Title HR, Human Resources Code

Sec. 42.0427. PARENTAL VISITATION. All areas of a licensed facility must be accessible to a parent of a child who is receiving care at the facility if the parent visits the child during the facility's hours of operation. Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1022, Sec. 25, eff. Sept…

Sec. 42.04271. RIGHTS OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN WITH CHILD IN CERTAIN CHILD-CARE FACILITIES. (a) This section applies only to a day-care center, group day-care home, before-school program, after-school program, school-age program, or registered family home. (b) A parent or guardian o…

Sec. 42.0428. POLICIES ADDRESSING SEXUAL ABUSE AND OTHER MALTREATMENT OF CHILDREN. (a) Each child-placing agency or day-care center shall adopt and implement a policy addressing sexual abuse and other maltreatment of children. (b) A policy required by this section must address: (…

Sec. 42.0429. SAFE SLEEPING STANDARDS. (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall establish safe sleeping standards for licensed facilities and registered family homes. Each licensed facility and registered family home shall comply with the safe sleeping standards. (b) If the c…

Sec. 42.04291. SUPERVISION STANDARDS FOR INFANT DURING TIME SPENT ON STOMACH. The executive commissioner by rule shall establish standards for the visual and auditory supervision of an infant engaged in time on the infant's stomach while awake. Each group day-care home and listed…

Sec. 42.043. RULES FOR IMMUNIZATIONS. (a) The executive commissioner shall adopt rules for the immunization of children in facilities regulated under this chapter. (b) The department shall require that each child at an appropriate age be immunized against diphtheria, tetanus, pol…

Sec. 42.04305. VACCINE-PREVENTABLE DISEASE POLICY REQUIRED. (a) In this section: (1) "Facility employee" means an employee of a child-care facility. (2) "Vaccine-preventable diseases" means the diseases included in the most current recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Imm…

Sec. 42.0431. ENFORCEMENT OF SCREENING REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO VISION, HEARING, AND OTHER SPECIAL SENSES AND COMMUNICATION DISORDERS. (a) The executive commissioner, after consultation with the Department of State Health Services, shall adopt rules necessary to ensure that child…

Sec. 42.0432. HEALTH SCREENING REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD PLACED WITH CHILD-PLACING AGENCY. (a) A child-placing agency or general residential operation that contracts with the department to provide services must ensure that the children that are in the managing conservatorship of the…

Sec. 42.0433. SUICIDE PREVENTION, INTERVENTION, AND POSTVENTION PLAN. (a) In this section, "postvention" has the meaning assigned by Section 38.351, Education Code. (b) The executive commissioner by rule shall adopt a model suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention policy…

Sec. 42.044. INSPECTIONS. (a) An authorized representative of the commission may visit a facility regulated under this chapter or a registered or listed family home during operating hours to investigate, inspect, and evaluate. (b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-3), the depar…

Sec. 42.0441. INSPECTION RESULTS FOR CERTAIN NONRESIDENTIAL CHILD-CARE FACILITIES. Immediately after completing a monitoring inspection of a licensed day-care center, licensed group day-care home, or registered family home under Section 42.044, the authorized representative of th…

Sec. 42.04411. INSPECTION RESULTS AND EXIT CONFERENCE FOR RESIDENTIAL CHILD-CARE FACILITIES. (a) On completion of an inspection of a residential child-care facility under Section 42.044, the inspector shall hold an exit conference with a representative of the inspected facility. …

Sec. 42.04412. INTERFERENCE WITH INSPECTION; COURT ORDER. (a) A person may not interfere with an investigation or inspection of a facility or family home conducted by the department under this chapter. (b) During an investigation or inspection of a facility or family home under t…

Sec. 42.0442. COORDINATION OF INSPECTIONS; ELIMINATION OF DUPLICATIVE INSPECTIONS. (a) The department shall coordinate monitoring inspections of licensed day-care centers, licensed group day-care homes, and registered family homes performed by another state agency to eliminate re…

Sec. 42.04425. INSPECTION INFORMATION DATABASE. (a) If feasible using available information systems, the commission shall establish a computerized database containing relevant inspection information on all licensed facilities and registered family homes obtained from other state …

Sec. 42.0443. COORDINATION OF FIRE SAFETY AND SANITATION INSPECTIONS. (a) The department may not inspect a licensed day-care center, licensed group day-care home, or registered family home for compliance with the department's fire safety or sanitation standards if the facility, a…

Sec. 42.04431. ENFORCEMENT OF STATE LAW BY COUNTY OR MUNICIPALITY. (a) A municipality or a county may enforce state law and rules adopted under state law concerning fire safety standards at a licensed group day-care home or a registered family home. (b) A municipality or county s…

Sec. 42.0445. REQUIRED BACKGROUND SEARCH OF CENTRAL REGISTRY OF REPORTED CASES OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT. (a) Before the department issues a license, listing, registration, or certification under this subchapter, the department shall search the central registry of reported cases …

Sec. 42.0446. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN INVESTIGATION INFORMATION FROM INTERNET WEBSITE. The executive commissioner shall adopt rules providing a procedure by which the commission removes from the commission's Internet website information on a child-care facility or registered or listed…

Sec. 42.0447. FALSE REPORT; CRIMINAL PENALTY. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally files a complaint alleging that a child-care facility or registered or listed family home failed to comply with the commission's minimum standards and the person…

Sec. 42.0448. NOTIFICATION OF FAMILY VIOLENCE CALLS. The department shall notify a child-placing agency or a continuum-of-care residential operation that includes a child-placing agency of each family violence report the department receives under Article 5A.009, Code of Criminal …

Sec. 42.0449. REQUIRED ACTIONS AFTER NOTICE OF FAMILY VIOLENCE CALL. The executive commissioner shall adopt rules specifying the actions that the department, a child-placing agency, and a continuum-of-care residential operation that includes a child-placing agency shall take afte…

Sec. 42.045. RECORDS. (a) A person who operates a licensed or certified facility shall maintain individual child development records, individual health records, statistical records, and complete financial records. (b) A person who provides adoption services under a license to ope…

Sec. 42.0451. DATABASE OF AGENCY FOSTER HOMES; INFORMATION PROVIDED TO DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY. (a) The department shall maintain a database of agency foster homes including the current address for each agency foster home as reported to the department. The database must be up…

Sec. 42.0452. FOSTER PARENT RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT. (a) The department shall develop a statement that lists the rights and responsibilities of a foster parent in an agency foster home and a child-placing agency, as applicable. (b) The department shall provide a wri…

Sec. 42.046. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE, LISTING, OR REGISTRATION. (a) An applicant for a license to operate a child-care facility, child-placing agency, or continuum-of-care residential operation or for a listing or registration to operate a family home shall submit to the commissi…

Sec. 42.0461. PUBLIC NOTICE AND HEARING: RESIDENTIAL CHILD CARE. (a) Before the commission may issue a license or certificate for the operation or the expansion of the capacity of a general residential operation, a cottage home operation, or a continuum-of-care residential operat…

Sec. 42.0462. WAIVER OF NOTICE AND HEARING REQUIREMENTS. (a) Subject to Subsection (b), to protect the safety and well-being of residents and employees of a general residential operation that provides comprehensive residential services to children who are victims of trafficking, …

Sec. 42.0463. EXPANSION OF CAPACITY. (a) Notwithstanding the limitations established by Section 42.002, the department may: (1) develop, by rule, criteria to determine when it may be appropriate to exclude children who are related to a caretaker in determining a residential child…

Sec. 42.047. CONSULTATIONS. (a) The department shall offer consultation to potential applicants, applicants, and license, listing, registration, and certification holders about meeting and maintaining standards for licensing, listing, registration, and certification and achieving…

Sec. 42.048. LICENSING. (a) The commission shall issue a license after determining that an applicant has satisfied all requirements. (a-1) The commission shall associate a license issued under this chapter for a group day-care home with the applicant's name as stated in the appli…

Sec. 42.049. LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIRED. (a) A license or registration holder under this chapter shall maintain liability insurance coverage in the amount of $100,000 for each occurrence of negligence. An insurance policy or contract required under this section must cover injur…

Sec. 42.0495. LIABILITY INSURANCE REQUIRED FOR LISTED FAMILY HOMES. (a) A listed family home shall maintain liability insurance coverage in the amount of $100,000 for each occurrence of negligence. An insurance policy or contract required under this section must cover injury to a…

Sec. 42.050. LICENSE RENEWAL. (a) A license holder may apply for renewal of a license in compliance with the requirements of this chapter and commission rules. (b) The application for renewal of a license must be completed and decided on by the commission before the expiration of…

Sec. 42.051. INITIAL LICENSE. (a) The department shall issue an initial license when a facility's plans meet the department's licensing requirements and one of the following situations exists: (1) the facility is not currently operating; (2) the facility has relocated and has mad…

Sec. 42.052. CERTIFICATION, LISTING, AND REGISTRATION. (a) A state-operated child-care facility or child-placing agency must receive certification of approval from the commission. The certification of approval remains valid until the certification expires, is revoked, or is surre…

Sec. 42.0521. DEPOSIT OF FEES. The fees authorized by this chapter and received by the department shall be deposited in the general revenue fund. Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 239, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.

Sec. 42.0522. PUBLIC ADVERTISING OF FAMILY HOMES. (a) A family home may not place a public advertisement that uses the title "registered family home" or any variation of that phrase unless the home is registered under this chapter. Any public advertisement for a registered family…

Sec. 42.0523. LISTING OF RELATIVE CHILD-CARE PROVIDERS. (a) A child-care provider who only provides child care under Chapter 313, Labor Code, to children related to the provider may list the provider's home as a family home. (b) Before the department may list a child-care provide…

Sec. 42.053. AGENCY FOSTER HOMES. (a) An agency foster home is considered part of the child-placing agency that operates the agency foster home for purposes of licensing. (b) The operator of a licensed agency shall display a copy of the license in a prominent place in the agency …

Sec. 42.0531. SECURE AGENCY FOSTER HOMES. (a) The commissioners court of a county or governing body of a municipality may contract with a child-placing agency to verify a secure agency foster home to provide a safe and therapeutic environment tailored to the needs of children who…

Sec. 42.0535. REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR VERIFICATION. (a) A child-placing agency that seeks to verify an agency foster home shall request background information about the agency foster home from a child-placing agency that has previously verified the home as an agency foster home …

Sec. 42.0536. TRANSFER OF AGENCY FOSTER HOME. (a) An agency foster home that is verified by a child-placing agency may transfer to another child-placing agency only if, before the date of the transfer, the agency foster home notifies the child-placing agency to which the agency f…

Sec. 42.0537. CAREGIVER TRAINING REQUIREMENT. (a) The department and each single source continuum contractor shall include a provision in each contract with a child-placing agency with whom children in the managing conservatorship of the department are placed that requires the ch…

Sec. 42.0538. PROVISIONAL LICENSE FOR KINSHIP PROVIDER. (a) The executive commissioner by rule shall allow a child-placing agency to issue a provisional license for a kinship provider, as defined by Section 264.851, Family Code, who meets the basic safety requirements provided by…