Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5051 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	By: Campos H.B. No. 5051
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4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to emancipation and extended foster care for certain older
7	7	youth and young adults within the jurisdiction of court in a suit
8	8	affecting the parent child relationship involving the Department of
9	9	Family and Protective Services.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Chapter 31 of the Family Code is amended to add
12	12	section 31.0011 to read as follows:
13	13	31.0011 REMOVAL OF DISABILITIES OF MINORITY FOR A CHILD IN THE
14	14	MANAGING CONSERVATORSHIP OF THE DEPARTMENT
15	15	(a) Notwithstanding the requirements of section 31.001, the
16	16	Department of Family and Protective Services may file a petition to
17	17	have the disabilities of minority removed for a child in its
18	18	conservatorship if the child:
19	19	(1) is at least 17 years old; and
20	20	(2) has refused services from the department for a
21	21	sixty-day period prior to the filing of the petition; or
22	22	(3) has been consistently absent from the child's
23	23	placement, including an unlicensed setting for temporary emergency
24	24	care under Section 264.107(g) for a sixty-day period prior to the
25	25	filing of the petition.
26	26	(b) The petition under this section must be accompanied by
27	27	sworn affidavit describing the efforts made by the department to
28	28	engage the child in services and return the child to the possession
29	29	of the department.
30	30	(c) An order removing the disabilities of minority under
31	31	this section is for the limited purpose of beginning a period of
32	32	trial independence pursuant to section 263.601 and other limited
33	33	purposes ordered by the court. An order for the removal of the
34	34	disabilities of minority for general purposes must meet the
35	35	requirements of section 31.001.
36	36	SECTION 2. Section 31.003 of the Family Code is amended to
37	37	read as follows:
38	38	(a) The petitioner shall file the petition in the county in
39	39	which the petitioner resides.
40	40	(b) A petition for emancipation of a child in the permanent
41	41	managing conservatorship of the department under section 31.0011
42	42	shall be filed in the court of continuing exclusive jurisdiction.
43	43	SECTION 3. Section 263.601 of the Family Code is amended to
44	44	read as follows:
45	45	(1) "Extended foster care" means a residential living
46	46	arrangement in which a young adult voluntarily delegates to the
47	47	department responsibility for the young adult's placement and care
48	48	and in which the young adult resides with a foster parent or other
49	49	residential services provider that is:
50	50	(A) licensed or approved by the department or
51	51	verified by a licensed or certified child-placing agency; and
52	52	(B) paid under a contract with the department.
53	53	(1-a) Extended foster care does not include hotels or
54	54	other unlicensed settings that are used for temporary emergency
55	55	care under Section 264.107(g).
56	56	(2) "Guardianship services" means the services
57	57	provided by the Department of Aging and Disability Services under
58	58	Subchapter E, Chapter 161, Human Resources Code.
59	59	(3) "Institution" means a residential facility that is
60	60	operated, licensed, registered, certified, or verified by a state
61	61	agency other than the department. The term includes a residential
62	62	service provider under a Medicaid waiver program authorized under
63	63	Section 1915(c) of the federal Social Security Act that provides
64	64	services at a residence other than the young adult's own home.
65	65	(3-a) "Trial independence" means the status assigned
66	66	to a young adult under Section 263.6015.
67	67	(4) "Young adult" means a person who was in the
68	68	conservatorship of the department on the day before the person's
69	69	18th birthday or who had the disabilities of minority removed
70	70	pursuant to section 31.0011.
71	71	SECTION 4. Section 263.6015 of the Family Code is amended to
72	72	read as follows:
73	73	(a) A young adult is assigned trial independence status when
74	74	the young adult:
75	75	(1) does not enter extended foster care at the time of
76	76	the young adult's 18th birthday or upon having the disabilities of
77	77	minority removed pursuant to section 31.011; or
78	78	(2) exits extended foster care before the young
79	79	adult's 21st birthday.
80	80	(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a court order is
81	81	not required for a young adult to be assigned trial independence
82	82	status. Trial independence is mandatory for a period of at least
83	83	six months beginning on:
84	84	(1) the date of the young adult's 18th birthday for a
85	85	young adult described by Subsection (a)(1); or
86	86	(2) the date the young adult exits extended foster
87	87	care.
88	88	(b-1) Trial independence for a young adult who had the
89	89	disabilities of minority removed pursuant to section 31.0011 is
90	90	mandatory for a period beginning on the date the young adult's
91	91	disabilities of minority were removed by court order and continue
92	92	for a period of six months or until the young adult's 18th birthday,
93	93	whichever date is later, unless the young adult is cooperating with
94	94	the department and the court orders another six month of trial
95	95	independence not to exceed one year as described in subsection(c).
96	96	(c) A court may order trial independence status extended for
97	97	a period that exceeds the mandatory period under Subsection (b) but
98	98	does not exceed one year from the date the period under Subsection
99	99	(b) commences.
100	100	(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a young adult who
101	101	enters or reenters extended foster care after a period of trial
102	102	independence must complete a new period of trial independence as
103	103	provided by Subsection (b)(2).
104	104	(e) The trial independence status of a young adult ends on
105	105	the young adult's 21st birthday.
106	106	SECTION 5. Section 263.602, Family Code, is amended to read
107	107	as follows:
108	108	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (f), a court that had
109	109	jurisdiction over a young adult on the day before the young adult's
110	110	18th birthday continues to have extended jurisdiction over the
111	111	young adult and shall retain the case on the court's docket while
112	112	the young adult is in extended foster care and during trial
113	113	independence as described by Section 263.6015.
114	114	(b) A court with extended jurisdiction over a young adult in
115	115	extended foster care shall conduct extended foster care review
116	116	hearings every six months for the purpose of reviewing and making
117	117	findings regarding:
118	118	(1) whether the young adult's living arrangement is
119	119	safe and appropriate and whether the department has made reasonable
120	120	efforts to place the young adult in the least restrictive
121	121	environment necessary to meet the young adult's needs;
122	122	(2) whether the department is making reasonable
123	123	efforts to finalize the permanency plan that is in effect for the
124	124	young adult, including a permanency plan for independent living;
125	125	(3) whether, for a young adult whose permanency plan
126	126	is independent living:
127	127	(A) the young adult participated in the
128	128	development of the plan of service;
129	129	(B) the young adult's plan of service reflects
130	130	the independent living skills and appropriate services needed to
131	131	achieve independence by the projected date; and
132	132	(C) the young adult continues to make reasonable
133	133	progress in developing the skills needed to achieve independence by
134	134	the projected date; and
135	135	(4) whether additional services that the department is
136	136	authorized to provide are needed to meet the needs of the young
137	137	adult.
138	138	(c) Not later than the 10th day before the date set for a
139	139	hearing under this section, the department shall file with the
140	140	court a copy of the young adult's plan of service and a report that
141	141	addresses the issues described by Subsection (b).
142	142	(d) Notice of an extended foster care review hearing shall
143	143	be given as provided by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, to
144	144	the following persons, each of whom has a right to present evidence
145	145	and be heard at the hearing:
146	146	(1) the young adult who is the subject of the suit;
147	147	(2) the department;
148	148	(3) the foster parent with whom the young adult is
149	149	placed and the administrator of a child-placing agency responsible
150	150	for placing the young adult, if applicable;
151	151	(4) the director of the residential child-care
152	152	facility or other approved provider with whom the young adult is
153	153	placed, if applicable;
154	154	(5) each parent of the young adult whose parental
155	155	rights have not been terminated and who is still actively involved
156	156	in the life of the young adult;
157	157	(6) a legal guardian of the young adult, if
158	158	applicable; and
159	159	(7) the young adult's attorney ad litem, guardian ad
160	160	litem, and volunteer advocate, the appointment of which has not
161	161	been previously dismissed by the court.
162	162	(e) If, after reviewing the young adult's plan of service
163	163	and the report filed under Subsection (c), and any additional
164	164	testimony and evidence presented at the review hearing, the court
165	165	determines that the young adult is entitled to additional services,
166	166	the court may order the department to take appropriate action to
167	167	ensure that the young adult receives those services.
168	168	(e-1) If the department reports that the young adult is not
169	169	participating in the young adults' plan of service in developing
170	170	the skills needed to achieve independence, the court shall order
171	171	the young adult to obtain the experiential life-skill training
172	172	described by Sections 264.121(a-1) and (a-2) and other courses or
173	173	services identified by the department as part of the young adult's
174	174	plan of service.
175	175	(f) Unless the court extends its jurisdiction over a young
176	176	adult beyond the end of trial independence as provided by Section
177	177	263.6021(a) or 263.603(a), the court's extended jurisdiction over a
178	178	young adult as described in Subsection (a) terminates on the
179	179	earlier of:
180	180	(1) the last day of the month in which trial
181	181	independence ends; or
182	182	(2) the young adult's 21st birthday;
183	183	(3) the date the young adult withdraws consent to the
184	184	extension of the court's jurisdiction in writing or in court;
185	185	(4) the young adult has refused services for a 60-day
186	186	period.
187	187	(g) A court with extended jurisdiction described by this
188	188	section is not required to conduct periodic hearings described in
189	189	this section for a young adult during trial independence and may not
190	190	compel a young adult who has elected to not enter or has exited
191	191	extended foster care to attend a court hearing. A court with
192	192	extended jurisdiction during trial independence may, at the request
193	193	of a young adult, conduct a hearing described by Subsection (b) or
194	194	by Section 263.6021 to review any transitional living services the
195	195	young adult is receiving during trial independence.
196	196	(h) A court shall not order a young adult in extended foster
197	197	care to receive temporary emergency care under Section 264.107(g)
198	198	in a hotel or other unlicensed setting.
199	199	SECTION 6. Section 263.608, Family Code, is amended as
200	200	follows:
201	201	(a) A young adult who consents to the continued jurisdiction
202	202	of the court has the same rights as any other adult of the same age.
203	203	(b) The court is prohibited from extending trial
204	204	independence status as described by Section 263.6015(c) or
205	205	extending jurisdiction over a young adult as described by Section
206	206	263.602 if a young adult objects in court or in writing.
207	207	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
208	208	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
209	209	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
210	210	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
211	211	act takes effect September 1, 2023.