SECTION 1. Chapter 263,
Family Code, is amended by adding Subchapter D-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D-1. PLACEMENT
STABILITY
No
equivalent provision.
Sec. 263.351. PLACEMENT
STABILITY CONFERENCE. (a) The department shall hold a placement stability
conference for each child for whom the department has been appointed
temporary or permanent managing conservator after the department receives
notice of a second failed placement for the child. The goal of the
placement stability conference is to determine a placement for the child
that will provide the greatest opportunity for future stability and
permanency.
(b) The department shall
hold the placement stability conference as soon as practicable after the
child's second failed placement, but not later than the 10th day after the
date the department receives notice of the failed placement.
(c) The department may
hold additional placement stability conferences for the child after any
subsequent failed placement at the department's discretion.
(d) A child's attorney ad
litem, guardian ad litem, or court-appointed volunteer advocate may request
the department to hold additional placement stability conferences for the
child.
Sec. 263.352. NOTICE.
(a) Not later than the second day after the date the department receives notice
that a second placement for a child has failed, the department shall give
notice of the placement stability conference to:
(1) each person listed in
Section 263.301(b); and
(2) the child, if the
child is at least four years of age.
(b) The notice may be
given by any appropriate means, including by mail, e-mail, telephone, or
other electronic means.
Sec. 263.353. ATTENDANCE
AT PLACEMENT STABILITY CONFERENCE. (a) The child's attorney ad litem, the
child's guardian ad litem, the child protective services caseworker
assigned to the child, and any court-appointed volunteer advocate for the
child shall attend the placement stability conference.
(b) Each person entitled
to receive notice of the placement stability conference may attend the
conference, except that a child's parents may attend the conference only if
the department determines it is appropriate.
(c) A person may attend a
placement stability conference in person or by use of telephone conference
call or video conference call.
Sec. 263.354. RECOMMENDATION
FOR PLACEMENT. (a) At the placement stability conference, the child's
caseworker shall make a recommendation for the placement of the child that
will provide the greatest opportunity for future stability and permanency.
(b) The child's attorney
ad litem, the child's guardian ad litem, and any court-appointed volunteer
advocate for the child may make a placement recommendation for the child.
(c) The child's attorney
ad litem, the child's guardian ad litem, the child's caseworker, and any court-appointed
volunteer advocate for the child must all agree to the placement.
(d) If the child's
attorney ad litem, the child's guardian ad litem, the child's caseworker,
and any court-appointed volunteer advocate reach a unanimous agreement on
placement, the child shall be placed in the agreed placement.
Sec. 263.355. JUDICIAL
REVIEW OF PLACEMENT. (a) If the child's attorney ad litem, the child's
guardian ad litem, the child's caseworker, and any court-appointed
volunteer advocate are not able to reach a unanimous agreement regarding
the child's placement at the placement stability conference, the court
shall decide the placement for the child.
(b) Not later than the
next business day after the date of a placement stability conference at
which there is not a unanimous agreement for the placement of the child,
the department shall file a motion with the court requesting that the court
render an order on the child's placement.
(c) The court shall hold
a hearing on the child's placement not later than the 12th day after the
date the motion for a hearing is filed under Subsection (b).
(d) The department shall
provide notice of the hearing to each person listed in Section 263.301(b)
not later than the 10th day before the date of the hearing. The department
shall give notice as provided by Rule 21a, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(e) The following are
entitled to present evidence and be heard at the hearing:
(1) the department;
(2) the child's attorney
ad litem;
(3) the child's guardian
ad litem; and
(4) any court-appointed
volunteer advocate for the child.
(f) The child shall
attend a hearing under this section unless the court specifically excuses
the child's attendance. The court may consult with the child in a
developmentally appropriate manner regarding the child's placement if the
child is at least four years of age. Failure by the child to attend a
hearing does not affect the validity of an order rendered at the hearing.
(g) The court shall
conduct the hearing in any manner the court considers appropriate. The
court may require the department or another party to submit written reports
to assist the court in making the court's determination.
(h) At the conclusion of
the hearing, the court shall render an order providing for the child's placement
that is in the child's best interests and would provide the greatest
opportunity for future stability and permanency.
Sec. 263.356. PERMANENCY
PLANNING MEETINGS. The department is not required to hold a scheduled
permanency planning meeting for a child if a placement stability conference
for the child has been held not earlier than the 30th day before the date a
permanency planning meeting is scheduled.
Sec. 263.357. PLACEMENT
TRACKING SYSTEM. (a) The department shall identify each child for whom the
department has been appointed temporary or permanent managing conservator
who has had two or more placements during the preceding 12 months. For
each child identified under this subsection, the department shall collect
the following information:
(1) the number of
placement changes for the child;
(2) whether a placement
change occurred for any of the following reasons:
(A) the child ran away;
(B) the caregiver or
child-placing agency responsible for placing the child requested the
change;
(C) the child was
hospitalized for medical or mental health reasons; or
(D) the child refused to
remain in the placement; and
(3) if a placement change
occurred due to a reason listed under Subdivision (2):
(A) the child's name;
(B) the child's age;
(C) the address of the
child's current placement;
(D) the court in which
the suit affecting the parent-child relationship involving the child is
pending;
(E) the county and
department region in which the court is located;
(F) the reason for each
placement change;
(G) the child-placing
agency responsible for placing the child;
(H) the child protective services program administrator assigned to
the child;
(I) any centralized placement coordinator or centralized placement
unit assigned to the child; and
(J) the level of care the
child was determined to require.
(b) At least once each
month, the department shall prepare a report from the information collected
under Subsection (a) and provide the report to the commissioner of the
department and the assistant commissioner for child protective services.
(c) The department shall
include the aggregated data compiled under Subsection (b) in the
department's annual data report.
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SECTION
2. Chapter 263, Family Code, is amended by adding Subchapter D-1 to read
as follows:
SUBCHAPTER
D-1. PLACEMENT STABILITY
Sec.
263.351. NOTICE OF PLACEMENT CHANGE. A substitute care provider with whom
the department contracts to provide substitute care services for a child
shall notify the department if the child has a placement change. The notice
must:
(1)
be sent at the earliest time the provider is otherwise required to provide
notice of a change of the child's placement;
(2)
state the reason for the placement change; and
(3)
include the provider's recommendation regarding a future placement for the
child that would increase the child's opportunity to attain stability.
No equivalent provision.
No equivalent provision.
No equivalent provision.
No equivalent provision.
No equivalent provision.
No equivalent provision.
Sec.
263.352. PLACEMENT TRACKING SYSTEM. (a) The department shall identify each
child for whom the department has been appointed temporary or permanent
managing conservator who has had two or more placements during the
preceding 12 months. For each child identified under this subsection, the
department shall collect the following information:
(1)
the number of placement changes for the child;
(2)
whether a placement change occurred for any of the following reasons:
(A)
the child ran away;
(B)
the caregiver or child-placing agency responsible for placing the child
requested the change;
(C)
the child was hospitalized for medical or mental health reasons; or
(D)
the child refused to remain in the placement; and
(3)
if a placement change occurred due to a reason listed under Subdivision
(2):
(A)
the child's name;
(B)
the child's age;
(C)
the address of the child's current placement;
(D)
the court in which the suit affecting the parent-child relationship
involving the child is pending;
(E)
the county and department region in which the court is located;
(F)
the reason for each placement change;
(G)
the child-placing agency responsible for placing the child; and
(H)
the level of care the child was determined to require.
(b)
At least once each month, the department shall prepare a report from the
information collected under Subsection (a) and provide the report to the
commissioner of the department and the assistant commissioner for child
protective services.
(c)
The department shall include the aggregated data compiled under Subsection
(b) in the department's annual data report.
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