Relating to certain policies and procedures for health care specialty consultations in certain child abuse or neglect investigations and assessments.

Stronger family protections in child abuse investigations

Beginning September 1, 2025, Texas adds protections for families in child abuse or neglect investigations needing specialized medical evaluations. The child welfare department must refer specialty consultations and forensic assessments to Texas-licensed doctors uninvolved in the report or case review. This includes doctors who reviewed the case on a review team or multidisciplinary team. Specialty doctors must also be board certified in a field relevant to diagnosing and treating the conditions being assessed. Practitioners who reported or reviewed the case cannot provide forensic assessments in the resulting investigation, even outside the medical network or system. Before a specialty referral, the department must give parents, guardians, or their lawyer all records used by the department and network, including X-rays, images, and other documents. The medical network and system must use blind peer review when doctors disagree about injury causes or conditions covered by the law. The department must share the information used to resolve the case: doctors’ names and opinions, possible conflicting conditions, all child assessments, and related medical records. The department, referring providers—including hospitals—and network cannot block access to records or the child for second opinions or diagnostic testing. These rules still allow the department to interview reporting or reviewing practitioners and continue its investigation; families retain access to all case medical records and documents when the network is consulted.