89R13590 AMF-F
By: Campos H.B. No. 2634
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to policies and procedures regarding certain young adults
in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective
Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 31, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 31.0011 to read as follows:
Sec. 31.0011. CHILD IN MANAGING CONSERVATORSHIP OF
DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES. (a) In this section,
"department" means the Department of Family and Protective
Services.
(b) The department may file a motion to have the
disabilities of minority removed for a child in the department's
conservatorship for the limited purposes described by Subsection
(d) if the child:
(1) is at least 17 years of age; and
(2) either:
(A) has refused services from the department for
a period of not less than 60 days before the date the department
files the motion; or
(B) has been consistently absent from the child's
placement, including an unlicensed setting for temporary emergency
care under Section 264.107(g), for a period of not less than 60 days
before the date the department files the motion.
(c) A motion under this section must be:
(1) filed in the court of continuing exclusive
jurisdiction; and
(2) supported by a sworn affidavit describing the
efforts made by the department to:
(A) engage the child in services; or
(B) return the child to the possession of the
department.
(d) An order removing the disabilities of minority under
this section is for the limited purpose of implementing a period of
trial independence under Section 263.6015 and other limited
purposes ordered by the court.
SECTION 2. Sections 31.002, 31.003, 31.004, and 31.005,
Family Code, are amended to read as follows:
Sec. 31.002. REQUISITES OF PETITION OR MOTION;
VERIFICATION. (a) The petition or motion for removal of
disabilities of minority must state:
(1) the name, age, and place of residence of the minor
[petitioner];
(2) the name and place of residence of each living
parent;
(3) the name and place of residence of the guardian of
the person and the guardian of the estate, if any;
(4) the name and place of residence of the managing
conservator, if any;
(5) the reasons why removal would be in the best
interest of the minor; and
(6) the purposes for which removal is requested.
(b) A parent of the petitioner must verify the petition
under Section 31.001, except that if a managing conservator or
guardian of the petitioner [person] has been appointed, the
petition must be verified by that person. If the person who is to
verify the petition is unavailable or that person's whereabouts are
unknown, the amicus attorney or attorney ad litem shall verify the
petition.
(c) The Department of Family and Protective Services must
verify the motion under Section 31.0011.
Sec. 31.003. VENUE. A [The] petitioner shall file the
petition described by Section 31.001 in the county in which the
petitioner resides.
Sec. 31.004. REPRESENTATION OF MINOR [PETITIONER]. The
court shall appoint an amicus attorney or attorney ad litem to
represent the interest of the minor [petitioner] at the hearing.
Sec. 31.005. ORDER. The court by order, or the Texas
Supreme Court by rule or order, may remove the disabilities of
minority of a minor, including any restriction imposed by Chapter
32, if the court or the Texas Supreme Court finds the removal to be
in the best interest of the minor [petitioner]. The order or rule
must state the limited or general purposes for which disabilities
are removed.
SECTION 3. Section 31.008(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A party to a suit filed under Section 31.001 [this
chapter] may waive the issuance or service of citation after the
suit is filed by filing with the clerk of the court in which the suit
is filed the waiver of the party acknowledging receipt of a copy of
the filed petition.
SECTION 4. Sections 263.601(1) and (4), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Extended foster care":
(A) means a residential living arrangement in
which a young adult voluntarily delegates to the department
responsibility for the young adult's placement and care and in
which the young adult resides with a foster parent or other
residential services provider that is:
(i) [(A)] licensed or approved by the
department or verified by a licensed or certified child-placing
agency; and
(ii) [(B)] paid under a contract with the
department; and
(B) does not include a temporary emergency care
arrangement under Section 264.107(g) in a hotel or other unlicensed
setting.
(4) "Young adult" means a person who:
(A) was in the conservatorship of the department
on the day before the person's 18th birthday; or
(B) had the disabilities of minority removed
under Section 31.0011.
SECTION 5. Section 263.6015, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) and adding Subsections
(b-1), (c-1), and (c-2) to read as follows:
(a) A young adult is assigned trial independence status when
the young adult:
(1) does not enter extended foster care at the time of
the young adult's 18th birthday; [or]
(2) exits extended foster care before the young
adult's 21st birthday; or
(3) has the disabilities of minority removed under
Section 31.0011.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), a court order is
not required for a young adult to be assigned trial independence
status. Trial independence for a young adult described by Section
263.601(4)(A) is mandatory for a period of at least six months
beginning on:
(1) the date of the young adult's 18th birthday for a
young adult described by Subsection (a)(1); or
(2) the date the young adult exits extended foster
care.
(b-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), trial independence
for a young adult described by Section 263.601(4)(B) shall:
(1) begin on the date the young adult's disabilities of
minority were removed by court order; and
(2) end on the later of:
(A) six months after the date the court orders
the removal of the disabilities of minority; or
(B) the young adult's 18th birthday.
(c) For a young adult described by Section 263.601(4)(A), a
[A] court may order trial independence status extended for a period
that exceeds the mandatory period under Subsection (b) but does not
exceed one year from the date the period under Subsection (b)
commences.
(c-1) For a young adult described by Section 263.601(4)(B)
who is cooperating with the department, a court may order trial
independence status extended for a period that exceeds the
mandatory period under Subsection (b-1) but does not exceed one
year from the date the period under Subsection (b-1) commences.
(c-2) A court may not extend trial independence status for a
young adult under Subsection (c) or (c-1) if the young adult objects
to the extension in writing or in court.
(e) The trial independence status of a young adult described
by Section 263.601(4)(A) ends on the young adult's 21st birthday.
SECTION 6. Section 263.602, Family Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (e-1) and (h) and amending Subsection (f) to
read as follows:
(e-1) If the department reports that the young adult is not
participating in the young adult's plan of service and developing
the skills necessary to achieve independence, the court shall order
the young adult to obtain experiential life-skills training under
Section 264.121 or through other courses or services identified by
the department as part of the young adult's plan of service.
(f) Unless the court extends its jurisdiction over a young
adult beyond the end of trial independence as provided by Section
263.6021(a) or 263.603(a), the court's extended jurisdiction over a
young adult as described in Subsection (a) terminates on the
earlier of:
(1) the last day of the month in which trial
independence ends; [or]
(2) the young adult's 21st birthday;
(3) the date the young adult withdraws consent to the
extension of the court's jurisdiction in writing or in court; or
(4) the 60th day after the date the young adult refuses
services.
(h) A court may not order a young adult in extended foster
care to be placed in temporary care under Section 264.107(g) in a
hotel or other unlicensed setting.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.