|
House Bill 1449 |
House Author: Thompson, Senfronia |
|
Effective: 9-1-15 |
Senate Sponsor: Rodríguez |
Previous law prescribed procedures for social studies in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship. House Bill 1449 amends the Family Code, Government Code, and Human Resources Code to instead establish separate procedures for a child custody evaluation and for an adoption evaluation and extend to those evaluations many of the requirements previously applicable to a social study. Among other provisions, the bill removes most of the exceptions to the minimum qualifications for a person to conduct an evaluation and establishes additional requirements for an evaluation. The bill provides for an adoption evaluator's access to certain confidential information from the Department of Family and Protective Services and makes it a Class A misdemeanor to recklessly disclose such information. The bill requires the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors, the Texas State Board of Social Worker Examiners, the Texas State Board of Examiners of Marriage and Family Therapists, the Texas Medical Board, and the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission to adopt rules regarding a license holder's involvement with an evaluation.