Texas SB 614 (2023): Time Limits on Parental Child Safety Placements

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

The short answer

SB 614 put time limits and lawyer notices on "parental child safety placements." These are agreements in which a parent places a child with another caregiver during a CPS investigation or while getting DFPS services. An agreement now ends after 30 days, can be renewed at most twice, and cannot keep a child out of the home for more than 90 days without both the parent's and the parent's lawyer's signatures or a court order. The Governor signed it on June 18, 2023.

What it changes

What a parental child safety placement is. The law defines it as any temporary out-of-home placement of a child with a caregiver, made by the parent (or other person the child lives with) under a written agreement DFPS approves. It covers placements during a DFPS investigation and while the family is receiving DFPS services. The Senate Research Center's analysis says the bill aims to provide legal counsel for certain parents, limit how long an agreement may keep a child out of the home, and require data reporting.

What the agreement must say. The agreement must spell out the caregiver's duties, including how the caregiver will get the child needed medical care and make sure a school-age child is enrolled in and attending school. It must also say when the parent may see the child, including how often and under what circumstances.

A chance to talk to a lawyer first. Before the parent and the caregiver sign, DFPS must tell each of them about the right to consult an attorney and give them reasonable time to do so. See Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case.

30-day limits. A first agreement ends automatically on the 30th day after it is signed or the child is placed, whichever comes first. For good cause, DFPS may make no more than two more agreements, and each one ends 30 days after it is signed. Each time, DFPS must review the terms and tell the parents they may refuse. It must also tell them they can have a lawyer, or a court-appointed lawyer if they are indigent (cannot afford one) and DFPS later asks a court to order services.

A 90-day cap. A child may not be kept out of the home under these agreements for more than 90 calendar days unless the parent and the parent's attorney both sign the agreement, or a court makes an order about the placement in a removal case.

Required wording. Every agreement must include a printed statement that begins: "THIS AGREEMENT IS ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY. THE AGREEMENT MAY NOT LAST LONGER THAN 30 DAYS."

Public data. DFPS must publish a monthly report on these agreements. It includes how many children were placed, how long placements lasted, and what percentage of children later went into DFPS managing conservatorship (state legal custody). DFPS must also count these children in its reports on children removed from their homes, listed separately from court-ordered removals. It must also report how often courts order services under Tex. Fam. Code §264.203 for families of children in these placements.

Timing. The new agreement rules apply only to agreements signed on or after September 1, 2023. HB 730, passed the same session, contains the same placement limits.

Which laws it affects

• Family Code §264.901(2): the definition of parental child safety placement.
• Family Code §264.902: what an agreement must contain, the attorney notice, and the 30-day and 90-day limits.
• Family Code §264.907 (new): counting these children in removal reports.
• Family Code §264.017(f) (new): the monthly report.
• Family Code §264.2032 (new): reporting court-ordered services for families of children in these placements. It relates to Tex. Fam. Code §264.203.

Related

• Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) in Texas: What Families Should Know
• The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
• Your Rights When Texas CPS Contacts You (Family Code §261.307)
• Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case
• Texas HB 730 (2023): Rights Notices, Investigation Limits and Safety Placements: the companion 2023 law with the same placement limits
• Texas HB 3390 (2019): Finding Relatives and Family Friends to Care for a Child: the 2019 law on identifying relatives and other caregivers