| (a) Neglect is defined in Texas Family Code (TFC) §261.001(4)
as an act or failure to act by a person responsible for a child's
care, custody, or welfare evidencing the person's blatant disregard
for the consequences of the act or failure to act that results in
harm to the child or that creates an immediate danger to the child's
physical health or safety. Neglectful supervision is a subset of the
statutory definition of neglect and involves the following acts or
omissions by a person:
(1) Placing a child in or failing to remove a child
from a situation that a reasonable person would realize requires judgment
or actions beyond the child's level of maturity, physical condition,
or mental abilities and that results in bodily injury or an immediate
of harm to the child;
(2) Placing a child in or failing to remove the child
from a situation in which the child would be exposed to an immediate
danger of sexual conduct harmful to the child; or
(3) Placing a child in or failing to remove the child
from a situation in which the child would be exposed to acts or omissions
that constitute abuse under TFC §261.001(1)(E), (F), (G), (H),
or (K) committed against another child.
(b) Neglectful supervision as defined in paragraph
(1) of subsection (a) excludes the following:
(1) An accident.
(2) Pursuant to TFC §261.001(4)(B), allowing the
child to engage in independent activities that are appropriate and
typical for the child's level of maturity, physical condition, developmental
abilities or culture.
(c) For purposes of evaluating an allegation of "neglectful
supervision", we will consider the following factors when assessing
immediate danger:
(1) The child's age;
(2) Any arrangements the parents made to ensure the
child's safety;
(3) The child's physical condition, psychological functioning,
and level of maturity;
(4) Any intellectual, physical, or medical disability
the child has;
(5) Any previous history or patterns of abuse or neglect;
(6) The frequency and duration of similar incidents;
and
(7) The overall safety of the child's environment.
(d) In the case of prenatal use of alcohol or a controlled
substance that was not lawfully prescribed by a medical practitioner,
was lawfully prescribed as a result of the mother seeking out multiple
health care providers as a means of exceeding ordinary dosages, or
was not being used in accordance with a lawfully issued prescription,
the mother is responsible for neglectful supervision under paragraph
(1) of subsection (a) if:
(1) The mother knew or reasonably should have known
she was pregnant; and
(2) It appears that the mother's use endangered the
physical and emotional well-being of the infant. It is not necessary
that the infant actually suffers from an injury.
(A) For the limited purpose of this subsection, "endangered"
means that the mother's prenatal use exposed the infant to loss or
injury or jeopardized the infant's emotional or physical health.
(B) "Endangered" includes but is not limited to a consideration
of the following factors: evidence the mother extensively used alcohol
or regularly or extensively used a controlled substance over the course
of the pregnancy or in close proximity to the child's expected birth
date, evidence that the mother has an alcohol or drug addiction, or
evidence that the infant was in immediate danger of harm from the
mother's use of alcohol or a controlled substance.
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