78R1361 DAK-D
By: Turner of Harris H.B. No. 47
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the office of advocate for children in the custody of a
governmental entity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 3, Human Resources Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 71 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 71. OFFICE OF ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN IN CUSTODY
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 71.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Center" means the University of Houston Center
for Youth Policy Development.
(2) "Child advocate" means the individual who has been
appointed under this chapter to the office of advocate for children
in custody.
(3) "Commission" means the Texas Youth Commission.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Protective
and Regulatory Services.
(5) "Juvenile justice agency" means an agency that has
custody or control over juvenile offenders, including a juvenile
court.
Sec. 71.002. JURISDICTION. For the purposes of this
chapter, the office of advocate for children in custody has
jurisdiction over a child:
(1) in the custody of the commission, including a
child released under supervision before final discharge;
(2) in the custody or control of a juvenile justice
agency under the authority of Title 3, Family Code; or
(3) involved in any proceeding or action under
Subtitle E, Title 5, Family Code, including a child who is:
(A) the subject of a report of abuse or neglect
under Chapter 261, Family Code;
(B) taken possession of by a governmental entity
under Chapter 262, Family Code; or
(C) placed in the care of the department.
Sec. 71.003. PURPOSE. The purpose of the office of advocate
for children in custody is to secure the rights of certain children
who are in the care or custody of a governmental entity.
[Sections 71.004-71.050 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER B. APPOINTMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF OFFICE
Sec. 71.051. OFFICE. (a) The office of advocate for
children in custody is administratively attached to the center. The
organization, control, and management of the office is vested in
the board of regents of the University of Houston.
(b) The board of regents must approve:
(1) the employment of personnel by the office; and
(2) the operating budget of the office.
(c) An employee of the office is an employee of the
University of Houston.
(d) The staff of the center serve as the staff of the office.
Sec. 71.052. CHILD ADVOCATE. (a) The child advocate is the
director of the center.
(b) The child advocate must be:
(1) an attorney who has been licensed to practice law
in this state for at least three years; and
(2) a person qualified by training and experience to
perform the duties and exercise the power under Subchapter C.
(c) The child advocate is an employee of the University of
Houston and reports to the legislature at the beginning of each
regular legislative session or as otherwise directed by the
legislature.
Sec. 71.053. ASSISTANTS. The child advocate may appoint
assistants to perform, under the direction of the child advocate,
the same duties and exercise the same powers as the child advocate.
Sec. 71.054. INDEPENDENCE. The child advocate, in the
performance of the duties under Subchapter C, acts independently of
the commission, the department, and juvenile justice agencies.
Sec. 71.055. REPORT. On or before January 1 of each
odd-numbered year, the child advocate shall submit to the governor,
the lieutenant governor, and each member of the legislature a
report that describes, for the two-year period preceding the
report:
(1) the work of the child advocate;
(2) the results of any review or investigation
undertaken by the child advocate; and
(3) any recommendations that the child advocate has in
relation to the children over which the advocate has jurisdiction
as described by Section 71.002.
Sec. 71.056. CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) Except as otherwise
provided by this section, the records of the child advocate are
confidential.
(b) The child advocate shall disclose its records if
required by a court order on a showing of good cause.
(c) The child advocate may make reports relating to an
investigation public after the investigation is complete but the
names of all children, parents, and employees must remain
confidential.
Sec. 71.057. GIFTS AND GRANTS. The board of regents of the
University of Houston may accept gifts, grants, and donations from
any person for the benefit of the office of advocate for children in
custody.
[Sections 71.058-71.100 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER C. DUTIES AND POWERS
Sec. 71.101. RIGHTS OF CHILDREN. (a) The child advocate
shall, for the children over which the advocate has jurisdiction as
described by Section 71.002:
(1) ensure that each child 10 years of age or older is
apprised of the rights of the child;
(2) review the procedures established by the
commission, the department, and juvenile justice agencies, to
ensure that the rights of the children in the custody of those
respective agencies are fully observed; and
(3) take any appropriate action, including
establishing public education programs, administrative action,
mediation, and formal legal action, to secure the rights of the
children.
(b) The child advocate may apprise persons other than the
child who are interested in the child's welfare of the rights of the
child.
(c) The child advocate may, to assess if a child's rights
have been violated, contact or consult with an administrator,
employee, child, parent, expert, or any other individual in its
investigation or to secure information.
(d) The child advocate shall develop a children's bill of
rights.
Sec. 71.102. INVESTIGATION OF DEATHS. The child advocate
shall investigate the death of any child in the custody of the
commission, the department, or a juvenile justice agency.
Sec. 71.103. REVIEW, INVESTIGATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
The child advocate shall:
(1) review complaints filed with the child advocate
and investigate each complaint in which it appears that a child over
which the advocate has jurisdiction as described by Section 71.002
may be in need of assistance from the child advocate;
(2) review or inspect periodically the facilities and
procedures of any public or private institution or residence in
which a child over which the child advocate has jurisdiction as
described by Section 71.002 has been placed by the commission, the
department, or a juvenile justice agency to ensure that the rights
of children are fully observed;
(3) review orders of juvenile courts;
(4) review orders of courts in which a suit has been
filed after a child has been taken into possession without a court
order by a governmental entity under Chapter 262, Family Code;
(5) review procedures by the department in
investigating reports of child abuse or neglect under Subchapter D,
Chapter 261, Family Code; and
(6) recommend changes in any procedure relating to the
treatment of children over which the advocate has jurisdiction as
described by Section 71.002.
Sec. 71.104. TRAINING. (a) The child advocate shall
provide training and technical assistance to a guardian ad litem
appointed by a juvenile court under Section 51.11, Family Code, or
any other guardian ad litem representing a child over which the
child advocate has jurisdiction as described by Section 71.002.
(b) The child advocate may develop and provide a training
curriculum for the standardization of training of the persons
described by Subsection (a).
Sec. 71.105. PROMOTION OF AWARENESS OF OFFICE. The child
advocate shall promote awareness among the public and the children
over which the advocate has jurisdiction as described by Section
71.002 of how the office may be contacted and of:
(1) the purpose of the office of advocate for children
in custody as described by Section 71.003; and
(2) the services the office provides.
Sec. 71.106. RESEARCH AND OUTREACH. The office of advocate
for children in custody may:
(1) conduct, coordinate, collect, and evaluate
research in all areas relating to child advocacy and protecting the
rights of children;
(2) serve as a state and national resource for
information on the protection of children's rights; and
(3) assist communities, governmental agencies, or
private entities in implementing programs, policies, and
strategies that address the protection of children's rights, create
partnerships, engage in collaborative efforts or outreach, perform
public service, or conduct training or technical assistance
programs.
Sec. 71.107. AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS. The office for
advocate of children in custody may enter into a cooperative
agreement or contract with any person to perform the duties of the
office.
[Sections 71.108-71.150 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER D. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
Sec. 71.151. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF GOVERNMENTAL
ENTITIES. (a) The commission shall allow the child advocate access
to its records relating to the children in its custody or under its
jurisdiction.
(b) The department shall allow the child advocate access to:
(1) its central registry of reported cases of child
abuse or neglect established under Section 261.002, Family Code,
and any other reports of child abuse or neglect that the department
maintains; and
(2) records relating to any child in its possession or
protective custody or under its jurisdiction.
(c) The Department of Public Safety shall allow the child
advocate access to the juvenile justice information system
established under Subchapter B, Chapter 58, Family Code.
(d) A local law enforcement agency shall allow the child
advocate access to its records relating to any child over which the
advocate has jurisdiction as described by Section 71.002.
(e) A juvenile justice agency shall allow the child advocate
access to its records relating to any child in its custody or under
its jurisdiction.
Sec. 71.152. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF PRIVATE ENTITIES. The
child advocate may subpoena the records of a private entity that
relate to a child over which the advocate has jurisdiction as
described by Section 71.002.
Sec. 71.153. COMMUNICATION. (a) For any child in the
custody of the commission, the department, or a juvenile justice
agency, the respective entity shall allow the child advocate to
communicate with the child. The communication is a confidential
and privileged communication within the attorney-client
relationship.
(b) The communication may be in person, by mail, or by any
other means.
[Sections 71.154-71.200 reserved for expansion]
SUBCHAPTER E. ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 71.201. CIVIL ACTION FOR DAMAGES. (a) The child
advocate may institute a suit on behalf of any child that is in the
custody of the commission, the department, or a juvenile justice
agency for damages against the commission, the department, or the
agency if the suit is authorized under:
(1) Chapter 101, Civil Practice and Remedies Code; or
(2) federal law.
(b) Any judgment for damages or order for settlement of a
claim for damages entered by a court is the estate of the child for
whose benefit the judgment or order is entered. The child advocate
shall:
(1) deposit the money as a result of a judgment or
order in a trust account outside the state treasury to be
administered by the advocate on behalf of the child; and
(2) administer the trust for the child by exercising
the powers and carrying out the duties of a trustee under Chapter
113, Property Code.
Sec. 71.202. CIVIL ACTION FOR DECLARATORY OR INJUNCTIVE
RELIEF. The child advocate may represent any child that is in the
custody of the commission, the department, or a juvenile justice
agency in a suit for declaratory or injunctive relief against the
commission, the department, or the agency.
SECTION 2. Chapter 54, Family Code, is amended by adding
Section 54.0412 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.0412. OFFICE OF ADVOCATE FOR CHILDREN IN CUSTODY
FUND. (a) If a disposition hearing is held under Section 54.04, the
juvenile court, after giving the child, parent, or other person
responsible for the child's support a reasonable opportunity to be
heard, shall order the child, parent, or other person, if
financially able to do so, to pay a $1 fee as costs of court in
addition to the fee under Section 54.0411.
(b) Orders for the payment of fees under this section may be
enforced in the same manner and in conjunction with the payment of
fees under Section 54.0411.
(c) An officer collecting court costs under this section
shall keep separate records of the funds collected as costs under
this section and shall deposit the funds in the county treasury.
(d) Each officer collecting court costs under this section
shall file the reports required under Article 103.005, Code of
Criminal Procedure. If no funds due as costs under this section
have been collected in any quarter, the report required for each
quarter shall be filed in the regular manner, and the report must
state that no funds due under this section were collected.
(e) The custodian of the county treasury may deposit the
funds collected under this section in interest-bearing accounts.
The custodian shall keep records of the amount of funds on deposit
collected under this section and not later than the last day of the
month following each calendar quarter shall send to the comptroller
the funds collected under this section during the preceding
quarter. A county may retain 10 percent of the funds as a service
fee and may retain the interest accrued on the funds if the
custodian of a county treasury keeps records of the amount of funds
on deposit collected under this section and remits the funds to the
comptroller within the period prescribed under this subsection.
(f) Funds collected are subject to audit by the comptroller
and funds expended are subject to audit by the state auditor.
(g) The comptroller shall deposit the funds to the credit of
an account in the state treasury to be used only for the
establishment and operation of the office of advocate for children
in custody attached to the University of Houston Center for Youth
Policy Development.
SECTION 3. Section 58.106(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section,
information contained in the juvenile justice information system is
confidential information for the use of the department and may not
be disseminated by the department except:
(1) with the permission of the juvenile offender, to
military personnel of this state or the United States;
(2) to a person or entity to which the department may
grant access to adult criminal history records as provided by
Section 411.083, Government Code;
(3) to a juvenile justice agency; [and]
(4) to the Criminal Justice Policy Council, the Texas
Youth Commission, and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission for
analytical purposes; and
(5) to the office of advocate for children in custody.
SECTION 4. Article 102.075, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Subsection (o) to read as follows:
(o) In addition to the cost on conviction imposed by
Subsection (a), a person convicted of an offense described by
Subsection (a) shall pay $1 on conviction of the offense. The
comptroller shall deposit money received under this subsection to
the credit of an account in the state treasury to be used only for
the establishment and operation of the office of advocate for
children in custody attached to the University of Houston Center
for Youth Policy Development. Subsection (h) does not apply to
money received under this subsection.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.