88R408 MLH-D
By: Frank H.B. No. 635
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to notifying an alleged perpetrator of child abuse or
neglect of the person's rights in connection with an investigation
conducted by the Department of Family and Protective Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 261.307, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 261.307. INFORMATION RELATING TO INVESTIGATION
PROCEDURE AND CHILD PLACEMENT RESOURCES. (a) After [As soon as
possible after] initiating an investigation of a parent or other
person having legal custody of a child, the department shall, upon
first contact with the person, provide to the person:
(1) a summary that:
(A) is brief and easily understood;
(B) is written in a language that the person
understands, or if the person is illiterate, is read to the person
in a language that the person understands; and
(C) contains the following information:
(i) the department's procedures for
conducting an investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect,
including:
(a) a description of the
circumstances under which the department would request to remove
the child from the home through the judicial system; and
(b) an explanation that the law
requires the department to refer all reports of alleged child abuse
or neglect to a law enforcement agency for a separate determination
of whether a criminal violation occurred;
(ii) the person's right to file a complaint
with the department or to request a review of the findings made by
the department in the investigation;
(iii) the person's right to review all
records of the investigation unless the review would jeopardize an
ongoing criminal investigation or the child's safety;
(iv) the person's right to seek legal
counsel;
(v) references to the statutory and
regulatory provisions governing child abuse and neglect and how the
person may obtain copies of those provisions; [and]
(vi) the process the person may use to
acquire access to the child if the child is removed from the home;
and
(vii) the rights listed under Subdivision
(2);
(2) a verbal notification of the right to:
(A) not speak with any agent of the department
without legal counsel present;
(B) receive assistance from an attorney;
(C) have a court-appointed attorney if the person
is indigent;
(D) record any interaction or interview subject
to the understanding that the recording may be subject to
disclosure to the department, law enforcement, or another party
under a court order;
(E) refuse to allow the investigator to enter the
home or interview the children without legal counsel present;
(F) withhold consent to the release of any
medical or mental health records;
(G) withhold consent to any medical or
psychological examination of the child;
(H) refuse to submit to a drug test; and
(I) consult with legal counsel prior to agreeing
to any proposed voluntary safety plan;
(3) if the department determines that removal of the
child may be warranted, a proposed child placement resources form
that:
(A) instructs the parent or other person having
legal custody of the child to:
(i) complete and return the form to the
department or agency;
(ii) identify in the form at least three
individuals who could be relative caregivers or designated
caregivers, as those terms are defined by Section 264.751;
(iii) ask the child in a developmentally
appropriate manner to identify any adult, particularly an adult
residing in the child's community, who could be a relative
caregiver or designated caregiver for the child; and
(iv) list on the form the name of each
individual identified by the child as a potential relative
caregiver or designated caregiver; and
(B) informs the parent or other person of a
location that is available to the parent or other person to submit
the information in the form 24 hours a day either in person or by
facsimile machine or e-mail; and
(4) [(3)] an informational manual required by Section
261.3071.
(b) The child placement resources form described by
Subsection (a)(3) [(a)(2)] must include information on the periods
of time by which the department must complete a background check.
(c) The department shall adopt a form for the purpose of
verifying that the parent or other person having legal custody of
the child received the verbal notification and written summary
required by this section.
SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an investigation of a report of child abuse or neglect that is made
on or after the effective date of this Act. An investigation of a
report of child abuse or neglect made before the effective date of
this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the report was
made, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.