| 1 | 1 | | 85R9458 MM-D |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | By: Frank H.B. No. 2361 |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | relating to a study regarding the appointment and use of attorneys |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | ad litem in cases involving the Department of Family and Protective |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | Services. |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. (a) In this section: |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | (1) "Attorney ad litem" has the meaning assigned by |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | Section 107.001, Family Code. |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | (2) "Commission" means the Permanent Judicial |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | Commission for Children, Youth and Families established by the |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | supreme court. |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | (b) The commission shall study the appointment and use of |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | attorneys ad litem in cases involving the Department of Family and |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Protective Services. The commission shall: |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | (1) examine: |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | (A) the method for appointing attorneys ad litem; |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | (B) the oversight and accountability measures |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | used across the state to monitor attorneys ad litem; |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | (C) the methods by which qualifications for |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | appointment as an attorney ad litem and training requirements for |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | an attorney ad litem are established and enforced; |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | (D) the timing of and duration of appointments; |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (E) the rate of compensation for appointments and |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | the method for establishing compensation rates across the state; |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | (F) the quality of representation and methods for |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | assessing performance of attorneys ad litem; |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | (G) the pretrial and posttrial client |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | satisfaction with representation by attorneys ad litem |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | representing parents and attorneys ad litem representing children; |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | (H) organizational studies and national |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | standards related to the workload of attorneys ad litem; |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | (I) the best practices for attorneys ad litem; |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | and |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | (J) the estimated and average costs associated |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | with legal representation by an attorney ad litem per child |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | compared with the costs associated with foster care per child; |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | (2) conduct a survey of attorneys ad litem about the |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | attorney's training, including: |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | (A) the attorney's legal education; |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | (B) whether the attorney is certified as a |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | specialist by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in any area of |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | law; and |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | (C) the professional standards followed by the |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | attorney; |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | (3) perform a statistical analysis of the data and |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | information collected under Subdivisions (1) and (2) of this |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | subsection; and |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | (4) develop policy recommendations for improving the |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | attorney ad litem appointment process. |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | (c) The commission shall prepare a report based on the |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | findings of the study conducted under this section and shall submit |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | the report to each member of the legislature not later than |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | September 1, 2018. |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
|---|