|
House Bill 7 |
House Author: Wu et al. |
|
Effective: See below |
Senate Sponsor: Uresti et al. |
House Bill 7 amends the Family Code and Penal Code to revise provisions relating to court proceedings involving state intervention in child protection cases. Among other provisions, the bill provides for interagency sharing of certain juvenile justice information, prohibits a court from terminating a parent-child relationship and DFPS from taking possession of a child based on certain evidence, authorizes DFPS to file an application for a protective order for a child's protection in certain cases of abuse or neglect, requires a court at certain hearings in a child protection suit to review the placement of each child in the temporary or permanent managing conservatorship of DFPS who is not placed with a relative or designated caregiver, and requires DFPS to notify the managed care organization contracting with the state to provide health care services to children under the STAR Health program of a change in the placement of a child in DFPS conservatorship.
House Bill 7 amends the Alcoholic Beverage Code, Education Code, Family Code, Government Code, and Human Resources Code to revise and update provisions regulating certain facilities, homes, and agencies that provide child-care services, including by redefining and removing references to certain terms and by providing for the regulation of certain continuum-of-care residential operations, cottage home operations, cottage family homes, and specialized child-care homes. The bill also requires the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families to study and report on the appointment and use of attorneys ad litem in cases involving DFPS.
Effective September 1, 2018, the bill amends the Health and Safety Code to provide for the admission to an inpatient mental health facility of a minor in the managing conservatorship of and on request by DFPS under certain conditions. Except as provided by that provision and certain other provisions contingent on a specific appropriation of funds for implementation, the bill takes effect September 1, 2017.