37 Tex. Admin. Code § 380.8705 - Family Involvement

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to establish the amount and type of involvement the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) encourages and seeks with the families of TJJD youth.

(b) Parent Notifications.

(1) Parents or guardians of youth younger than 18 shall be provided the following information without regard to the youth's consent:

(A) written notification of the youth's placement;

(B) the name of the youth's case manager;

(C) instructions for contacting the youth's case manager;

(D) rights and rules about visitation, mail, and telephone;

(E) rules about personal property;

(F) rules about sending money to the youth; and

(G) copies of the Individual Case Plan (ICP).

(2) Youth 18 and older must give written consent for information to be disclosed to a parent or guardian, with the following exceptions:

(A) Pursuant to federal law 20 USCA 1232g, educational information may be shared with a parent or guardian whose child is a dependent student as defined in section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

(B) Pursuant to federal law 20 USCA(m)(1)(A), if a youth is in a residential placement other than a high restriction facility, any notices required under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B, including Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) committee meetings and scheduled evaluations will be provided to the parent or guardian.

(3) Written information sent to parents or guardians who are non-English speaking is translated into Spanish or accompanied by a letter stating that TJJD will translate the information into the spoken language at the request of the parent or guardian.

(c) Communication.

(1) In the course of the communication described below, the youth's case manager must not disclose any information for which a youth 18 or older has withheld consent.

(2) The youth's case manager:

(A) seeks input from the family for the youth's ICP;

(B) encourages families to communicate concerns to facility administrators and/or the case manager;

(C) encourages families to visit their child in any program and prepare for the youth's return home;

(D) whenever possible, counsels parents or guardians in preparation for the youth's return home;

(E) encourages youth to communicate with families by letter and/or telephone; and

(F) refers families to other agencies that provide services needed by the families.

(d) Visitation. Youth are allowed to have visitation subject to the safe and secure operations of the program. See § 380.9312 of this title for more information on visitation.

Notes

37 Tex. Admin. Code § 380.8705

The provisions of this §380.8705 adopted to be effective December 31, 1996, 21 TexReg 11961; amended to be effective August 28, 1998, 23 TexReg 8185; amended to be effective December 15, 2003, 28 TexReg 11100; amended to be effective July 27, 2004, 29 TexReg 7144; transferred effective June 4, 2012, as published in the Texas Register June 22, 2012, 37 TexReg 4639; amended by Texas Register, Volume 39, Number 47, November 21, 2014, TexReg 9259, eff. 12/1/2014