| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to certain arrangements to provide care for a child during |
|
|
an investigation of abuse or neglect. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Chapter 264, Family Code, is amended by adding |
|
|
Subchapter L to read as follows: |
|
|
SUBCHAPTER L. PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENTS |
|
|
Sec. 264.901. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
|
|
(1) "Caregiver" means an individual, other than a |
|
|
child's parent, conservator, or legal guardian, who is related to |
|
|
the child or has a long-standing and significant relationship with |
|
|
the child or the child's family. |
|
|
(2) "Parental child safety placement" means a |
|
|
temporary out-of-home placement of a child with a caregiver that is |
|
|
made by a parent or other person with whom the child resides in |
|
|
accordance with a written agreement approved by the department that |
|
|
ensures the safety of the child: |
|
|
(A) during an investigation by the department of |
|
|
alleged abuse or neglect of the child; or |
|
|
(B) while the parent or other person is receiving |
|
|
services from the department. |
|
|
(3) "Parental child safety placement agreement" means |
|
|
an agreement between a parent or other person making a parental |
|
|
child safety placement and the caregiver that contains the terms of |
|
|
the placement and is approved by the department. |
|
|
Sec. 264.902. PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENT AGREEMENT. |
|
|
(a) A parental child safety placement agreement must include terms |
|
|
that clearly state: |
|
|
(1) the respective duties of the person making the |
|
|
placement and the caregiver, including a plan for how the caregiver |
|
|
will access necessary medical treatment for the child and the |
|
|
caregiver's duty to ensure that a school-age child is enrolled in |
|
|
and attending school; |
|
|
(2) conditions under which the person placing the |
|
|
child may have access to the child, including how often the person |
|
|
may visit and the circumstances under which the person's visit may |
|
|
occur; |
|
|
(3) the duties of the department; |
|
|
(4) the date on which the agreement will terminate |
|
|
unless terminated sooner or extended to a subsequent date as |
|
|
provided under department policy; and |
|
|
(5) any other term the department determines necessary |
|
|
for the safety and welfare of the child. |
|
|
(b) A parental child safety placement agreement must |
|
|
contain the following statement in boldface type and capital |
|
|
letters: "YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENT IS |
|
|
NOT AN ADMISSION OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT ON YOUR PART AND CANNOT |
|
|
BE USED AGAINST YOU AS AN ADMISSION OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT." |
|
|
(c) A parental child safety placement agreement must be in |
|
|
writing and signed by the person making the placement and the |
|
|
caregiver. |
|
|
(d) The department must provide a written copy of the |
|
|
parental child safety placement agreement to the person making the |
|
|
placement and the caregiver. |
|
|
Sec. 264.903. CAREGIVER EVALUATION. (a) The department |
|
|
shall develop policies and procedures for evaluating a potential |
|
|
caregiver's qualifications to care for a child under this |
|
|
subchapter, including policies and procedures for evaluating: |
|
|
(1) the criminal history of a caregiver; |
|
|
(2) allegations of abuse or neglect against a |
|
|
caregiver; and |
|
|
(3) a caregiver's home environment and ability to care |
|
|
for the child. |
|
|
(b) A department caseworker who performs an evaluation of a |
|
|
caregiver under this section shall document the results of the |
|
|
evaluation in the department's case records. |
|
|
(c) If, after performing an evaluation of a potential |
|
|
caregiver, the department determines that it is not in the child's |
|
|
best interests to be placed with the caregiver, the department |
|
|
shall notify the person who proposed the caregiver and the proposed |
|
|
caregiver of the reasons for the department's decision, but may not |
|
|
disclose the specifics of any criminal history or allegations of |
|
|
abuse or neglect unless the caregiver agrees to the disclosure. |
|
|
Sec. 264.904. DEPARTMENT PROCEDURES FOR CLOSING CASE. (a) |
|
|
Before closing a case in which the department has approved a |
|
|
parental child safety placement, the department must develop a plan |
|
|
with the person who made the placement and the caregiver for the |
|
|
safe return of the child to the person who placed the child with the |
|
|
caregiver or to another person legally entitled to possession of |
|
|
the child, as appropriate. |
|
|
(b) The department may close a case with a child still |
|
|
living with the caregiver in a parental child safety placement if |
|
|
the department has determined that the child could safely return to |
|
|
the parent or person who made the parental child safety placement, |
|
|
but the parent or other person agrees in writing for the child to |
|
|
continue to reside with the caregiver. |
|
|
(c) If the department determines that the child is unable to |
|
|
safely return to the parent or person who made the parental child |
|
|
safety placement, the department shall determine whether the child |
|
|
can remain safely in the home of the caregiver or whether the |
|
|
department must seek legal conservatorship of the child in order to |
|
|
ensure the child's safety. |
|
|
(d) Before the department may close a case with a child |
|
|
still living in a parental child safety placement, the department |
|
|
must: |
|
|
(1) determine and document in the case file that the |
|
|
child can safely remain in the placement without the department's |
|
|
supervision; |
|
|
(2) obtain the written agreement of the parent or |
|
|
person who made the parental child safety placement, if possible; |
|
|
(3) obtain the caregiver's agreement in writing that |
|
|
the child can continue living in the placement after the department |
|
|
closes the case; and |
|
|
(4) develop a written plan for the child's care after |
|
|
the department closes the case. |
|
|
(e) The department is not required to comply with Subsection |
|
|
(d) if the department has filed suit seeking to be named conservator |
|
|
of the child under Chapter 262 and been denied conservatorship of |
|
|
the child. |
|
|
Sec. 264.905. REMOVAL OF CHILD BY DEPARTMENT. This |
|
|
subchapter does not prevent the department from removing a child at |
|
|
any time from a person who makes a parental child safety placement |
|
|
or from a caregiver if removal is determined to be necessary by the |
|
|
department for the safety and welfare of the child as provided by |
|
|
Chapter 262. |
|
|
Sec. 264.906. PLACEMENT PREFERENCE DURING CONSERVATORSHIP. |
|
|
If, while a parental child safety placement agreement is in effect, |
|
|
the department files suit under Chapter 262 seeking to be named |
|
|
managing conservator of the child, the department shall give |
|
|
priority to placing the child with the parental child safety |
|
|
placement caregiver as long as the placement is safe and available. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |