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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the procedures for the removal of certain children in |
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the managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and |
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Protective Services. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 263.403, Family Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (c-1), (c-2), and |
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(c-3) to read as follows: |
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(c) If before the dismissal of the suit or the commencement |
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of the trial on the merits a child placed with a parent under this |
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section must be moved from that home and [by the department or] the |
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court renders a temporary order terminating the monitored return |
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under Subsection (a)(2)(A) or the transition order issued under |
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Subsection (a)(2)(B), the court shall[, at the time of the move or |
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order,] schedule a new date for dismissal of the suit at the time |
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the order is rendered. The new dismissal date may not be later than |
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the original, or extended, dismissal date established under Section |
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263.401, or the 30th [180th] day after the date the child is moved |
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or the order is rendered under this subsection, whichever date is |
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later. |
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(c-1) Except as provided by Subsection (c-2), the |
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department may not move a child who has been placed in the home of a |
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parent under this section from that home without a hearing. |
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(c-2) An authorized representative of the department, a law |
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enforcement officer, or a juvenile probation officer may take |
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possession of the child and move the child from the home in an |
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emergency in accordance with Section 262.104. Before moving a child |
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from the home under this subsection, the department, a law |
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enforcement officer, or a juvenile probation officer shall to the |
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extent practicable obtain consent to the move from the child's |
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attorney ad litem and guardian ad litem. If a child is moved from |
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the home in an emergency as authorized by this subsection, the court |
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shall, after proper notice, hold a hearing on the move. The hearing |
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must be held before the end of the third day after the day the child |
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is moved from the home. |
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(c-3) The court may order a child to be moved from the home |
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or render any other order under Subsection (c) only if, after a |
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hearing, the court finds by a preponderance of evidence that: |
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(1) there is an immediate danger to the physical |
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health or safety of the child or the child has been a victim of |
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neglect or sexual abuse; |
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(2) continuation in the home would be contrary to the |
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child's welfare; and |
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(3) reasonable efforts, consistent with the |
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circumstances and providing for the safety of the child, were made |
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to prevent or eliminate the need to move the child. |
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SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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a suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed on or after |
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the effective date of this Act. A suit affecting the parent-child |
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relationship filed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the |
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former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |