Texas Family Code - Section 51.12. Place And Conditions Of Detention
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§ 51.12. PLACE AND CONDITIONS OF DETENTION. (a) Except
as provided by Subsection (h), a child may be detained only in a:
(1) juvenile processing office in compliance with
Section 52.025;
(2) place of nonsecure custody in compliance with
Article 45.058, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(3) certified juvenile detention facility that
complies with the requirements of Subsection (f);
(4) secure detention facility as provided by
Subsection (j); or
(5) county jail or other facility as provided by
Subsection (l).
(b) The proper authorities in each county shall provide a
suitable place of detention for children who are parties to
proceedings under this title, but the juvenile board shall control
the conditions and terms of detention and detention supervision and
shall permit visitation with the child at all reasonable times.
(c) In each county, each judge of the juvenile court and a
majority of the members of the juvenile board shall personally
inspect the juvenile pre-adjudication secure detention facilities
and any public or private juvenile secure correctional facilities
used for post-adjudication confinement that are located in the
county and operated under authority of the juvenile board at least
annually and shall certify in writing to the authorities
responsible for operating and giving financial support to the
facilities and to the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission that they
are suitable or unsuitable for the detention of children in
accordance with:
(1) the requirements of Subsections (a), (f), and (g);
and
(2) minimum professional standards for the detention
of children in pre-adjudication or post-adjudication secure
confinement promulgated by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission
or, at the election of the juvenile board, the current standards
promulgated by the American Correctional Association.
(d) Except as provided by Subsections (j) and (l), a child
may not be placed in a facility that has not been certified under
Subsection (c) as suitable for the detention of children and
registered under Subsection (i). Except as provided by Subsections
(j) and (l), a child detained in a facility that has not been
certified under Subsection (c) as suitable for the detention of
children or that has not been registered under Subsection (i) shall
be entitled to immediate release from custody in that facility.
(e) If there is no certified place of detention in the
county in which the petition is filed, the designated place of
detention may be in another county.
(f) A child detained in a building that contains a jail,
lockup, or other place of secure confinement, including an alcohol
or other drug treatment facility, shall be separated by sight and
sound from adults detained in the same building. Children and
adults are separated by sight and sound only if they are unable to
see each other and conversation between them is not possible. The
separation must extend to all areas of the facility, including
sally ports and passageways, and those areas used for admission,
counseling, sleeping, toileting, showering, dining, recreational,
educational, or vocational activities, and health care. The
separation may be accomplished through architectural design.
(g) Except for a child detained in a juvenile processing
office, a place of nonsecure custody, a secure detention facility
as provided by Subsection (j), or a facility as provided by
Subsection (l), a child detained in a building that contains a jail
or lockup may not have any contact with:
(1) part-time or full-time security staff, including
management, who have contact with adults detained in the same
building; or
(2) direct-care staff who have contact with adults
detained in the same building.
(h) This section does not apply to a person:
(1) after transfer to criminal court for prosecution
under Section 54.02; or
(2) who is at least 17 years of age and who has been
taken into custody after having:
(A) escaped from a juvenile facility operated by
or under contract with the Texas Youth Commission; or
(B) violated a condition of release under
supervision of the Texas Youth Commission.
(i) Except for a facility operated or certified by the Texas
Youth Commission or a facility as provided by Subsection (l), a
governmental unit or private entity that operates or contracts for
the operation of a juvenile pre-adjudication secure detention
facility or a juvenile post-adjudication secure correctional
facility in this state shall:
(1) register the facility annually with the Texas
Juvenile Probation Commission; and
(2) adhere to all applicable minimum standards for the
facility.
(j) After being taken into custody, a child may be detained
in a secure detention facility until the child is released under
Section 53.01, 53.012, or 53.02 or until a detention hearing is held
under Section 54.01(a), regardless of whether the facility has been
certified under Subsection (c), if:
(1) a certified juvenile detention facility is not
available in the county in which the child is taken into custody;
(2) the detention facility complies with:
(A) the short-term detention standards adopted
by the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
(B) the requirements of Subsection (f); and
(3) the detention facility has been designated by the
county juvenile board for the county in which the facility is
located.
(k) If a child who is detained under Subsection (j) or (l) is
not released from detention at the conclusion of the detention
hearing for a reason stated in Section 54.01(e), the child may be
detained after the hearing only in a certified juvenile detention
facility.
(l) A child who is taken into custody and required to be
detained under Section 53.02(f) may be detained in a county jail or
other facility until the child is released under Section 53.02(f)
or until a detention hearing is held as required by Section
54.01(p), regardless of whether the facility complies with the
requirements of this section, if:
(1) a certified juvenile detention facility or a
secure detention facility described by Subsection (j) is not
available in the county in which the child is taken into custody or
in an adjacent county;
(2) the facility has been designated by the county
juvenile board for the county in which the facility is located;
(3) the child is separated by sight and sound from
adults detained in the same facility through architectural design
or time-phasing;
(4) the child does not have any contact with
management or direct-care staff that has contact with adults
detained in the same facility on the same work shift;
(5) the county in which the child is taken into custody
is not located in a metropolitan statistical area as designated by
the United States Bureau of the Census; and
(6) each judge of the juvenile court and a majority of
the members of the juvenile board of the county in which the child
is taken into custody have personally inspected the facility at
least annually and have certified in writing to the Texas Juvenile
Probation Commission that the facility complies with the
requirements of Subdivisions (3) and (4).
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1460, ch. 544, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1973.
Amended by Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 2155, ch. 693, § 10, 11, eff.
Sept. 1, 1975; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 293, § 1, eff. Aug. 26,
1985; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, § 31, eff. Sept. 1, 1987;
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 262, § 12, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts
1997, 75th Leg., ch. 772, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997,
75th Leg., ch. 1374, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th
Leg., ch. 62, § 6.07, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg.,
ch. 232, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1477,
§ 2, eff; Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1297, §
10, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1514, § 13,
eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Section: 51.095 51.10 51.101 51.102 51.11 51.115 51.116 51.12 51.13 51.151 51.17 51.18 51.19 51.20 51.21
Last modified: August 11, 2007
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