Amend CSHB 7 (house committee report) by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:

SECTION ____.  Sections 107.002(b) and (c), Family Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b)  A guardian ad litem appointed for the child under this chapter shall:

(1)  within a reasonable time after the appointment, interview:

(A)  the child in a developmentally appropriate manner, if the child is four years of age or older;

(B)  each person who has significant knowledge of the child's history and condition, including educators, welfare service providers, and any foster parent of the child; and

(C)  the parties to the suit;

(2)  seek to elicit in a developmentally appropriate manner the child's expressed objectives;

(3)  consider the child's expressed objectives without being bound by those objectives;

(4)  encourage settlement and the use of alternative forms of dispute resolution; and

(5)  perform any specific task directed by the court.

(c)  A guardian ad litem appointed for the child under this chapter is entitled to:

(1)  receive a copy of each pleading or other paper filed with the court in the case in which the guardian ad litem is appointed;

(2)  receive notice of each hearing in the case;

(3)  participate in case staffings by the Department of Family and Protective Services concerning the child;

(4)  attend all legal proceedings in the case but may not call or question a witness or otherwise provide legal services unless the guardian ad litem is a licensed attorney who has been appointed in the dual role;

(5)  review and sign, or decline to sign, an agreed order affecting the child; [and]

(6)  explain the basis for the guardian ad litem's opposition to the agreed order if the guardian ad litem does not agree to the terms of a proposed order;

(10)  attend court-ordered mediation regarding the child's case.