Texas Family Code Title 5, Chapter 261 - Investigation Of Report Of Child Abuse Or Neglect

SUBCHAPTER A GENERAL PROVISIONS

• Texas Section 261.001 - Definitions
  In this chapter: (1) "Abuse" includes the following acts or omissions by a person: (A) mental or emotional injury to a child that results in...
• Texas Section 261.002 - Central Registry
  (a) The department shall establish and maintain a central registry of the names of individuals found by the department to have abused or neglected a...

SUBCHAPTER B REPORT OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT; IMMUNITIES

• Texas Section 261.003 - Application To Students In School For Deaf Or School For Blind And Visually Impaired
  This chapter applies to the investigation of a report of abuse or neglect of a student, without regard to the age of the student, in...
• Texas Section 261.101 - Persons Required To Report; Time To Report
  (a) A person having cause to believe that a child's physical or mental health or welfare has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect by...
• Texas Section 261.102 - Matters To Be Reported
  A report should reflect the reporter's belief that a child has been or may be abused or neglected or has died of abuse or neglect....
• Texas Section 261.103 - Report Made To Appropriate Agency
  (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c) and Section 261.405, a report shall be made to: (1) any local or state law enforcement...
• Texas Section 261.104 - Contents Of Report
  The person making a report shall identify, if known: (1) the name and address of the child; (2) the name and address of the person...
• Texas Section 261.105 - Referral Of Report By Department Or Law Enforcement
  (a) All reports received by a local or state law enforcement agency that allege abuse or neglect by a person responsible for a child's care,...
• Texas Section 261.1055 - Notification Of District Attorneys
  (a) A district attorney may inform the department that the district attorney wishes to receive notification of some or all reports of suspected abuse or...
• Texas Section 261.106 - Immunities
  (a) A person acting in good faith who reports or assists in the investigation of a report of alleged child abuse or neglect or who...
• Texas Section 261.107 - False Report; Criminal Penalty; Civil Penalty
  (a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to deceive, the person knowingly makes a report as provided in this chapter that is...
• Texas Section 261.108 - Frivolous Claims Against Person Reporting
  (a) In this section: (1) "Claim" means an action or claim by a party, including a plaintiff, counterclaimant, cross-claimant, or third-party plaintiff, requesting recovery of...
• Texas Section 261.109 - Failure To Report; Penalty
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person is required to make a report under Section 261.101(a) and knowingly fails to make a report...
• Texas Section 261.110 - Employer Retaliation Prohibited
  (a) In this section, "professional" has the meaning assigned by Section 261.101(b). (b) An employer may not suspend or terminate the employment of, or otherwise...

SUBCHAPTER C CONFIDENTIALITY AND PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION

• Texas Section 261.111 - Refusal Of Psychiatric Or Psychological Treatment Of Child
  (a) In this section, "psychotropic medication" has the meaning assigned by Section 266.001. (b) The refusal of a parent, guardian, or managing or possessory conservator...
• Texas Section 261.201 - Confidentiality And Disclosure Of Information
  (a) Except as provided by Section 261.203, the following information is confidential, is not subject to public release under Chapter 552, Government Code, and may...
• Texas Section 261.202 - Privileged Communication
  In a proceeding regarding the abuse or neglect of a child, evidence may not be excluded on the ground of privileged communication except in the...
• Texas Section 261.203 - Information Relating To Child Fatality
  (a) Not later than the fifth day after the date the department receives a request for information about a child fatality with respect to which...

SUBCHAPTER D INVESTIGATIONS

• Texas Section 261.204 - Annual Child Fatality Report
  (a) The department shall publish an annual aggregated report using information compiled from each child fatality investigation for which the department made a finding regarding...
• Texas Section 261.301 - Investigation Of Report
  (a) With assistance from the appropriate state or local law enforcement agency as provided by this section, the department shall make a prompt and thorough...
• Texas Section 261.3011 - Joint Investigation Guidelines And Training
  (a) The department shall, in consultation with the appropriate law enforcement agencies, develop guidelines and protocols for joint investigations by the department and the law...
• Texas Section 261.3013 - Case Closure Agreements Prohibited
  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), on closing a case, the department may not enter into a written agreement with a child's parent or...
• Texas Section 261.3015 - Alternative Response System
  (a) In assigning priorities and prescribing investigative procedures based on the severity and immediacy of the alleged harm to a child under Section 261.301(d), the...
• Texas Section 261.3016 - Training Of Personnel Receiving Reports Of Abuse And Neglect
  The department shall develop, in cooperation with local law enforcement officials and the Commission on State Emergency Communications, a training program for department personnel who...
• Texas Section 261.302 - Conduct Of Investigation
  (a) The investigation may include: (1) a visit to the child's home, unless the alleged abuse or neglect can be confirmed or clearly ruled out...
• Texas Section 261.3021 - Casework Documentation And Management
  Subject to the appropriation of money, the department shall identify critical investigation actions that impact child safety and require department caseworkers to document those actions...
• Texas Section 261.3022 - Child Safety Check Alert List
  (a) The Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas shall maintain a child safety check alert list as part of the Texas Crime...
• Texas Section 261.3023 - Law Enforcement Response To Child Safety Check Alert
  If a law enforcement officer encounters a child or other person listed on the Texas Crime Information Center's child safety check alert list, the law...
• Texas Section 261.3024 - Removal From Child Safety Check Alert List
  Sec. 261.3024. REMOVAL FROM CHILD SAFETY CHECK ALERT LIST. Text of subsection as amended by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1056, Sec. 4 (a)...
• Texas Section 261.3025 - Child Safety Check Alert List Progress Report
  (a) Not later than February 1 of each year, the Department of Public Safety, with the assistance of the department, shall prepare and submit a...
• Texas Section 261.303 - Interference With Investigation; Court Order
  (a) A person may not interfere with an investigation of a report of child abuse or neglect conducted by the department. (b) If admission to...
• Texas Section 261.3031 - Failure To Cooperate With Investigation; Department Response
  (a) If a parent or other person refuses to cooperate with the department's investigation of the alleged abuse or neglect of a child and the...
• Texas Section 261.3032 - Interference With Investigation; Criminal Penalty
  (a) A person commits an offense if, with the intent to interfere with the department's investigation of a report of abuse or neglect of a...
• Texas Section 261.304 - Investigation Of Anonymous Report
  (a) If the department receives an anonymous report of child abuse or neglect by a person responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare, the...
• Texas Section 261.305 - Access To Mental Health Records
  (a) An investigation may include an inquiry into the possibility that a parent or a person responsible for the care of a child who is...
• Texas Section 261.306 - Removal Of Child From State
  (a) If the department has reason to believe that a person responsible for the care, custody, or welfare of the child may remove the child...
• Texas Section 261.307 - Information Relating To Investigation Procedure
  (a) As soon as possible after initiating an investigation of a parent or other person having legal custody of a child, the department shall provide...
• Texas Section 261.3071 - Informational Manuals
  (a) In this section: (1) "Designated caregiver" and "relative caregiver" have the meanings assigned those terms by Section 264.751. (2) "Voluntary caregiver" means a person...
• Texas Section 261.308 - Submission Of Investigation Report
  (a) The department shall make a complete written report of the investigation. (b) Repealed by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 , Sec. 86(9),...
• Texas Section 261.309 - Review Of Department Investigations
  (a) The executive commissioner shall by rule establish policies and procedures to resolve complaints relating to and conduct reviews of child abuse or neglect investigations...
• Texas Section 261.310 - Investigation Standards
  (a) The executive commissioner shall by rule develop and adopt standards for persons who investigate suspected child abuse or neglect at the state or local...
• Texas Section 261.311 - Notice Of Report
  (a) When during an investigation of a report of suspected child abuse or neglect a representative of the department conducts an interview with or an...
• Texas Section 261.312 - Review Teams; Offense
  (a) The department shall establish review teams to evaluate department casework and decision-making related to investigations by the department of child abuse or neglect. The...
• Texas Section 261.3125 - Child Safety Specialists
  (a) The department shall employ in each of the department's administrative regions at least one child safety specialist. The job responsibilities of the child safety...
• Texas Section 261.3126 - Colocation Of Investigators
  (a) In each county, to the extent possible, the department and the local law enforcement agencies that investigate child abuse in the county shall colocate...
• Texas Section 261.314 - Testing
  (a) The department shall provide testing as necessary for the welfare of a child who the department believes, after an investigation under this chapter, has...
• Texas Section 261.315 - Removal Of Certain Investigation Information From Records
  (a) At the conclusion of an investigation in which the department determines that the person alleged to have abused or neglected a child did not...

SUBCHAPTER E INVESTIGATIONS OF ABUSE, NEGLECT, OR EXPLOITATION IN CERTAIN FACILITIES

• Texas Section 261.316 - Exemption From Fees For Medical Records
  The department is exempt from the payment of a fee otherwise required or authorized by law to obtain a medical record from a hospital or...
• Texas Section 261.401 - Agency Investigation
  (a) Notwithstanding Section 261.001, in this section: (1) "Abuse" means an intentional, knowing, or reckless act or omission by an employee, volunteer, or other individual...
• Texas Section 261.402 - Investigative Reports
  (a) A state agency shall prepare and keep on file a complete written report of each investigation conducted by the agency under this subchapter. (b)...
• Texas Section 261.403 - Complaints
  (a) If a state agency receives a complaint relating to an investigation conducted by the agency concerning a facility operated by that agency in which...
• Texas Section 261.404 - Investigations Regarding Certain Children Receiving Services From Certain Providers
  Sec. 261.404. INVESTIGATIONS REGARDING CERTAIN CHILDREN RECEIVING SERVICES FROM CERTAIN PROVIDERS. (a) The department shall investigate a report of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a...
• Texas Section 261.405 - Investigations In Juvenile Justice Programs And Facilities
  (a) In this section: (1) "Juvenile justice facility" means a facility operated wholly or partly by the juvenile board, by another governmental unit, or by...
• Texas Section 261.406 - Investigations In Schools
  (a) On receipt of a report of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect of a child in a public or private school under the jurisdiction...
• Texas Section 261.407 - Minimum Standards
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt minimum standards for the investigation under Section 261.401 of suspected child abuse, neglect, or exploitation in a...
• Texas Section 261.408 - Information Collection
  (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt uniform procedures for collecting information under Section 261.401, including procedures for collecting information on deaths that occur...
• Texas Section 261.409 - Investigations In Facilities Under Texas Juvenile Justice Department Jurisdiction
  The board of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department by rule shall adopt standards for: (1) the investigation under Section 261.401 of suspected child abuse, neglect,...
• Texas Section 261.410 - Report Of Abuse By Other Children
  (a) In this section: (1) "Physical abuse" means: (A) physical injury that results in substantial harm to the child requiring emergency medical treatment and excluding...

Last modified: September 28, 2016