By: Hull, Noble H.B. No. 2680
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain procedures relating to children placed under a
parental child safety placement.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 264.203, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read as follows:
(e) If a child is subject to a parental child safety
placement under Subchapter L, before the court may order a parent,
managing conservator, guardian, or other member of the subject
child's household to participate in services, the court shall
advise any person who is not represented by an attorney of:
(1) the right to be represented by an attorney; and
(2) if the person is indigent and opposes the order to
participate in services, the right to a court-appointed attorney.
(f) The court shall appoint an attorney ad litem to
represent the interests of a person described by Subsection (e) if
the person claims indigence and requests the appointment of an
attorney. The court shall require the person to complete and file
with the court an affidavit of indigence. The court may hear
evidence to determine whether the person is indigent. If the court
determines the person is indigent, the court shall appoint an
attorney to represent the person. The attorney ad litem for the
parent shall have the powers and duties of an attorney ad litem for
a parent under Section 107.0131.
SECTION 2. Section 264.902, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
as follows:
(a) A parental child safety placement agreement must
include terms that clearly state:
(1) the respective duties of the person making the
placement and the caregiver, including a plan for how the caregiver
will access necessary medical treatment for the child and the
caregiver's duty to ensure that a school-age child is enrolled in
and attending school;
(2) conditions under which the person placing the
child may have access to the child, including how often the person
may visit and the circumstances under which the person's visit may
occur;
(3) the duties of the department;
(4) subject to Subsection (e), the date on which the
agreement will terminate unless terminated sooner or extended to a
subsequent date as provided under department policy; and
(5) any other term the department determines necessary
for the safety and welfare of the child.
(e) A parental child safety placement agreement
automatically terminates on the earlier of the 30th day after the
date:
(1) the agreement is signed; or
(2) the child is placed with the caregiver.
(f) On the expiration of a parental child safety placement
agreement, the department may for good cause enter into not more
than one additional parental child safety placement agreement for
the child. On entering the parental child safety placement
agreement, the department shall:
(1) reevaluate the terms and conditions of the
original agreement; and
(2) notify the parents of their right to:
(A) refuse to enter into the agreement; and
(B) be represented by an attorney or a
court-appointed attorney if the parent is indigent if the
department subsequently seeks a court order to require the parents
to participate in services.
SECTION 3. Subchapter L, Chapter 264, Family Code, is
amended by adding Sections 264.907 and 264.908 to read as follows:
Sec. 264.907. INCLUSIONS IN REPORTS OF PARENTAL CHILD
SAFETY PLACEMENTS. The department shall include children who are
placed with a caregiver under a parental child safety placement
agreement in any report, including reports submitted to the United
States Department of Health and Human Services or another federal
agency, in which the department is required to report the number of
children in the child protective services system who are removed
from the children's homes.
Sec. 264.908. REPORT ON COURT-ORDERED PARTICIPATION IN
SERVICES. The department shall report the number of cases in which
a court under Section 264.203 orders the parent, managing
conservator, guardian, or other member of the child's household of
a child who is placed with a caregiver under a parental child safety
placement to participate in services.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.