Section 341.202 - Policies and Procedures(a) Personnel Policies. The juvenile board must establish written personnel policies.(b) Department Policies. The juvenile board must establish written department policies and procedures. These policies and procedures must address the following topics if they apply. (1) Deferred Prosecution. (A) If the juvenile board adopts a fee schedule for the collection of deferred prosecution fees, the board must establish a written policy that includes the following requirements. (i) The monthly fee must be determined after obtaining a financial statement from the parent or guardian and may not exceed the maximum set by Family Code § 53.03.(ii) The fee schedule must be based on total parent/guardian income.(iii) The chief administrative officer or his/her designee must approve in writing the fee assessed for each child, including any waiver of deferred prosecution fees.(B) A deferred prosecution fee may not be imposed if the juvenile board does not adopt a fee schedule and rules for waiver of the deferred prosecution fee.(2) Volunteers and Interns. If a juvenile probation department uses volunteers or interns, the juvenile board must establish policies for the volunteer and/or internship program that include:(A) a description of the scope, responsibilities, and limited authority of volunteers and interns who work with the department;(B) selection and termination criteria, including disqualification based on specified criminal history;(C) a requirement to conduct criminal history searches as described in Chapter 344 of this title for volunteers and interns who will have direct, unsupervised access to juveniles;(D) a prohibition on having unsupervised contact with juveniles for volunteers and interns whose criminal history does not meet the requirements in Chapter 344 of this title;(E) the orientation and training requirements, including training on recognizing and reporting abuse, neglect, and exploitation;(F) a requirement that volunteers and interns meet minimum professional requirements if serving in a professional capacity; and(G) a requirement to maintain a sign-in log that documents the name of the volunteer or intern, the purpose of the visit, the date of the service, and the beginning and ending time of the service performed for the department.(3) Zero-Tolerance for Sexual Abuse. The juvenile board must establish zero-tolerance policies and procedures regarding sexual abuse as defined in Chapter 358 of this title. The policies and procedures must:(A) prohibit sexual abuse of juveniles under the jurisdiction of the department by department staff, volunteers, interns, and contractors;(B) establish the actions department staff must take in response to allegations of sexual abuse and TJJD-confirmed incidents of sexual abuse; and(C) provide for administrative disciplinary sanctions and referral for criminal prosecution.(4) Pretrial Detention for Certain Juveniles. As required by Human Resources Code § 152.0015, the juvenile board must establish a policy that specifies whether a person who has been transferred for criminal prosecution under Family Code § 54.02 and is younger than 17 years of age may be detained in a juvenile facility pending trial.(5) Juveniles Younger Than 12 Years of Age. As required by Human Resources Code § 152.00145, the juvenile board must establish policies that prioritize: (A) the diversion of children younger than 12 years of age from referral to a prosecuting attorney under Family Code Chapter 53; and(B) the limitation of detention of children younger than 12 years of age to circumstances of last resort.(6) Taking Juveniles into Custody. The juvenile board must establish a policy that specifies whether juvenile probation officers may take a juvenile into custody as allowed by Family Code §§ 52.01(a)(4), 52.01(a)(6), or 52.015. (A) If the policy allows juvenile probation officers to take a juvenile into custody, the policy must specify whether the officers are allowed to use force in doing so.(B) If the policy allows juvenile probation officers to use force in taking a juvenile into custody, the policy must: (i) address prohibited conduct, circumstances under which force is authorized, and training requirements;(ii) require each use of force to be documented, except when the only force used is the placement of mechanical restraints on the juvenile.37 Tex. Admin. Code § 341.202
Adopted by Texas Register, Volume 41, Number 30, July 22, 2016, TexReg 5439, eff. 1/1/2017; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 44, Number 07, February 15, 2019, TexReg 713, eff. 4/1/2019