CHAPTER 142. JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENTS AND PERSONNEL
HUMAN RESOURCES CODE
TITLE 10. JUVENILE BOARDS, JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENTS, AND
FAMILY SERVICES OFFICES
SUBTITLE A. JUVENILE PROBATION SERVICES
CHAPTER 142. JUVENILE PROBATION DEPARTMENTS AND PERSONNEL
Sec. 142.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "juvenile probation
services" means:
(1) services provided by or under the direction of a juvenile
probation officer in response to an order issued by a juvenile
court and under the court's direction, including:
(A) protective services;
(B) prevention of delinquent conduct and conduct indicating a
need for supervision;
(C) diversion;
(D) deferred prosecution;
(E) foster care;
(F) counseling;
(G) supervision; and
(H) diagnostic, correctional, and educational services; and
(2) services provided by a juvenile probation department that
are related to the operation of a preadjudication or
post-adjudication juvenile facility.
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 352, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1989. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1394, Sec. 7, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 142.002. APPOINTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND SALARY. (a) A
juvenile board may, with the advice and consent of the
commissioners court, employ probation officers and
administrative, supervisory, stenographic, and other clerical
personnel necessary to provide juvenile probation services
according to the standards established by the Texas Juvenile
Probation Commission and the local need as determined by the
juvenile board.
(b) The juvenile board may, with the advice and consent of the
commissioners court, designate the titles of the employees and
set their salaries.
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 352, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1989.
Sec. 142.003. AUTHORITY TO CONTRACT FOR JUVENILE PROBATION
SERVICES. (a) In a county that does not have a sufficient
number of juvenile probation cases to justify a juvenile
probation department, the juvenile board or juvenile judge may
contract with:
(1) the county adult probation department to provide juvenile
probation services; or
(2) surrounding counties to form a multicounty juvenile
probation department.
(b) A juvenile board may contract with the Texas Youth
Commission for juvenile probation services.
(c) A juvenile board may contract with another political
subdivision of the state or a private vendor for juvenile
probation services.
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 352, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1989. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1394, Sec. 8, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
Sec. 142.004. JUVENILE PROBATION PERSONNEL. (a) A juvenile
probation officer or an employee of a juvenile probation
community service restitution program is not liable for damages
arising from an act or failure to act in connection with manual
labor performed by a child who has been placed on informal
adjustment or who has been adjudicated a delinquent child or a
child in need of supervision and the labor was performed as a
condition to probation ordered under Section 54.04(d)(1), Family
Code, and the act or failure to act was not intentional, wilfully
or wantonly negligent, or performed with conscious indifference
or reckless disregard for the safety of others.
(b) Juvenile probation personnel employed by a political
subdivision of the state are state employees for the purposes of
Chapter 104, Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
(c) A juvenile probation officer or an employee of a juvenile
probation community service restitution program is not liable for
damages arising from an act or failure to act by a juvenile
probation officer or an employee of a juvenile probation
community service restitution program in connection with manual
labor performed as a condition of probation ordered under Section
54.04(d)(1), Family Code, if the act or failure to act:
(1) was performed in an official capacity; and
(2) was not intentional, wilfully or wantonly negligent, or
performed with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for
the safety of others.
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1100, Sec. 6.02(a), eff. Sept.
1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 4, eff.
Aug. 26, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 201, Sec. 6, eff. Aug.
30, 1993.
Sec. 142.005. ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION; IMMUNITY FROM
LIABILITY. (a) On the adoption of policies concerning the
administration of medication to juveniles by authorized
employees, the juvenile board and any authorized employee of a
program or facility operated by the juvenile board are not liable
for damages arising from the administration of medication to a
juvenile if:
(1) the program or facility administrator has received a written
request to administer the medication from the parent, legal
guardian, or other person having legal control over the juvenile;
and
(2) when administering prescription medication, the medication
appears to be in the original container and to be properly
labeled.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) damages arising from the administration of medication that
is not in accordance with the prescription issued by a medical
practitioner; or
(2) an act or omission of a person administering medication if
the act or omission is:
(A) reckless or intentional;
(B) done wilfully, wantonly, or with gross negligence; or
(C) done with conscious indifference or reckless disregard for
the safety of others.
Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1297, Sec. 63, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
Sec. 142.006. AUTHORIZATION TO CARRY FIREARM. (a) A juvenile
probation officer may carry a firearm in the course of the
officer's official duties if:
(1) the juvenile probation officer possesses a certificate of
firearms proficiency issued by the Commission on Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Education under Section 1701.258,
Occupations Code;
(2) the chief juvenile probation officer of the juvenile
probation department that employs the juvenile probation officer
authorizes the juvenile probation officer to carry a firearm in
the course of the officer's official duties; and
(3) the juvenile probation officer has been employed for at
least one year by the juvenile probation department described by
Subdivision (2).
(b) A juvenile probation officer is disqualified from being
authorized to carry a firearm under this section if the officer
has been designated a perpetrator in a Texas Juvenile Probation
Commission abuse, neglect, or exploitation investigation.
(c) This section does not affect the sovereign immunity of the
state, an agency of the state, or a political subdivision of the
state.
Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch.
794, Sec. 3, eff. June 19, 2009.