89R9107 DNC-D
	By: Hall	S.B. No. 1693

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the reporting of child abuse or neglect.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 104.007(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  In this section, "professional" has the meaning
	assigned by Section 261.101(a) [261.101(b)].
	SECTION 2.  Section 261.101, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 261.101.  PROFESSIONALS [PERSONS] REQUIRED TO REPORT;
	TIME TO REPORT. (a) In this section, "professional" means an
	individual who is licensed or certified by the state or who is an
	employee of a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the
	state and who, in the normal course of official duties or duties for
	which a license or certification is required, has direct contact
	with children. The term includes teachers, nurses, doctors,
	day-care employees, employees of a clinic or health care facility
	that provides reproductive services, juvenile probation officers,
	and juvenile detention or correctional officers [A person having
	reasonable cause to believe that a child's physical or mental
	health or welfare has been adversely affected by abuse or neglect by
	any person shall immediately make a report as provided by this
	subchapter].
	(b)  Except as provided by Section 261.1031, [If] a
	professional shall make a report as provided by this subchapter if
	the professional has reasonable cause to believe that a child has
	been abused or neglected or may be abused or neglected not later
	than the 48th hour after the hour the professional first has
	reasonable cause to believe that the child has been or may be abused
	or neglected[, or that a child is a victim of an offense under
	Section 21.11, Penal Code, and the professional has reasonable
	cause to believe that the child has been abused as defined by
	Section 261.001, the professional shall make a report not later
	than the 48th hour after the hour the professional first has
	reasonable cause to believe that the child has been or may be abused
	or neglected or is a victim of an offense under Section 21.11, Penal
	Code].
	(b-1)  A professional may [not] delegate to or rely on
	another person to make the report required by this section only if
	multiple professionals would be responsible for a report arising
	from the same incident or occurrence and a delegated professional
	makes the report on behalf of and includes the contact information
	for the other professionals. [In this subsection, "professional"
	means an individual who is licensed or certified by the state or who
	is an employee of a facility licensed, certified, or operated by the
	state and who, in the normal course of official duties or duties for
	which a license or certification is required, has direct contact
	with children. The term includes teachers, nurses, doctors,
	day-care employees, employees of a clinic or health care facility
	that provides reproductive services, juvenile probation officers,
	and juvenile detention or correctional officers.]
	(b-2) [(b-1)]  In addition to the duty to make a report under
	Subsection [(a) or] (b), a [person or] professional shall make a
	report in the manner required by Subsection [(a) or] (b)[, as
	applicable,] if the [person or] professional has reasonable cause
	to believe that an adult was a victim of abuse or neglect as a child
	and the [person or] professional determines in good faith that
	disclosure of the information is necessary to protect the health
	and safety of:
	(1)  another child; or
	(2)  an elderly person or person with a disability as
	defined by Section 48.002, Human Resources Code.
	(c)  The requirement to report under this section applies
	without exception to a professional [an individual] whose personal
	communications may otherwise be privileged, including an attorney,
	a member of the clergy, a medical practitioner, a social worker, a
	mental health professional, an employee or member of a board that
	licenses or certifies a professional, and an employee of a clinic or
	health care facility that provides reproductive services.
	(d)  Unless waived in writing by the professional [person]
	making the report, the identity of a professional [an individual]
	making a report under this chapter is confidential and may be
	disclosed only:
	(1)  as provided by Section 261.201; or
	(2)  to a law enforcement officer for the purposes of
	conducting a criminal investigation of the report.
	SECTION 3.  Subchapter B, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
	amended by adding Section 261.1011 to read as follows:
	Sec. 261.1011.  OTHER REPORTS OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT. (a) A
	person who is not a professional as defined by Section 261.101:
	(1)  shall make a report as provided by this subchapter
	not later than the 48th hour after the person witnesses the sexual
	abuse, sexual assault, or physical abuse of a child by any person;
	and
	(2)  may make a report as provided by this subchapter if
	the person has reasonable cause to believe that a child's physical
	or mental health or welfare has been adversely affected by abuse or
	neglect by any person.
	(b)  The identity of a person making a report under this
	section is confidential and may be disclosed only:
	(1)  as provided by Section 261.201;
	(2)  to a law enforcement officer for the purposes of
	conducting a criminal investigation of the report; or
	(3)  if the person authorizes the disclosure in
	writing.
	SECTION 4.  Section 261.103(a), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(a)  Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c) and
	Sections 261.1031 and [Section] 261.405, a report shall be made to:
	(1)  any local or state law enforcement agency;
	(2)  the department; or
	(3)  the state agency that operates, licenses,
	certifies, or registers the facility in which the alleged abuse or
	neglect occurred.
	SECTION 5.  Subchapter B, Chapter 261, Family Code, is
	amended by adding Section 261.1031 to read as follows:
	Sec. 261.1031.  REFERRAL TO COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION OR
	FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES PROVIDER. (a) Except as provided by
	Subsection (d), a professional required to make a report under
	Section 261.101(b) may refer the family to a community-based
	prevention or family preservation services provider instead of the
	entities listed under Section 261.103(a).
	(b)  A professional who makes a referral under this section
	shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the family who is the
	subject of the referral is connected with an appropriate
	community-based prevention or family preservation services
	provider.
	(c)  A community-based prevention or family preservation
	services provider that receives a referral under Subsection (a)
	shall make reasonable efforts to provide appropriate resources or
	referrals to enhance the parents' ability to provide a safe and
	stable home environment for a child who is the subject of the
	referral.
	(d)  This section does not apply to cases in which a
	professional has reasonable cause to believe that a child has been
	or may be subjected to aggravated circumstances as described by
	Section 262.2015.
	(e)  Nothing in this section may be construed to require a
	community-based prevention or family preservation services
	provider to provide services that the provider does not have the
	resources, including funding, to provide.
	SECTION 6.  Sections 261.104(b) and (c), Family Code, are
	amended to read as follows:
	(b)  If the individual making a report of child abuse or
	neglect uses the toll-free telephone number the department operates
	for reporting child abuse or neglect and the individual is
	unwilling to provide the information described by Subsection
	(a)(4), the department representative receiving the report shall
	notify the individual that:
	(1)  the individual is required to provide the
	individual's name and contact information to the department [is not
	authorized to accept an anonymous report of abuse or neglect];
	(2)  the individual may report the abuse or neglect by
	making a report to any local or state law enforcement agency; and
	(3)  the identity of an individual making a report
	under this subchapter is confidential and may be disclosed only:
	(A)  as provided by Section 261.1011(b) or
	261.201; or
	(B)  to a law enforcement officer for the purposes
	of conducting a criminal investigation of the report.
	(c)  The department representative or other person receiving
	a report of child abuse or neglect shall make reasonable efforts
	[use the person's best efforts] to obtain the information described
	by Subsection (a). If the department is unable to obtain the
	reporting individual's name and contact information, the
	department may investigate the report as provided by Section
	261.304.
	SECTION 7.  Section 261.109, Family Code, is amended to read
	as follows:
	Sec. 261.109.  FAILURE TO REPORT; PENALTY. (a) A person who
	is a professional as defined by Section 261.101(a) commits an
	offense if the person is required to make a report under Section
	261.101(b) [261.101(a)] and knowingly fails to make a report as
	provided in this chapter.
	(a-1)  A person who is a professional as defined by Section
	261.101(a) who [261.101(b) commits an offense if the person] is
	required to make a report under Section 261.101(b) does not commit
	an offense if the person refers the child's family to an appropriate
	community-based prevention or family preservation services
	provider as provided by Section 261.1031 instead of making the
	required [and knowingly fails to make a] report [as provided in this
	chapter].
	(b)  An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class A
	misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is
	shown on the trial of the offense that:
	(1)  the child was a person with an intellectual
	disability who resided in a state supported living center, the
	ICF-IID component of the Rio Grande State Center, or a facility
	licensed under Chapter 252, Health and Safety Code, and the actor
	knew that the child had suffered serious bodily injury as a result
	of the abuse or neglect; or
	(2)  [.
	[(c)  An offense under Subsection (a-1) is a Class A
	misdemeanor, except that the offense is a state jail felony if it is
	shown on the trial of the offense that] the actor intended to
	conceal the abuse or neglect.
	SECTION 8.  Section 261.110(a)(2), Family Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(2)  "Professional" has the meaning assigned by Section
	261.101(a) [261.101(b)].
	SECTION 9.  Section 261.201(b-1), Family Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b-1)  On a motion of one of the parties in a contested case
	before an administrative law judge relating to the license or
	certification of a professional, as defined by Section 261.101(a)
	[261.101(b)], or an educator, as defined by Section 5.001,
	Education Code, the administrative law judge may order the
	disclosure of information that is confidential under this section
	that relates to the matter before the administrative law judge
	after a hearing for which notice is provided as required by
	Subsection (b)(2) and making the review and determination required
	by Subsection (b)(3). Before the department may release
	information under this subsection, the department must edit the
	information to protect the confidentiality of the identity of any
	person who makes a report of abuse or neglect.
	SECTION 10.  The changes in law made by this Act apply only
	to a report of suspected abuse or neglect of a child that is made on
	or after the effective date of this Act. A report of suspected
	abuse or neglect that is made before that date is governed by the
	law in effect on the date the report was made, and that law is
	continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 11.  This Act takes effect immediately if it
	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.