88R5824 MM-F
By: Perry S.B. No. 614
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 264.902, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (e), (f), and (g) 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 (f), 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) Before a parent or other person making a parental child
safety placement and the caregiver enter into a parental child
safety placement agreement, the department shall notify each person
of the person's right to consult with an attorney and provide the
person with a reasonable time in which to do so. The department
shall continue to monitor the child to ensure the child's safety
during the time period in which the person seeks to consult with an
attorney. If a person waives the person's right to consult with an
attorney before entering into the agreement, the department shall
include language stating that fact in the agreement.
(f) 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.
(g) 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 additional parental child safety
placement agreement under this subsection, 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 2. 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 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a parental child safety placement agreement executed on or after
the effective date of this Act. A parental child safety placement
agreement executed before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect on the date the agreement was
executed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.