1. (a) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to provide guidelines according to the Texas Family Code (TFC), chapter 261, Subchapter B, for Texas Youth Commission (TYC) supervisors to report information given to them by TYC staff members or volunteers regarding TYC youth confessing, while in any TYC operated facility or contract care program, to abusing or neglecting a child or children some time in the past when they were not in a TYC operated facility or contract care program.
2. (b) Applicability. This rule does not apply to reporting suspected abuse or neglect of youth in TYC programs. See §93.33 of this title (relating to Alleged Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation).See Chapter 261, Subchapter B, Family Code, for reporting confessions of TYC youth who are released under TYC supervision that they abused or neglected children when they were not in a TYC operated facility or contract care program. Such reports must be made within 48 hours to the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or to a state or local law enforcement agency.

3. (c) Reporting.

   1. (1) A TYC staff member or volunteer who has cause to believe, based on information provided by a youth in a TYC operated facility or contract care program, that the youth is responsible for abusing or neglecting a child or children some time in the past when the youth was not in a TYC operated facility or contract care program, must report that information, not later than the 48 hours after the staff member first receives it, to DFPS, to a state or local law enforcement agency, or to the person's appropriate TYC supervisor.

   2. (2) A report does not need to be made if it is determined from existing documentation that the youth's statement:

      1. (A) has already been referred to DFPS or a law enforcement agency by an agency supervisor and the new report includes no new information;
      2. (B) relates only to conduct that resulted in the youth's commitment to TYC; or
      3. (C) relates only to conduct that resulted in a previous juvenile court adjudication, deferred prosecution or disposition without referral to court.

4. (d) Referral of Report for Investigation.

   1. (1) If the victim in a report made pursuant to subsection (c) is a member of the youth's same household, the appropriate TYC supervisor receiving the report shall refer it immediately to DFPS or to the appropriate state or local law enforcement agency for investigation if:

      1. (A) the report is of injuries inflicted at any time that required prompt medical attention or hospitalization and that endangered the alleged victim's life or could have caused permanent functional impairment or disfigurement; or
      2. (B) the report is of oral, anal, or genital intercourse that occurred at any time.

   2. (2) If the victim in a report made pursuant to subsection (c) is not a member of the youth's same household and the youth is considered a high risk, the appropriate TYC supervisor receiving the report shall refer it immediately to DFPS or to the appropriate state or local law enforcement agency for investigation if:

      1. (A) the report is of injuries inflicted within the previous twelve months that required prompt medical attention or hospitalization and that endangered the alleged victim's life or could have caused permanent functional impairment or disfigurement; or
      2. (B) the report is of oral, anal, or genital intercourse that occurred within the previous twelve months and that was without consent under the law.
   3. (3) For the purposes of this subsection, a youth is considered a high risk if the report made pursuant to subsection (c), considered in the context of the TYC youth's current circumstances, presents a real and significant likelihood that the alleged victim (if the alleged victim is still a child at the time of the report) will be abused or neglected by the TYC youth in the foreseeable future.
5. (e) Content of Referred Report. A report referred to DFPS or to an appropriate state or local law enforcement agency pursuant to subsection (d) shall include the most accurate and detailed information possible at the time the report is made. Whenever possible, a first-hand account should be provided directly by the person to whom the youth confessed.

Source Note:The provisions of this §385.8134 adopted to be effective January 31, 2001, 26 TexReg 762; amended to be effective July 31, 2001, 26 TexReg 4875; amended to be effective May 18, 2004, 29 TexReg 4890; transferred effective June 4, 2012, as published in the Texas Register June 22, 2012, 37 TexReg 4639.