Amend CSSB 6 in Article 1 of the bill, by adding the following
appropriately numbered SECTIONS and renumbering subsequent
SECTIONS in that article accordingly:
SECTION __. Section 261.302(e), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(e) An interview with a child conducted by the department
during the investigation stage shall be audiotaped or videotaped.
An interview with a child alleged to be a victim of physical abuse
or sexual abuse conducted by an investigating agency other than the
department shall be audiotaped or videotaped unless the
investigating agency determines that good cause exists for not
audiotaping or videotaping the interview in accordance with rules
of the agency. Good cause may include, but is not limited to, such
considerations as the age of the child and the nature and
seriousness of the allegations under investigation. Nothing in
this subsection shall be construed as prohibiting the investigating
agency from audiotaping or videotaping an interview of a child on
any case for which such audiotaping or videotaping is not required
under this subsection. The fact that the investigating agency
failed to audiotape or videotape an interview is admissible at the
trial of the offense that is the subject of the interview.
SECTION __. Sections 261.310(a) and (d), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) The department shall by rule develop and adopt
[voluntary] standards for persons who investigate suspected child
abuse or neglect at the state or local level. The standards shall
encourage professionalism and consistency in the investigation of
suspected child abuse or neglect.
(d) The standards shall [recommend]:
(1) recommend that videotaped and audiotaped
interviews [with a suspected victim] be uninterrupted;
(2) recommend a maximum number of interviews with and
examinations of a suspected victim;
(3) provide procedures to preserve evidence, including
the original recordings of the intake telephone calls, original
notes, videotapes, and audiotapes, for one year; and
(4) provide that an investigator of suspected child
abuse or neglect make a reasonable effort to locate and inform each
parent of a child of any report of abuse or neglect relating to the
child.