BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.H.B. 205 |
By: Keough |
Human Services |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Interested parties contend that additional standards are needed with regard to a court order requiring participation in child and family services of the Department of Family and Protective Services by an abused or neglected child's parent, managing conservator, or guardian or by another member of the child's household in order to avoid undue distress to the child. C.S.H.B. 205 seeks to provide for the additional standards.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
C.S.H.B. 205 amends the Family Code to condition a court's authority to order the participation in certain Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) child and family services for a child's parent, managing conservator, or guardian or by another member of the child's household, on the court finding by a preponderance of the evidence that abuse or neglect has occurred or is likely to occur. The bill requires a court, before the court may order such participation, to advise any person who is not represented by an attorney of the right to be represented by an attorney and if the person is indigent and opposes the order to participate in the services, of the right to a court-appointed attorney subject to specified procedures. The bill prohibits the court, if a parent, managing conservator, guardian, or other member of the subject child's household is opposed to participating in services and is not represented by an attorney at the hearing, from ordering the person to participate in services until the person has either retained or been appointed an attorney.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2017.
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COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.H.B. 205 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.
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