S.B. No. 1406
AN ACT
relating to the protection of certain children through the
operation of the child safety check alert list.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 261.3022, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 261.3022. CHILD SAFETY CHECK ALERT LIST. (a) The
[Subject to the availability of funds, the] Department of Public
Safety of the State of Texas shall maintain [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:
(1) investigating a report of child abuse or neglect;
(2) providing protective services to a family
receiving family-based support services; or
(3) providing protective services to the family of a
child in the managing conservatorship of the department.
(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 a purpose described by Subsection (a) after the
department has attempted to locate the child for not more than 20
days, the department shall notify the Texas Department of Public
Safety that the department is unable to locate the child or the
child's family. The notice must include the information required
by Subsections (c)(1)-(10).
(c) On receipt of the notice from the department, the Texas
Department of Public Safety shall [purposes of investigating a
report of child abuse or neglect, after the department has
exhausted all means available to the department for locating the
family, the department 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 the
following information if known or readily available:
(1) the name, sex, race, date of birth, any known
identifying numbers, including social security number and driver's
license number, and personal descriptions 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, sex, race, date of birth, any known
identifying numbers, including social security number and driver's
license number, and personal descriptions of any parent, managing
conservator, or guardian of the child who cannot be located for the
purposes described by Subsection (a);
(3) the name, sex, race, date of birth, any known
identifying numbers, including social security number and driver's
license number, and personal descriptions of the child who is the
subject of the report or is receiving services described by
Subsection (a)(2) or (3);
(4) if applicable, [(3)] a code identifying the type
of child abuse or neglect alleged or determined to have been
committed against the child;
(5) [(4)] the family's last known address; [and]
(6) any known 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;
(7) the case number assigned by the department;
(8) the department's dedicated law-enforcement
telephone number for statewide intake;
(9) the date and time when and the location where the
child was last seen; and
(10) any other information required [(5) the minimum
criteria] for an entry as established by the center.
SECTION 2. Section 261.3023(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If a law enforcement officer encounters a person,
including a child, 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 request
information from the person or the child regarding the child's
well-being and current residence.
SECTION 3. 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 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1406 passed the Senate on
April 20, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 29, 2015, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1406 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 144,
Nays 1, two present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor