Texas Family Code - Section 52.031. First Offender Program
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§ 52.031. FIRST OFFENDER PROGRAM. (a) A juvenile board
may establish a first offender program under this section for the
referral and disposition of children taken into custody for:
(1) conduct indicating a need for supervision; or
(2) delinquent conduct other than conduct that
constitutes:
(A) a felony of the first, second, or third
degree, an aggravated controlled substance felony, or a capital
felony; or
(B) a state jail felony or misdemeanor involving
violence to a person or the use or possession of a firearm, illegal
knife, or club, as those terms are defined by Section 46.01, Penal
Code, or a prohibited weapon, as described by Section 46.05, Penal
Code.
(b) Each juvenile board in the county in which a first
offender program is established shall designate one or more law
enforcement officers and agencies, which may be law enforcement
agencies, to process a child under the first offender program.
(c) The disposition of a child under the first offender
program may not take place until guidelines for the disposition
have been adopted by the juvenile board of the county in which the
disposition is made as required by Section 52.032.
(d) A law enforcement officer taking a child into custody
may refer the child to the law enforcement officer or agency
designated under Subsection (b) for disposition under the first
offender program and not refer the child to juvenile court only if:
(1) the child has not previously been adjudicated as
having engaged in delinquent conduct;
(2) the referral complies with guidelines for
disposition under Subsection (c); and
(3) the officer reports in writing the referral to the
agency, identifying the child and specifying the grounds for taking
the child into custody.
(e) A child referred for disposition under the first
offender program may not be detained in law enforcement custody.
(f) The parent, guardian, or other custodian of the child
must receive notice that the child has been referred for
disposition under the first offender program. The notice must:
(1) state the grounds for taking the child into
custody;
(2) identify the law enforcement officer or agency to
which the child was referred;
(3) briefly describe the nature of the program; and
(4) state that the child's failure to complete the
program will result in the child being referred to the juvenile
court.
(g) The child and the parent, guardian, or other custodian
of the child must consent to participation by the child in the first
offender program.
(h) Disposition under a first offender program may include:
(1) voluntary restitution by the child or the parent,
guardian, or other custodian of the child to the victim of the
conduct of the child;
(2) voluntary community service restitution by the
child;
(3) educational, vocational training, counseling, or
other rehabilitative services; and
(4) periodic reporting by the child to the law
enforcement officer or agency to which the child has been referred.
(i) The case of a child who successfully completes the first
offender program is closed and may not be referred to juvenile
court, unless the child is taken into custody under circumstances
described by Subsection (j)(3).
(j) The case of a child referred for disposition under the
first offender program shall be referred to juvenile court if:
(1) the child fails to complete the program;
(2) the child or the parent, guardian, or other
custodian of the child terminates the child's participation in the
program before the child completes it; or
(3) the child completes the program but is taken into
custody under Section 52.01 before the 90th day after the date the
child completes the program for conduct other than the conduct for
which the child was referred to the first offender program.
(k) A statement made by a child to a person giving advice or
supervision or participating in the first offender program may not
be used against the child in any proceeding under this title or any
criminal proceeding.
(l) The law enforcement agency must report to the juvenile
board in December of each year the following:
(1) the last known address of the child, including the
census tract;
(2) the gender and ethnicity of the child referred to
the program; and
(3) the offense committed by the child.
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 262, § 19, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 48, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Section: 52.01 52.015 52.0151 52.02 52.025 52.026 52.03 52.031 52.032 52.04 52.041 53.01 53.012 53.013 53.02
Last modified: August 11, 2007
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