Texas SB 2120 (2023): Standards and Funding for Parents' CPS Lawyers

This bill is law. It took effect September 1, 2023.

The short answer

SB 2120 brought court-appointed lawyers for parents and children in CPS cases under the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (the commission), which already set standards for lawyers for people charged with crimes who cannot afford one. The commission now sets policies and standards for this "family protection" representation, collects county data on appointments and spending, and can give grants. The Governor signed it on June 18, 2023.

What it changes

Why it was passed. The Senate Research Center's analysis says that in 2022 the Texas Judicial Council asked the Legislature to create a family protection legal representation program within the commission. It says earlier data showed wide differences in how lawyers for parents and children were paid, and in how counties decided whether a parent was indigent (unable to afford a lawyer).

What "family protection services" means. The bill defines it as help from a lawyer, attorney ad litem, licensed investigator, social worker, or expert given to an indigent parent or child in a DFPS lawsuit against the parent, or in a DFPS investigation of the parent. An "attorney ad litem" is a lawyer a court appoints to represent and speak for an indigent parent or child in a DFPS suit against a parent.

Statewide policies and standards. The commission already developed policies and standards for lawyers for indigent criminal defendants. SB 2120 adds family protection services for indigent parents and children. The policies and standards may include:

• qualifications for lawyers who represent an indigent parent, and for lawyers who represent a child;
• standards for reasonable caseloads for appointed lawyers; and
• standards for deciding whether a person named in a DFPS suit is indigent.

County reporting. Every odd-numbered year, each county must send the commission its rules and forms for appointing lawyers for indigent parents and children in DFPS cases. Each year, each county must report how many appointments each lawyer received. The county auditor must report how much the county spent on family protection services. Each appointed attorney ad litem in a DFPS case must also report each year what share of their practice time went to those appointments. The commission's annual report must compare Texas practices with state and national standards.

Grants and support. The commission may give grants of funds the Legislature appropriates. Those can go to counties and to an office of child representation or office of parent representation. A county may not cut its own funding for these services because it received commission money.

Leaders of parent and child representation offices. The chief counsel of an office of child representation or office of parent representation must have practiced law for at least five years and have substantial experience in child protection law.

How this fits with the right to a lawyer. SB 2120 deals with standards, data and funding. The rule on when a court must appoint a lawyer is separate. For example, in a government suit seeking termination or conservatorship, Tex. Fam. Code §107.013(a) requires the court to appoint an attorney ad litem for an indigent parent who responds in opposition. See Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case.

Which laws it affects

• Government Code Chapter 79 (§§79.001, 79.012, 79.034, 79.035, 79.037, and new §§79.0365 and 79.041): the commission's duties, definitions, county reporting and grants.
• Family Code §107.0042 (new): yearly practice-time report by attorneys ad litem in DFPS cases.
• Family Code §107.259: qualifications for the chief counsel of an office of child or parent representation.
• Government Code §71.0355: repealed.
• Related but not changed: Tex. Fam. Code §107.013, the mandatory appointment of an attorney ad litem for a parent.

Related

• Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case
• Court-Ordered Services in Texas CPS Cases (Family Code §264.203)
• The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
• Texas HB 567 (2021): Neglect Definition, Removals and Court-Ordered Services: the 2021 law requiring a lawyer for a parent in court-ordered-services cases
• Texas HB 730 (2023): Rights Notices, Investigation Limits and Safety Placements: the 2023 law requiring DFPS to tell parents about the right to a lawyer
• Texas SB 614 (2023): Time Limits on Parental Child Safety Placements: the 2023 law requiring attorney notices for safety placements