This section requires parental child safety placement agreements to include specific terms, written acknowledgments, signatures, copies to the parties, attorney-consultation notice, and time limits on placement.
Sec. 264.902. PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENT AGREEMENT. (a) A parental child safety placement agreement must include terms that clearly state: (1) the respective duties of the person making the placement and the caregiver, including a plan for how the caregiver will access necessary medical treatment for the child and the caregiver's duty to ensure that a school-age child is enrolled in and attending school; (2) conditions under which the person placing the child may have access to the child, including how often the person may visit and the circumstances under which the person's visit may occur; (3) the duties of the department; (4) subject to Subsection (f), the date on which the agreement will terminate unless terminated sooner or extended to a subsequent date as provided under department policy; and (5) any other term the department determines necessary for the safety and welfare of the child. (a-1) For a school-age child, a parental child safety placement agreement must include a letter provided by the department that contains the address of the child's residence during the parental child safety placement and the following language: "THIS LETTER SERVES AS PROOF OF RESIDENCE FOR PURPOSES OF THE ENROLLMENT OF THE ABOVE-NAMED CHILD OR CHILDREN IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL IN THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OR GEOGRAPHIC AREA IN WHICH THE CHILD OR CHILDREN RESIDE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 25.001(C-3), EDUCATION CODE." (b) A parental child safety placement agreement must contain the following statement in boldface type and capital letters: "YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE PARENTAL CHILD SAFETY PLACEMENT IS NOT AN ADMISSION OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT ON YOUR PART AND CANNOT BE USED AGAINST YOU AS AN ADMISSION OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT." (c) A parental child safety placement agreement must be in writing and signed by the person making the placement and the caregiver. (d) The department must provide a written copy of the parental child safety placement agreement to the person making the placement and the caregiver. (e) Before a parent or other person making a parental child safety placement and the caregiver enter into a parental child safety placement agreement, the department shall notify each person of the person's right to consult with an attorney and provide the person with a reasonable time in which to do so. (f) An initial parental child safety placement agreement automatically terminates on the earlier of the 30th day after the date: (1) the agreement is signed; or (2) the child is placed with the caregiver. (g) On the expiration of a parental child safety placement agreement, the department may for good cause enter into not more than two additional parental child safety placement agreements for the child. On entering an additional parental child safety placement agreement under this subsection, the department shall: (1) reevaluate the terms and conditions of the original agreement; and (2) notify the parents of their right to: (A) refuse to enter into the agreement; and (B) be represented by an attorney or a court-appointed attorney if: (i) the parent is indigent; and (ii) the department subsequently seeks a court order to require the parents to participate in services. (h) An additional parental child safety placement agreement described by Subsection (g) automatically terminates on the 30th day after the date the agreement is signed. (i) Notwithstanding Subsections (g) and (h), the department may not place a child outside of the child's home under a parental child safety placement for longer than 90 calendar days unless the parental child safety placement agreement is signed by both the parent and the parent's attorney or a court otherwise renders an order regarding the placement under Chapter 262. This subsection may not be construed to affect the duration of an agreement between the department and the parent other than a parental child safety placement agreement. (j) A parental child safety placement agreement must include the following language: "THIS AGREEMENT IS ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY. THE AGREEMENT MAY NOT LAST LONGER THAN 30 DAYS. THE AGREEMENT MAY BE RENEWED NOT MORE THAN TWO TIMES AND FOR NOT MORE THAN 30 DAYS EACH TIME. A CHILD MAY NOT BE PLACED OUTSIDE OF THE CHILD'S HOME FOR LONGER THAN A TOTAL OF 90 CALENDAR DAYS WITHOUT A SIGNED AGREEMENT BY THE CHILD'S PARENT AND THE PARENT'S ATTORNEY OR A COURT ORDER RENDERED UNDER CHAPTER 262." Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1071 (S.B. 993), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011. Amended by: Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 391 (H.B. 730), Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1078 (S.B. 614), Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2023. Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 966 (S.B. 226), Sec. 2, eff. June 20, 2025.