The department must create and mail a parent's bill of rights, send quarterly progress reports, make the written information easy to understand, and give DFPS the same rights as a parent when it is managing conservator.
Sec. 244.052. RIGHTS OF PARENTS. (a) The department, in consultation with advocacy and support groups such as those described in Section 242.056(a), shall develop a parent's bill of rights for distribution to the parent or guardian of a child who is under 18 years of age and committed to the department. The parent's bill of rights must include: (1) a description of the department's grievance policies and procedures, including contact information for the office of inspector general and the office of the independent ombudsman established under Chapter 261; (2) a list of possible incidents that require parental notification; (3) policies concerning visits and telephone conversations with a child committed to the department; (4) a description of department caseworker responsibilities; (5) a statement that the department caseworker assigned to a child may assist the child's parent or guardian in obtaining information and services from the department and other resources concerning: (A) counseling, including substance abuse and mental health counseling; (B) assistance programs, including financial and travel assistance programs for visiting a child committed to the department; (C) workforce preparedness programs; (D) parenting programs; and (E) department seminars; and (6) information concerning the indeterminate sentencing structure at the department, an explanation of reasons that a child's commitment at the department could be extended, and an explanation of the review process under Sections 245.101 and 245.104 for a child committed to the department without a determinate sentence. (b) Not later than 48 hours after the time a child is admitted to a department facility, the department shall mail to the child's parent or guardian at the last known address of the parent or guardian: (1) the parent's bill of rights; and (2) the contact information of the department caseworker assigned to the child. (c) The department shall on a quarterly basis provide to the parent, guardian, or designated advocate of a child who is in the custody of the department a report concerning the progress of the child at the department, including: (1) the academic and behavioral progress of the child; and (2) the results of any reexamination of the child conducted under Section 244.002. (d) The department shall ensure that written information provided to a parent or guardian regarding the rights of a child in the custody of the department or the rights of a child's parent or guardian, including the parent's bill of rights, is clear and easy to understand. (e) The department shall ensure that if the Department of Family and Protective Services has been appointed managing conservator of a child, the Department of Family and Protective Services is given the same rights as the child's parent under the parent's bill of rights developed under this section. Transferred, redesignated and amended from Human Resources Code, Subchapter E, Chapter 61 by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 85 (S.B. 653), Sec. 1.007, eff. September 1, 2011.