79R7743 SLO-D
By: Raymond H.B. No. 2357
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a physical and mental examination of a child subject to
the juvenile justice system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.20, Family Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 51.20. PHYSICAL OR MENTAL EXAMINATION. (a) At any
stage of the proceedings under this title, including when a child is
initially detained in a facility operated by the Texas Youth
Commission, a pre-adjudication secure detention facility, or a
post-adjudication secure correctional facility, the juvenile court
may order a child who is referred to the juvenile court or who is
alleged by a petition or found to have engaged in delinquent conduct
or conduct indicating a need for supervision to be examined by a
disinterested expert, including a physician, psychiatrist, or
psychologist, qualified by education and clinical training in
mental health or mental retardation and experienced in forensic
evaluation, to determine whether the child has a mental illness as
defined by Section 571.003, Health and Safety Code, [or] is a person
with mental retardation as defined by Section 591.003, Health and
Safety Code, or suffers from chemical dependency. If the
examination is to include a determination of the child's fitness to
proceed, an expert may be appointed to conduct the examination only
if the expert is qualified under Subchapter B, Chapter 46B, Code of
Criminal Procedure, to examine a defendant in a criminal case, and
the examination and the report resulting from an examination under
this subsection must comply with the requirements under Subchapter
B, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure, for the examination and
resulting report of a defendant in a criminal case.
(b) If, after conducting an examination of a child ordered
under Subsection (a) and reviewing any other relevant information,
there is reason to believe that the child has a mental illness or
mental retardation or suffers from chemical dependency, the
probation department shall refer the child to the local mental
health or mental retardation authority for evaluation and services,
unless the prosecuting attorney has filed a petition under Section
53.04.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.