Sec. 42.044. INSPECTIONS. (a) An authorized representative of the department may visit a facility regulated under this chapter or a registered family home during operating hours to investigate, inspect, and evaluate.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-3), the department shall inspect all licensed or certified facilities at least once a year and may inspect other facilities or registered family homes as necessary. At least one of the annual visits must be unannounced and all may be unannounced.
(b-1) At least one of the unannounced, annual inspections of a residential child-care facility must be conducted by a team of at least two residential child-care monitoring staff, and, if feasible, members of the inspection team must be from different residential child-care monitoring units.
(b-2) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, during an unannounced annual or biennial inspection of a day-care center, the department shall meet with the director designated by the day-care center as having daily, on-site responsibility for the operation of the day-care center to assess whether the director meets the qualifications of a director specified by this chapter and department rules. If the director is not present during the unannounced annual or biennial inspection, the department shall schedule a subsequent meeting with the director for that purpose and shall conduct that meeting at the day-care center.
(b-3) The department may, in accordance with rules adopted by the executive commissioner, designate a licensed day-care center or group day-care home for a biennial inspection if the department determines, based on previous inspections, that the facility has a history of substantial compliance with minimum licensing standards. The biennial inspection of a day-care center or group day-care home must be unannounced.
(c) The department must investigate a facility regulated under this chapter or a registered family home when a complaint is received. The representative of the department must notify the operator of a registered family home or the director or authorized representative of a regulated facility when a complaint is being investigated and report in writing the results of the investigation to the family home's operator or to the regulated facility's director or the director's authorized representative.
(c-1) The department:
(1) shall investigate a listed family home if the department receives a complaint that:
(A) a child in the home has been abused or neglected, as defined by Section 261.401, Family Code; or
(B) otherwise alleges an immediate risk of danger to the health or safety of a child being cared for in the home; and
(2) may investigate a listed family home to ensure that the home is providing care for compensation to not more than three children, excluding children who are related to the caretaker.
(c-2) The department must notify the operator of a listed family home when a complaint is being investigated under this section and report in writing the results of the investigation to the family home's operator.
(d) The department may call on political subdivisions and governmental agencies for assistance within their authorized fields.
(e) In addition to the department's responsibility to investigate an agency foster home or agency foster group home under Subsection (c), the department shall:
(1) periodically conduct inspections of a random sample of agency foster homes and agency foster group homes;
(2) investigate any report of a serious incident in an agency foster home or agency foster group home that pertains to a child under the age of six;
(3) investigate any alleged violation of a minimum standard by an agency foster home or agency foster group home that poses a high degree of risk to a child in the care of the home who is under the age of six; and
(4) conduct at least one annual enforcement team conference for each child-placing agency to thoroughly review the investigations or inspections of the child-placing agency and all of its agency homes to monitor and enforce compliance by a child-placing agency with rules and standards established under Section 42.042.
(f) The department shall use an inspection checklist that includes a list of all required items for inspection in conducting a monitoring inspection under this section.
Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2363, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1063, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1022, Sec. 27, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1217, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 218, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 1.96, eff. September 1, 2005.
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1406 (S.B. 758), Sec. 32(a), eff. September 1, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 720 (S.B. 68), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1082 (S.B. 1178), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 746 (S.B. 427), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.
Section: Previous 42.0426 42.04261 42.0427 42.0428 42.043 42.04305 42.0431 42.044 42.0441 42.04411 42.04412 42.0442 42.04425 42.0443 42.04431 NextLast modified: September 28, 2016