By: Leo-Wilson H.B. No. 4953
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the procedures for the removal of certain children in
the managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and
Protective Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 263.403, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and
(c-3) to read as follows:
(c) If before the dismissal of the suit or the commencement
of the trial on the merits a child placed with a parent under this
section must be moved from that home and [by the department or] the
court renders a temporary order terminating the monitored return
under Subsection (a)(2)(A) or the transition order issued under
Subsection (a)(2)(B), the court shall[, at the time of the move or
order,] schedule a new date for dismissal of the suit at the time
the order is rendered. The new dismissal date may not be later than
the original, or extended, dismissal date established under Section
263.401, or the 30th [180th] day after the date the child is moved
or the order is rendered under this subsection, whichever date is
later.
(c-1) Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), the
department may not move a child who has been placed in the home of a
parent under this section from that home without a hearing.
(c-2) An authorized representative of the department, a law
enforcement officer, or a juvenile probation officer may take
possession of the child and move the child from the home in an
emergency in accordance with Section 262.104. Before moving a
child from the home under this subsection, the department, a law
enforcement officer, or a juvenile probation officer shall to the
extent practicable obtain consent to the move from the child's
attorney ad litem and guardian ad litem. If a child is moved from
the home in an emergency as authorized by this subsection, the court
shall, after proper notice, hold a hearing on the move. The hearing
must be held before the end of the third day after the day the child
is moved from the home.
(c-3) The court may order a child to be moved from the home
or render any other order under Subsection (c) only if, after a
hearing, the court finds by a preponderance of evidence that:
(1) there is an immediate danger to the physical
health or safety of the child or the child has been a victim of
neglect or sexual abuse;
(2) continuation in the home would be contrary to the
child's welfare; and
(3) reasonable efforts, consistent with the
circumstances and providing for the safety of the child, were made
to prevent or eliminate the need to move the child.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after
the effective date of this Act. A suit affecting the parent-child
relationship filed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.