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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to requiring the use of multidisciplinary teams appointed |
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by children's advocacy centers in certain child abuse |
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investigations. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 264, Family Code, is |
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amended by adding Section 264.4061 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 264.4061. MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM RESPONSE REQUIRED. |
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(a) The department shall refer cases directly to a center to |
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initiate a response by a center's multidisciplinary team appointed |
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under Section 264.406 when conducting an investigation of: |
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(1) a report of abuse that is made by a professional as |
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defined by Section 261.101 and that: |
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(A) alleges sexual abuse of a child; or |
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(B) is a type of case handled by the center in |
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accordance with the working protocol adopted for the center under |
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Section 264.411(a)(9); or |
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(2) a child fatality in which there are surviving |
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children in the deceased child's household or under the supervision |
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of the caregiver involved in the child fatality. |
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(b) As part of the investigation under Subsection (a), any |
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interview of the child shall be a forensic interview conducted by |
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the center in accordance with the center's working protocol unless |
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a forensic interview is not appropriate based on the child's age and |
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development and the working protocol adopted for the center under |
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Section 264.411(a)(9). |
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(c) Subsection (a) applies only to an investigation of abuse |
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in a county served by a center that has an interagency memorandum of |
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understanding under Section 264.403. If a county is not served by a |
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center with an interagency memorandum under Section 264.403, the |
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department may refer cases directly to a center in an adjacent |
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county to initiate a response by that center's multidisciplinary |
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team, if appropriate. |
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SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |