A parent must be informed about specified juvenile-court case information after a child is referred to juvenile court.
Sec. 61.102. RIGHT TO BE INFORMED OF PROCEEDING. (a) The parent of a child referred to a juvenile court is entitled as soon as practicable after the referral to be informed by staff designated by the juvenile board, based on the information accompanying the referral to the juvenile court, of: (1) the date and time of the offense; (2) the date and time the child was taken into custody; (3) the name of the offense and its penal category; (4) the type of weapon, if any, that was used; (5) the type of property taken or damaged and the extent of damage, if any; (6) the physical injuries, if any, to the victim of the offense; (7) whether there is reason to believe that the offense was gang-related; (8) whether there is reason to believe that the offense was related to consumption of alcohol or use of an illegal controlled substance; (9) if the child was taken into custody with adults or other juveniles, the names of those persons; (10) the aspects of the juvenile court process that apply to the child; (11) if the child is in detention, the visitation policy of the detention facility that applies to the child; (12) the child's right to be represented by an attorney and the local standards and procedures for determining whether the parent qualifies for appointment of counsel to represent the child; and (13) the methods by which the parent can assist the child with the legal process. (b) If the child was released on field release citation, or from the law enforcement station by the police, by intake, or by the judge or associate judge at the initial detention hearing, the information required by Subsection (a) may be communicated to the parent in person, by telephone, or in writing. (c) If the child is not released before or at the initial detention hearing, the information required by Subsection (a) shall be communicated in person to the parent unless that is not feasible, in which event it may be communicated by telephone or in writing. (d) Information disclosed to a parent under Subsection (a) is not admissible in a judicial proceeding under this title as substantive evidence or as evidence to impeach the testimony of a witness for the state. Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 283, Sec. 28, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.