By Granoff H.B. No. 1731
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the disposition, placement, and treatment of certain
1-3 children.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 54.04, Family Code, is amended by
1-6 amending Subsections (c), (d), and (i) and adding Subsection (l) to
1-7 read as follows:
1-8 (c) No disposition may be made under this section unless the
1-9 child is in need of rehabilitation or the protection of the public
1-10 or the child requires that disposition be made. If the court or
1-11 jury does not so find, the court shall dismiss the child and enter
1-12 a final judgment without any disposition. No disposition placing
1-13 the child on probation outside the child's home may be made under
1-14 this section unless the court or jury finds that the child, in the
1-15 child's home, cannot be provided the quality of care and level of
1-16 support and supervision that the child needs to meet the conditions
1-17 of the probation.
1-18 (d) If the court or jury makes the finding specified in
1-19 Subsection (c) of this section allowing the court to make a
1-20 disposition in the case:
1-21 (1) the court or jury may, in addition to any order
1-22 required or authorized under Section 54.041 or 54.042 of this code,
1-23 place the child on probation on such reasonable and lawful terms as
1-24 the court may determine <for a period not to exceed one year,
2-1 subject to extensions not to exceed one year each>:
2-2 (A) in his own home or in the custody of a
2-3 relative or other fit person; or
2-4 (B) subject to the finding under Subsection (c)
2-5 of this section on the placement of the child outside the child's
2-6 home, in:
2-7 (i) a suitable foster home; or
2-8 (ii) <(C) in> a suitable public or private
2-9 institution or agency, except the Texas Youth Commission;
2-10 (2) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of
2-11 the adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent
2-12 conduct and if the petition was not approved by the grand jury
2-13 under Section 53.045 of this code, the court may commit the child
2-14 to the Texas Youth Commission without a determinate sentence; or
2-15 (3) if the court or jury found at the conclusion of
2-16 the adjudication hearing that the child engaged in delinquent
2-17 conduct that included a violation of a penal law listed in Section
2-18 53.045(a) of this code and if the petition was approved by the
2-19 grand jury under Section 53.045 of this code, the court or jury may
2-20 sentence the child to commitment in the Texas Youth Commission with
2-21 a transfer to the institutional division of the Texas Department of
2-22 Criminal Justice for any term of years not to exceed 40 years.
2-23 (i) If the court places the child on probation outside the
2-24 child's <his> home or commits the child to the Texas Youth
2-25 Commission, the court shall include in its order its determination
2-26 that <whether>:
2-27 (1) it is in the child's best interests to be placed
3-1 outside the child's <his> home; <and>
3-2 (2) reasonable efforts were made to prevent or
3-3 eliminate the need for the child's removal from the home and to
3-4 make it possible for the child to return to the child's <his> home;
3-5 and
3-6 (3) the child, in the child's home, cannot be provided
3-7 the quality of care and level of support and supervision that the
3-8 child needs to meet the conditions of probation.
3-9 (l) A court or jury may place a child on probation under
3-10 Subsection (d)(1) of this section for any period, except that
3-11 probation may not continue on or after the child's 18th birthday.
3-12 The court may, before the period of probation ends, extend the
3-13 probation for any period, except that the probation may not extend
3-14 to or after the child's 18th birthday.
3-15 SECTION 2. Section 54.06, Family Code, is amended to read as
3-16 follows:
3-17 Sec. 54.06. Judgments for Support. (a) At any stage of the
3-18 proceeding, when a child has been placed outside the child's <his>
3-19 home, the juvenile court, after giving the parent or other person
3-20 responsible for the child's support a reasonable opportunity to be
3-21 heard, shall order the parent or other person to pay in a manner
3-22 directed by the court a reasonable sum for the support in whole or
3-23 in part of the child or the court shall waive the payment by order.
3-24 The court shall order that the payment for support be made to the
3-25 local juvenile probation department to be used only for residential
3-26 care and other support for the child unless the child has been
3-27 committed to the Texas Youth Commission, in which case the court
4-1 shall order that the payment be made to the Texas Youth Commission
4-2 for deposit in a special account in the general revenue fund that
4-3 may be appropriated only for the care of children committed to the
4-4 commission <to the General Revenue Fund>.
4-5 (b) At any stage of the proceeding, when a child has been
4-6 placed outside the child's home and the parent of the child is
4-7 obligated to pay support for the child under a court order under
4-8 Title 2 of this code, the juvenile court shall order that the
4-9 person entitled to receive the support assign the person's right to
4-10 support for the child placed outside the child's home to the local
4-11 juvenile probation department to be used for residential care and
4-12 other support for the child unless the child has been committed to
4-13 the Texas Youth Commission, in which event the court shall order
4-14 that the assignment be made to the Texas Youth Commission.
4-15 (c) Orders for support may be enforced as provided in
4-16 Section 54.07 of this code.
4-17 SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Human Resources Code,
4-18 is amended by adding Sections 61.0385 and 61.0395 to read as
4-19 follows:
4-20 Sec. 61.0385. CRISIS INTERVENTION AND ASSESSMENT CENTERS.
4-21 The commission may establish a children's crisis intervention and
4-22 assessment center at a facility owned or operated by the
4-23 commission. The commission may contract with another entity for
4-24 the provision or use of services at the center.
4-25 Sec. 61.0395. SERVICES FOR CHILDREN NOT COMMITTED TO THE
4-26 COMMISSION. The commission may provide services to a child not
4-27 committed to the commission if the commission contracts with a
5-1 local juvenile probation department, the Texas Department of Human
5-2 Services, or the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services
5-3 to provide services to the child.
5-4 SECTION 4. Section 61.071, Human Resources Code, is amended
5-5 to read as follows:
5-6 Sec. 61.071. Initial Examination. The commission shall
5-7 examine and make a study of each child committed to it as soon as
5-8 possible after commitment <the arrival of the child>. The study
5-9 shall be made according to rules established by the commission and
5-10 shall include long-term planning for the child, including a
5-11 determination of whether the child will <an investigation of all
5-12 pertinent circumstances of the life and behavior of the child. One
5-13 objective of the study shall be to identify recidivists or other
5-14 children who may> need long-term residential care.
5-15 SECTION 5. Section 61.0811, Human Resources Code, is amended
5-16 to read as follows:
5-17 Sec. 61.0811. PAROLE MANAGEMENT. The commission shall
5-18 develop a management system for parole services that objectively
5-19 measures and provides for:
5-20 (1) the systematic examination of children's needs and
5-21 the development of treatment plans to address those needs;
5-22 (2) the evaluation of <children's> homes, foster
5-23 homes, and public and private institutions as constructive parole
5-24 placements;
5-25 (3) the classification of children based on the level
5-26 of children's needs and the degree of risk presented to the public;
5-27 (4) the objective measurement of parole officer
6-1 workloads; and
6-2 (5) the gathering and analysis of information related
6-3 to the effectiveness of parole services and to future parole
6-4 requirements.
6-5 SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 141, Human Resources Code,
6-6 is amended by adding Section 141.0476 to read as follows:
6-7 Sec. 141.0476. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON CERTAIN ABUSED
6-8 OR NEGLECTED CHILDREN. (a) The commission, the Texas Youth
6-9 Commission, and the Department of Protective and Regulatory
6-10 Services shall maintain a joint memorandum of understanding
6-11 relating to children who are abused or neglected or who are at risk
6-12 of abuse or neglect. The memorandum must:
6-13 (1) establish guidelines for the referral of children
6-14 under the supervision of the Texas Youth Commission or a juvenile
6-15 probation department who are abused or neglected or who are at risk
6-16 of abuse or neglect to the Department of Protective and Regulatory
6-17 Services; and
6-18 (2) establish procedures by which the Department of
6-19 Protective and Regulatory Services may intervene in the treatment
6-20 of the children and, when appropriate, allow the children to return
6-21 to the supervision of the juvenile probation department.
6-22 (b) The commission shall act as the lead agency in
6-23 coordinating the development and implementation of the memorandum.
6-24 (c) Not later than the last month of each state fiscal year,
6-25 the commission, the Texas Youth Commission, and the Department of
6-26 Protective and Regulatory Services shall review and revise the
6-27 memorandum.
7-1 (d) Each agency must adopt the memorandum and any revision
7-2 to the memorandum by rule.
7-3 (e) In this section, "abuse" and "neglect" have the meanings
7-4 assigned by Section 34.012, Family Code.
7-5 SECTION 7. Section 61.063, Human Resources Code, is
7-6 repealed.
7-7 SECTION 8. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
7-8 (b) The Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth
7-9 Commission, and the Department of Protective and Regulatory
7-10 Services must complete the memorandum of understanding required by
7-11 Section 141.0476, Human Resources Code, as added by this Act, on or
7-12 before October 31, 1993.
7-13 (c) Section 2 of this Act applies to the placement of a
7-14 child outside the child's home under Title 3, Family Code, without
7-15 regard to whether the proceedings relating to the child under that
7-16 title began before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
7-17 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
7-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.