Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB515 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Hall, et al. S.B. No. 515
2	2	(Klick)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to investigations of child abuse and neglect and the
8	8	procedures for adding names to or removing names from the central
9	9	registry of child abuse and neglect.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 261.002, Family Code, is amended by
12	12	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsections (a-1),
13	13	(a-2), and (b-1) to read as follows:
14	14	(a) The department shall establish and maintain a central
15	15	registry of the names of persons [individuals] found by the
16	16	department to have abused or neglected a child other than persons
17	17	whose case was assigned the severity code "Low". Except as provided
18	18	by Subsection (a-1), the department shall maintain the person's
19	19	name in the registry until:
20	20	(1) the fifth anniversary of the date of the finding
21	21	for a case assigned the severity code "Moderate";
22	22	(2) the 15th anniversary of the date of the finding for
23	23	a case assigned the severity code "Serious";
24	24	(3) the 30th anniversary of the date of the finding for
25	25	a case assigned the severity code "Severe" or the 15th anniversary
26	26	of the date of the finding if the court returned the child to the
27	27	child's home during the period within which the court must render a
28	28	final order under Chapter 263; and
29	29	(4) the 99th anniversary of the date of the finding for
30	30	a case assigned the severity code "Near Fatal" or "Fatal".
31	31	(a-1) If the department's finding of abuse or neglect is
32	32	sustained by an administrative law judge of the State Office of
33	33	Administrative Hearings, the department shall maintain the
34	34	person's name in the central registry until the 20th anniversary of
35	35	the date of the finding or the date designated under Subsection (a),
36	36	whichever is longer.
37	37	(a-2) The department may not maintain a person's name in the
38	38	central registry after the date the department disposes of the case
39	39	records related to the investigation.
40	40	(b) The [executive] commissioner shall adopt rules
41	41	necessary to carry out this section. The rules shall:
42	42	(1) prohibit the department from making a finding of
43	43	abuse or neglect against a person in a case in which the department
44	44	is named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
45	45	disturbance only because the child's family is unable to obtain
46	46	mental health services for the child;
47	47	(2) establish guidelines for reviewing the records in
48	48	the registry and removing those records in which the department was
49	49	named managing conservator of a child who has a severe emotional
50	50	disturbance only because the child's family was unable to obtain
51	51	mental health services for the child;
52	52	(3) require the department to remove a person's name
53	53	from the central registry maintained under this section not later
54	54	than the 10th business day after:
55	55	(A) the date the department receives notice that
56	56	a finding of abuse and neglect against the person is overturned in:
57	57	(i) [(A)] an administrative review or an
58	58	appeal of the review conducted under Section 261.309(c);
59	59	(ii) [(B)] a review or an appeal of the
60	60	review conducted by the office of consumer affairs of the
61	61	department or its successor; or
62	62	(iii) [(C)] a hearing or an appeal
63	63	conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings; or
64	64	(B) the date an expungement review panel renders
65	65	a decision to remove a person's name from the registry after
66	66	conducting an expungement hearing under Subchapter G; and
67	67	(4) require the department to update any relevant
68	68	department files to reflect an overturned finding of abuse or
69	69	neglect against a person not later than the 10th business day after
70	70	the date the finding is overturned in a review, hearing, or appeal
71	71	described by Subdivision (3).
72	72	(b-1) The department shall remove from the central registry
73	73	the name of any person against whom the department made a finding of
74	74	abuse or neglect when the person was younger than 18 years of age
75	75	if:
76	76	(1) two years have passed since the department made
77	77	the finding;
78	78	(2) the department has not made any subsequent finding
79	79	of abuse or neglect against the person;
80	80	(3) the person has not had a juvenile offender
81	81	adjudication for any act other than the incident that resulted in
82	82	the finding made by the department; and
83	83	(4) the person has not had any criminal adjudications
84	84	for an offense involving child abuse or neglect other than the
85	85	incident that resulted in the finding made by the department.
86	86	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
87	87	amended by adding Section 261.0021 to read as follows:
88	88	Sec. 261.0021. NOTICE BEFORE ADDING OFFENDER TO CENTRAL
89	89	REGISTRY. Before the department may add a person's name and
90	90	information regarding the reported case of abuse or neglect to the
91	91	central registry maintained under Section 261.002, the department
92	92	shall provide written notice to the person that the person will be
93	93	added to the registry. The notice must include:
94	94	(1) a clear statement of what the central registry is;
95	95	and
96	96	(2) the consequences of being listed in the central
97	97	registry, including any possible negative impact on the person's
98	98	ability to obtain employment or certain licenses and to have future
99	99	contact with children, including any limit on the person's ability
100	100	to volunteer at or be involved in school activities.
101	101	SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
102	102	amended by adding Section 261.3081 to read as follows:
103	103	Sec. 261.3081. SEVERITY CODES. (a) The department shall
104	104	assign a severity code as provided by this section to each
105	105	substantiated finding of abuse or neglect made by the department in
106	106	an investigation relating to a person described in Sections
107	107	261.001(5)(A)-(D).
108	108	(b) The department shall assign the severity code "Low" to
109	109	an isolated incident where there was a threat of harm but no injury
110	110	to a child and the incident was due to an accident or parental
111	111	mistake that does not pose an ongoing risk of harm beyond the
112	112	incident. The "Low" severity code is limited to substantiated
113	113	findings of neglectful supervision. The department may not use the
114	114	severity code "Low" in an investigation of a school under Section
115	115	261.406 in which the department substantiated findings of abuse or
116	116	neglect.
117	117	(c) The department shall assign the severity code
118	118	"Moderate" to an incident of abuse or neglect in which there is a
119	119	low or moderate risk of future harm to a child, there are no
120	120	unmanaged dangers in the home, the incident does not result in
121	121	removal, and the department closes the investigation with a
122	122	recommendation for community services. The severity code
123	123	"Moderate" is limited to substantiated findings of emotional abuse,
124	124	neglectful supervision, and physical abuse consisting of an
125	125	isolated incident of inappropriate discipline that does not require
126	126	care by a medical provider or result in substantial injury to the
127	127	child.
128	128	(d) The department shall assign the severity code "Serious"
129	129	to an incident of abuse or neglect in which there is a high risk of
130	130	future harm to a child, there are unmanaged dangers in the home, and
131	131	without services to the family removal of the child from the home
132	132	would be necessary. The severity code "Serious" is limited to
133	133	substantiated findings of emotional abuse, neglectful supervision,
134	134	refusal to accept parental responsibility, medical or physical
135	135	neglect if the incident did not result in any harm or injury to the
136	136	child, and physical abuse excluding circumstances of physical abuse
137	137	that resulted in serious injury to the child.
138	138	(e) The department shall assign the severity code "Severe"
139	139	to an incident of abuse or neglect in which there is a very high risk
140	140	of future harm to a child, there are unmanaged dangers in the home,
141	141	and a court in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship
142	142	renders an order removing the child from the home. The severity
143	143	code "Severe" is limited to substantiated findings of sexual abuse,
144	144	physical abuse that resulted in serious injury to the child,
145	145	medical or physical neglect that resulted or could have resulted in
146	146	impairment to the child's overall health or well-being, sex or
147	147	labor trafficking, forced marriage, and abandonment.
148	148	(f) The department shall assign the severity code "Near
149	149	Fatal" to an incident of abuse or neglect that meets the definition
150	150	of near fatality in Section 264.5031.
151	151	(g) The department shall assign the severity code "Fatal" to
152	152	an incident of abuse or neglect that results in a child fatality.
153	153	(h) This section does not apply to a person alleged to have
154	154	abused or neglected a child at a facility or family home regulated
155	155	under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code.
156	156	(i) The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this
157	157	section.
158	158	SECTION 4. Subchapter D, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
159	159	amended by adding Section 261.317 to read as follows:
160	160	Sec. 261.317. RECORDS RETENTION; EXPUNCTION. (a) The
161	161	department may retain records related to an investigation under
162	162	this chapter in accordance with the department's records retention
163	163	schedule after a person's name has been removed from the central
164	164	registry in order to perform background checks required under
165	165	Section 42.056, Human Resources Code, and to conduct risk and
166	166	safety assessments.
167	167	(b) The department shall comply with a court order directing
168	168	expunction of the department's records concerning a person for whom
169	169	the department maintains records.
170	170	SECTION 5. Chapter 261, Family Code, is amended by adding
171	171	Subchapter G to read as follows:
172	172	SUBCHAPTER G. REMOVING NAMES FROM CENTRAL REGISTRY OF ABUSE AND
173	173	NEGLECT
174	174	Sec. 261.601. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "central
175	175	registry" means the central registry of the names of persons found
176	176	by the department to have abused or neglected a child maintained by
177	177	the department under Section 261.002.
178	178	Sec. 261.602. NONAPPLICABILITY OF SUBCHAPTER. This
179	179	subchapter does not apply to persons alleged to have abused or
180	180	neglected a child in a facility or family home regulated under
181	181	Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, or to school investigations
182	182	conducted under Section 261.406.
183	183	Sec. 261.603. EXPUNGEMENT REVIEW PANEL; MEMBERS. (a) The
184	184	department shall establish expungement review panels to review
185	185	requests to have a person's name removed from the central registry.
186	186	(b) An expungement review panel is composed of department
187	187	employees and a representative of the public appointed by the
188	188	commissioner from the list under Subsection (c).
189	189	(c) The department shall create and maintain a list of
190	190	volunteers from which to select a public member for an expungement
191	191	review panel.
192	192	(d) The name of a person who volunteers to serve on an
193	193	expungement review panel:
194	194	(1) may be placed on the list under Subsection (c) for
195	195	a period of two years;
196	196	(2) may not be placed on the list under Subsection (c)
197	197	for more than three two-year periods; and
198	198	(3) may not be placed on the list under Subsection (c)
199	199	if the person:
200	200	(A) has been convicted of or indicted for an
201	201	offense involving child abuse or neglect;
202	202	(B) has been determined by the department to have
203	203	engaged in child abuse or neglect; or
204	204	(C) is under investigation by the department for
205	205	child abuse or neglect.
206	206	(e) A person who serves as a public member of an expungement
207	207	review panel is a department volunteer for the purposes of Section
208	208	411.114, Government Code.
209	209	(f) The members of an expungement review panel are immune
210	210	from civil or criminal liability for any act or omission that
211	211	relates to their duty or responsibility as a member of the review
212	212	panel if they acted in good faith and within the scope of their
213	213	responsibility, as provided in Section 40.061, Human Resources
214	214	Code.
215	215	(g) Information and documents considered by an expungement
216	216	review panel are confidential, and a member of the panel may not
217	217	disclose any information or documents considered by the panel.
218	218	Sec. 261.604. REQUEST FOR REMOVAL OF NAME. (a) A person
219	219	who desires to have the person's name removed from the central
220	220	registry shall submit a written request to the commissioner that
221	221	includes a letter describing the reason for the request.
222	222	(b) Only the following persons may make a request to have
223	223	their name removed from the central registry as provided by this
224	224	subchapter:
225	225	(1) a parent, guardian, or managing or possessory
226	226	conservator of the child;
227	227	(2) a member of the child's family or household as
228	228	defined by Chapter 71; and
229	229	(3) a person with whom the child's parent cohabits.
230	230	(c) A person may not make a request under this section
231	231	before the third anniversary of the date the department made its
232	232	most recent finding of child abuse or neglect.
233	233	(d) If the expungement review panel denies a request under
234	234	this section after a hearing, the person may not submit a subsequent
235	235	request until the first anniversary of the date the review panel
236	236	rendered a decision on the person's last request. A person may not
237	237	make a request under this section for more than three hearings on a
238	238	single finding of child abuse or neglect within a 10-year period.
239	239	(e) A person who has been determined by the department to
240	240	have engaged in child abuse or neglect is not eligible for a review
241	241	under this subchapter if:
242	242	(1) the incident of abuse or neglect resulted in a
243	243	child fatality or near fatality;
244	244	(2) a court ordered termination of the parent-child
245	245	relationship as a result of the abuse or neglect; or
246	246	(3) following the date of the department's
247	247	determination, the department makes another substantiated finding
248	248	of abuse and neglect by the person or the person had a criminal
249	249	adjudication for an offense involving child abuse or neglect.
250	250	(f) A person found under Subsection (e)(3) to be ineligible
251	251	for a review under this subchapter may make another request under
252	252	this section after the period described in Subsection (c).
253	253	Sec. 261.605. HEARING DATE AND NOTICE; LIMITATION. (a) On
254	254	receipt of a request under Section 261.604(a), the commissioner
255	255	shall establish an expungement review panel under Section 261.603
256	256	and notify the panel of the request. The review panel shall set a
257	257	date for a hearing on the request. The review panel shall hold the
258	258	hearing not later than the 60th day after the date the commissioner
259	259	receives the request, unless the panel has good cause for holding
260	260	the hearing after that date.
261	261	(b) The expungement review panel shall send written notice
262	262	of the date, time, and location of the hearing to the requestor and
263	263	the regional office that conducted the original investigation.
264	264	(c) An expungement review panel may conduct a hearing by
265	265	telephone conference call, videoconference, or another similar
266	266	telecommunications method if the panel determines that the method
267	267	of appearance will facilitate the hearing.
268	268	Sec. 261.606. REVIEW HEARING. (a) At the hearing, the
269	269	person requesting the review may present evidence supporting
270	270	removal of the person's name from the central registry. The person
271	271	has the burden of providing the expungement review panel with the
272	272	basis for granting the request and may present evidence including:
273	273	(1) completion of treatment services or programs
274	274	related to the finding;
275	275	(2) letters of support from professionals or others;
276	276	(3) evidence of activities that would reflect upon the
277	277	person's changed behavior or circumstances such as therapy,
278	278	employment, or education; and
279	279	(4) any other relevant evidence that shows changed
280	280	circumstances.
281	281	(b) The regional office of the department that conducted the
282	282	original investigation may:
283	283	(1) present evidence in support of or in opposition to
284	284	the request; and
285	285	(2) make a recommendation regarding the request.
286	286	Sec. 261.607. EXPUNGEMENT REVIEW PANEL'S DECISION. (a)
287	287	Not later than the 45th day after the date of the hearing, the
288	288	expungement review panel shall render a written decision on the
289	289	request that includes the review panel's reasons for the decision.
290	290	The review panel's decision must be by majority vote.
291	291	(b) The expungement review panel shall provide the written
292	292	decision to the person requesting the review and to the
293	293	department's commissioner, deputy commissioner, chief of staff,
294	294	and associate commissioner for child protective investigations.
295	295	(c) The expungement review panel shall consider the
296	296	following factors in making its decision:
297	297	(1) the nature and severity of the allegations of
298	298	abuse or neglect and the circumstances surrounding the allegations;
299	299	(2) the number of findings of abuse or neglect
300	300	involving the person;
301	301	(3) whether the person was a child at the time the
302	302	finding of abuse or neglect was made and the person's age at the
303	303	time of the incident;
304	304	(4) whether the circumstances that contributed to the
305	305	incident of abuse or neglect still exist;
306	306	(5) actions taken by the person since the incident to
307	307	prevent the reoccurrence of abuse or neglect, including
308	308	participation in and completion of services and programs related to
309	309	the allegations; and
310	310	(6) any other relevant information that shows that the
311	311	person no longer poses a risk to the safety and well-being of the
312	312	alleged victim, other children, and vulnerable adults.
313	313	Sec. 261.608. LIMIT ON NUMBER OF REVIEW HEARINGS. A person
314	314	may not have more than four hearings under this subchapter.
315	315	Sec. 261.609. CONFIDENTIALITY. A review conducted under
316	316	this subchapter, including documents presented to and considered by
317	317	the expungement review panel, is confidential and not subject to
318	318	disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
319	319	Sec. 261.610. RULEMAKING. The commissioner may adopt rules
320	320	to implement this subchapter.
321	321	SECTION 6. Section 261.3081, Family Code, as added by this
322	322	Act, applies only to a finding of abuse or neglect made by the
323	323	Department of Family and Protective Services on or after the
324	324	effective date of this Act.
325	325	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
326	326	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
327	327	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
328	328	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
329	329	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.