|
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
relating to a training program for persons investigating suspected |
|
child abuse or neglect. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 261, Family Code, is |
|
amended by adding Section 261.3105 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 261.3105. TRAINING PROGRAM FOR PERSONS INVESTIGATING |
|
SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT. (a) The department shall develop |
|
a training program for each person who investigates any instance of |
|
suspected child abuse or neglect at the state or local level and the |
|
investigative supervisor of the person. |
|
(b) The training program must include instruction on: |
|
(1) the definitions of abuse and neglect under Section |
|
261.001; |
|
(2) the option for an abbreviated investigation or |
|
administrative closure of certain reported cases under Section |
|
261.3018; |
|
(3) the required notice to an alleged perpetrator of |
|
the right to record an interview under Section 261.3027; |
|
(4) the required provision of information on |
|
investigation procedures and child placement resources under |
|
Section 261.307; |
|
(5) the required notice of the right to request an |
|
administrative review of the department's findings under Section |
|
261.3091; |
|
(6) the investigative standards established under |
|
Section 261.310, including case file documentation; |
|
(7) the required assessment of certain proposed |
|
relative or other designated caregiver placements under Section |
|
264.754; |
|
(8) the department's policies on investigation |
|
dispositions and risk findings appropriate to the type of |
|
investigation; |
|
(9) the department's policy on identifying a potential |
|
relative placement before an adversary hearing; |
|
(10) the department's policy on notifying a kinship |
|
provider of the appeal process for a denied home assessment for |
|
potential placement with the provider; |
|
(11) the procedures for defining, identifying, and |
|
supporting protective capabilities of youths 13 years of age or |
|
older; |
|
(12) the burdens of proof applied to the evaluation |
|
and production of evidence; |
|
(13) the rights provided by the Fourth Amendment to |
|
the United States Constitution, the appropriate manner of informing |
|
an alleged perpetrator of those rights, and the search and seizure |
|
elements of those rights; and |
|
(14) information on available community resources for |
|
a child's identified risk factors to avoid delay in referrals for |
|
services and to resources. |
|
(c) The training program must also provide to department |
|
investigators advanced training on investigative techniques and |
|
protocols, including: |
|
(1) techniques and protocols for conducting |
|
interviews with alleged perpetrators of and witnesses to alleged |
|
child abuse or neglect that ensure department investigators are |
|
able to provide accurate information to appropriate experts; |
|
(2) techniques for searching for and identifying |
|
witnesses and collateral sources who may potentially provide |
|
information regarding an allegation of child abuse or neglect; |
|
(3) protocols for accurately scaling alleged abuse or |
|
neglect markings and injuries that ensure department investigators |
|
are able to accurately and appropriately present information to |
|
medical experts; |
|
(4) protocols for photographing alleged abuse or |
|
neglect markings and scenes; |
|
(5) techniques for reconstructing events and |
|
statements using timelines; |
|
(6) protocols for collecting and packaging evidence; |
|
(7) protocols for using notes, photographs, and |
|
timelines to accurately represent an allegation of abuse or |
|
neglect; |
|
(8) methods for analyzing and applying forensic |
|
evidence to the statutory definitions of abuse and neglect under |
|
Section 261.001 and to possible signs and symptoms of abuse and |
|
neglect; and |
|
(9) procedures for analyzing and applying forensic |
|
evidence to statutory standards established in this chapter, |
|
including the burden of proof. |
|
(d) The department shall administer to each investigator |
|
and investigative supervisor an examination to test the |
|
individual's knowledge and competency of the information provided |
|
in the training program. An investigator or investigative |
|
supervisor may not be assigned to investigate or supervise the |
|
investigation of any case until the investigator or supervisor |
|
successfully completes the training program and passes the |
|
examination. |
|
(e) In developing and implementing the training program, |
|
the department shall: |
|
(1) encourage professionalism, procedural |
|
standardization, and investigative disposition accuracy in the |
|
investigations of suspected child abuse or neglect; and |
|
(2) collaborate with: |
|
(A) appropriate Department of Public Safety |
|
personnel; |
|
(B) licensed attorneys; |
|
(C) forensic medical professionals; |
|
(D) appropriate law enforcement agency |
|
personnel; and |
|
(E) any other appropriate professionals. |
|
SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective |
|
date of this Act, the commissioner of the Department of Family and |
|
Protective Services shall adopt the rules necessary to implement |
|
the changes in law made by this Act. |
|
(b) Section 261.3105(d), Family Code, as added by this Act, |
|
applies only to investigation of a case assigned to an investigator |
|
or investigative supervisor on or after January 1, 2025. |
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |