BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 2591

By: West

Human Services

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The relinquishment avoidance program is a joint endeavor between the Health and Human Services Commission and the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). The program was designed as a funding mechanism to provide residential treatment to children discharged from a psychiatric hospital who are still in need of residential treatment services and deemed too dangerous to return home.

The 87th Texas Legislature enacted S.B. 642, which was intended to redesign the relinquishment avoidance program and improve access to the relinquishment avoidance program services. Before S.B. 642 became law, all referrals for relinquishment avoidance had to go through Child Protective Services and an abuse/neglect investigation by DFPS, even when no allegation of abuse or neglect was made. As S.B. 642 has been implemented, it has become clear to family law attorneys and others involved in the program that additional guardrails are needed.

C.S.S.B. 2591 seeks to require a court to enter an order appointing DFPS as a child's joint managing conservator along with the parent or legal guardian if that court finds sufficient evidence to satisfy a person of ordinary prudence and caution that the child's parent or guardian has exhausted all means available to them to obtain mental health services to treat the child and agreed to actively participate in the child's service plan in preparation for eventual reunification.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.S.B. 2591 amends the Family Code to require a court to enter an order appointing the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) as joint managing conservators of a child along with the child's parent or legal guardian if the court finds sufficient evidence to satisfy a person of ordinary prudence and caution that the child's parent or legal guardian has exhausted all reasonable means available to the parent or legal guardian to obtain mental health services to meet the child's needs and has agreed to actively participate in the child's service plan in preparation for the child's return to the parent or legal guardian. This requirement applies only to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after the bill's effective date. A suit filed before the bill's effective date is governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF SENATE ENGROSSED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.S.B. 2591 may differ from the engrossed in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute omits a provision that was present in the engrossed prohibiting a child in joint managing conservatorship of DFPS and the child's parent or legal guardian from receiving temporary emergency care in a hotel or other unlicensed setting. Accordingly, the substitute also omits the definition of "hotel" that was present in the engrossed.