Texas Family Code - Section 51.20. Physical Or Mental Examination
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§ 51.20. PHYSICAL OR MENTAL EXAMINATION. (a) At any
stage of the proceedings under this title, the juvenile court may
order a child who is referred to the juvenile court or who is
alleged by a petition or found to have engaged in delinquent conduct
or conduct indicating a need for supervision to be examined by a
disinterested expert, including a physician, psychiatrist, or
psychologist, qualified by education and clinical training in
mental health or mental retardation and experienced in forensic
evaluation, to determine whether the child has a mental illness as
defined by Section 571.003, Health and Safety Code, or is a person
with mental retardation as defined by Section 591.003, Health and
Safety Code. If the examination is to include a determination of
the child's fitness to proceed, an expert may be appointed to
conduct the examination only if the expert is qualified under
Subchapter B, Chapter 46B, Code of Criminal Procedure, to examine a
defendant in a criminal case, and the examination and the report
resulting from an examination under this subsection must comply
with the requirements under Subchapter B, Chapter 46B, Code of
Criminal Procedure, for the examination and resulting report of a
defendant in a criminal case.
(b) If, after conducting an examination of a child ordered
under Subsection (a) and reviewing any other relevant information,
there is reason to believe that the child has a mental illness or
mental retardation, the probation department shall refer the child
to the local mental health or mental retardation authority for
evaluation and services, unless the prosecuting attorney has filed
a petition under Section 53.04.
(c) If, while a child is under deferred prosecution
supervision or court-ordered probation, a qualified professional
determines that the child has a mental illness or mental
retardation and the child is not currently receiving treatment
services for the mental illness or mental retardation, the
probation department shall refer the child to the local mental
health or mental retardation authority for evaluation and services.
(d) A probation department shall report each referral of a
child to a local mental health or mental retardation authority made
under Subsection (b) or (c) to the Texas Juvenile Probation
Commission in a format specified by the commission.
(e) At any stage of the proceedings under this title, the
juvenile court may order a child who has been referred to the
juvenile court or who is alleged by the petition or found to have
engaged in delinquent conduct or conduct indicating a need for
supervision to be subjected to a physical examination by a licensed
physician.
Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1477, § 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 828, § 5(a), eff. Sept. 1,
2001; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 35, § 6, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; Acts
2005, 79th Leg., ch. 949, § 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2005.
Section: 51.116 51.12 51.13 51.151 51.17 51.18 51.19 51.20 51.21 52.01 52.015 52.0151 52.02 52.025 52.026
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Last modified: August 10, 2007
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