78R6768 KLA-F
By: Farrar H.B. No. 1908
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to reasonable efforts to return a child to the child's home
in certain suits affecting the parent-child relationship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 161.001, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 161.001. INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF PARENT-CHILD
RELATIONSHIP. The court may order termination of the parent-child
relationship if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence:
(1) that the parent has:
(A) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another not the parent and expressed an intent not to
return;
(B) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another not the parent without expressing an intent
to return, without providing for the adequate support of the child,
and remained away for a period of at least three months;
(C) voluntarily left the child alone or in the
possession of another without providing adequate support of the
child and remained away for a period of at least six months;
(D) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the
child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endanger the
physical or emotional well-being of the child;
(E) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the
child with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the
physical or emotional well-being of the child;
(F) failed to support the child in accordance
with the parent's ability during a period of one year ending within
six months of the date of the filing of the petition;
(G) abandoned the child without identifying the
child or furnishing means of identification, and the child's
identity cannot be ascertained by the exercise of reasonable
diligence;
(H) voluntarily, and with knowledge of the
pregnancy, abandoned the mother of the child beginning at a time
during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the
birth, failed to provide adequate support or medical care for the
mother during the period of abandonment before the birth of the
child, and remained apart from the child or failed to support the
child since the birth;
(I) contumaciously refused to submit to a
reasonable and lawful order of a court under Subchapter D, Chapter
261;
(J) been the major cause of:
(i) the failure of the child to be enrolled
in school as required by the Education Code; or
(ii) the child's absence from the child's
home without the consent of the parents or guardian for a
substantial length of time or without the intent to return;
(K) executed before or after the suit is filed an
unrevoked or irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental
rights as provided by this chapter;
(L) been convicted or has been placed on
community supervision, including deferred adjudication community
supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or
serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal
Code or adjudicated under Title 3 for conduct that caused the death
or serious injury of a child and that would constitute a violation
of one of the following Penal Code sections:
(i) Section 19.02 (murder);
(ii) Section 19.03 (capital murder);
(iii) Section 19.04 (manslaughter);
(iv) Section 21.11 (indecency with a
child);
(v) Section 22.01 (assault);
(vi) Section 22.011 (sexual assault);
(vii) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault);
(viii) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual
assault);
(ix) Section 22.04 (injury to a child,
elderly individual, or disabled individual);
(x) Section 22.041 (abandoning or
endangering child);
(xi) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual
conduct);
(xii) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by a
child); and
(xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or
promotion of child pornography);
(M) had his or her parent-child relationship
terminated with respect to another child based on a finding that the
parent's conduct was in violation of Paragraph (D) or (E) or
substantially equivalent provisions of the law of another state;
(N) constructively abandoned the child who has
been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the
Department of Protective and Regulatory Services or an authorized
agency for not less than six months, and:
(i) [the department or authorized agency
has made reasonable efforts to return the child to the parent;
[(ii)] the parent has not regularly visited
or maintained significant contact with the child; and
(ii) [(iii)] the parent has demonstrated an
inability to provide the child with a safe environment;
(O) failed to comply with the provisions of a
court order that specifically established the actions necessary for
the parent to obtain the return of the child who has been in the
permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the Department
of Protective and Regulatory Services for not less than nine months
as a result of the child's removal from the parent under Chapter 262
for the abuse or neglect of the child;
(P) used a controlled substance, as defined by
Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a manner that endangered the
health or safety of the child, and:
(i) failed to complete a court-ordered
substance abuse treatment program; or
(ii) after completion of a court-ordered
substance abuse treatment program, continued to abuse a controlled
substance;
(Q) knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that
has resulted in the parent's:
(i) conviction of an offense; and
(ii) confinement or imprisonment and
inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the
date of filing the petition;
(R) been the cause of the child being born
addicted to alcohol or a controlled substance, other than a
controlled substance legally obtained by prescription, as defined
by Section 261.001; or
(S) voluntarily delivered the child to a
designated emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302
without expressing an intent to return for the child; and
(2) that termination is in the best interest of the
child.
SECTION 2. Section 161.003(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The court may order termination of the parent-child
relationship in a suit filed by the Department of Protective and
Regulatory Services if the court finds that:
(1) the parent has a mental or emotional illness or a
mental deficiency that renders the parent unable to provide for the
physical, emotional, and mental needs of the child;
(2) the illness or deficiency, in all reasonable
probability, proved by clear and convincing evidence, will continue
to render the parent unable to provide for the child's needs until
the 18th birthday of the child;
(3) the department has been the temporary or sole
managing conservator of the child of the parent for at least six
months preceding the date of the hearing on the termination held in
accordance with Subsection (c); and
(4) [the department has made reasonable efforts to
return the child to the parent; and
[(5)] the termination is in the best interest of the
child.
SECTION 3. Section 262.101, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 262.101. FILING PETITION BEFORE TAKING POSSESSION OF
CHILD. An original suit filed by a governmental entity that
requests permission to take possession of a child without prior
notice and a hearing must be supported by an affidavit sworn to by a
person with personal knowledge and stating facts sufficient to
satisfy a person of ordinary prudence and caution that:
(1) there is an immediate danger to the physical
health or safety of the child or the child has been a victim of
neglect or sexual abuse and that continuation in the home would be
contrary to the child's welfare; and
(2) there is no time, consistent with the physical
health or safety of the child, for a full adversary hearing under
Subchapter C[; and
[(3) reasonable efforts, consistent with the
circumstances and providing for the safety of the child, were made
to prevent or eliminate the need for the removal of the child].
SECTION 4. Section 262.102(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Before a court may, without prior notice and a hearing,
issue a temporary restraining order or attachment of a child in a
suit brought by a governmental entity, the court must find that:
(1) there is an immediate danger to the physical
health or safety of the child or the child has been a victim of
neglect or sexual abuse and that continuation in the home would be
contrary to the child's welfare; and
(2) there is no time, consistent with the physical
health or safety of the child and the nature of the emergency, for a
full adversary hearing under Subchapter C[; and
[(3) reasonable efforts, consistent with the
circumstances and providing for the safety of the child, were made
to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child].
SECTION 5. Section 262.107(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The court shall order the return of the child at the
initial hearing regarding a child taken in possession without a
court order by a governmental entity unless the court is satisfied
that:
(1) there is a continuing danger to the physical
health or safety of the child if the child is returned to the
parent, managing conservator, possessory conservator, guardian,
caretaker, or custodian who is presently entitled to possession of
the child or the evidence shows that the child has been the victim
of sexual abuse on one or more occasions and that there is a
substantial risk that the child will be the victim of sexual abuse
in the future; and
(2) continuation of the child in the home would be
contrary to the child's welfare[; and
[(3) reasonable efforts, consistent with the
circumstances and providing for the safety of the child, were made
to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child].
SECTION 6. Section 262.113, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 262.113. FILING SUIT WITHOUT TAKING POSSESSION OF
CHILD. An original suit filed by a governmental entity that
requests to take possession of a child after notice and a hearing
must be supported by an affidavit sworn to by a person with personal
knowledge and stating facts sufficient to satisfy a person of
ordinary prudence and caution that[:
[(1) reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or
eliminate the need to remove the child from the child's home; and
[(2)] allowing the child to remain in the home would be
contrary to the child's welfare.
SECTION 7. Section 262.201(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) At the conclusion of the full adversary hearing, the
court shall order the return of the child to the parent, managing
conservator, possessory conservator, guardian, caretaker, or
custodian entitled to possession unless the court finds sufficient
evidence to satisfy a person of ordinary prudence and caution that:
(1) there was a danger to the physical health or safety
of the child which was caused by an act or failure to act of the
person entitled to possession and for the child to remain in the
home is contrary to the welfare of the child; and
(2) the urgent need for protection required the
immediate removal of the child [and reasonable efforts, consistent
with the circumstances and providing for the safety of the child,
were made to eliminate or prevent the child's removal; and
[(3) reasonable efforts have been made to enable the
child to return home, but there is a substantial risk of a
continuing danger if the child is returned home].
SECTION 8. Sections 262.2015(a) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The court may waive the requirement of a service plan
[and the requirement to make reasonable efforts to return the child
to a parent] and may accelerate the trial schedule to result in a
final order for a child under the care of the department at an
earlier date than provided by Subchapter D, Chapter 263, if the
court finds that the parent has subjected the child to aggravated
circumstances.
(c) On finding that a service plan is [reasonable efforts to
make it possible for the child to safely return to the child's home
are] not required, the court shall at any time before the 30th day
after the date of the finding, conduct an initial permanency
hearing under Subchapter D, Chapter 263. Separate notice of the
permanency plan is not required but may be given with a notice of a
hearing under this section.
SECTION 9. Section 262.205(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) After the hearing, the court may grant the request to
remove the child from the parent, managing conservator, possessory
conservator, guardian, caretaker, or custodian entitled to
possession of the child if the court finds sufficient evidence to
satisfy a person of ordinary prudence and caution that[:
[(1) reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or
eliminate the need to remove the child from the child's home; and
[(2)] allowing the child to remain in the home would be
contrary to the child's welfare.
SECTION 10. Section 262.001(b), Family Code, is repealed.
SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a
suit affecting the parent-child relationship that is pending in a
trial court on or filed on or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.