86R5123 MM-F
By: Miller H.B. No. 1916
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring evidence-based trauma training for certain
attorneys.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 107.004, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b-1) and adding Subsections (b-2), (b-3), and
(b-4) to read as follows:
(b-1) An attorney who is on the list maintained by the court
as being qualified for appointment as an attorney ad litem for a
child in a child protection case must:
(1) complete at least three hours of continuing legal
education relating to the representation of a child in a proceeding
under Subtitle E each year before the anniversary date of the
attorney's listing; and
(2) provide proof that the attorney has completed a
training program regarding trauma-informed care and the effect of
trauma on children in the conservatorship of the Department of
Family and Protective Services.
(b-2) The supreme court shall adopt rules to provide for the
training required under Subsection (b-1)(2). In adopting the
rules, the court shall consult with the Texas Center for the
Judiciary, the Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission
for Children, Youth and Families, and the Child Protection Law
Section of the State Bar of Texas.
(b-3) An attorney shall complete the training required by
this section before the attorney may be appointed as an attorney ad
litem for a child in a child protection case.
(b-4) The training required by Subsection (b-1)(2) must
include information regarding:
(1) the impact that trauma has on a child, including
how trauma may affect a child's memories, behavior, and
decision-making;
(2) attachment and how a lack of attachment may affect
a child;
(3) the role that trauma-informed care and services
can have in helping a child build resiliency and overcome the
effects of trauma and adverse childhood experiences;
(4) the importance of screening children for trauma
and the risk of mislabeling and inappropriate treatment of children
without proper screening, including increasing the use of
psychotropic medication;
(5) the potential for re-traumatization of children in
the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
Services; and
(6) the availability of:
(A) research-supported, trauma-informed,
non-pharmacological interventions; and
(B) trauma-informed advocacy to increase a
child's access, while the child is in the conservatorship of the
Department of Family and Protective Services, to:
(i) trauma-informed care; and
(ii) trauma-informed mental and behavioral
health services.
SECTION 2. Subchapter H, Chapter 81, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 81.1131 to read as follows:
Sec. 81.1131. CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION CREDIT. The state
bar shall count the hours of training an attorney licensed in this
state completes under Section 107.004(b-1)(2) toward the minimum
continuing legal education requirements of the state bar for the
reporting year in which the training is completed.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than December 1, 2019, the Supreme
Court of Texas shall adopt the rules necessary to provide the
training required by Section 107.004(b-1)(2), Family Code, as added
by this Act.
(b) An attorney who is on the list maintained by a court as
being qualified for appointment as an attorney ad litem for a child
in a child protection case on the effective date of this Act shall
complete the training required by Section 107.004(b-1)(2), Family
Code, as added by this Act, not later than September 1, 2020.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.