| (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.
|
