other relevant information, report that information
to the department, and release the detained individuals and motor
vehicles.
(c) The requirement to detain an individual or motor vehicle
under this section does not preclude the enforcement of any other
state or federal law [If the law enforcement officer determines
that the circumstances described by Section 262.104 exist, the
officer may take possession of the child without a court order as
authorized by that section if the officer is able to locate the
child. If the circumstances described by Section 262.104 do not
exist, the officer shall obtain the child's current address and any
other relevant information and report that information to the
department].
SECTION 4. Section 261.3024(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A law enforcement officer who locates a child listed on
the Texas Crime Information Center's child safety check alert list
who is the subject of a report of child abuse or neglect the
department is attempting to investigate and who detains the child
or the child's family under Section 261.3023 or [who] reports the
child's current address and other relevant information to the
department under Section 261.3023 shall report to the Texas Crime
Information Center that the child has been located.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.