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Senate committee hears bill to require court adjudication before names added to DFPS central registry
Summary
Lawmakers considered House Bill 20 70 and a committee substitute to require court substantiation before adding most individuals to the Department of Family and Protective Services central registry, with exceptions for narrowly defined, egregious offenses; agencies and advocates debated due-process, safety, and administrative implementation.
House Bill 20 70 would require a court to substantiate an allegation of child abuse or neglect before adding most individuals to the Department of Family and Protective Services central registry, the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services heard Tuesday.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Brian Birdwell, said the measure ‘‘provides due process to individuals by requiring a court to substantiate the claim of child abuse or neglect before adding that individual's name to the central registry.’’ The bill as filed would still allow DFPS to place people immediately on the registry in narrowly defined settings — for example, abuse in a licensed childcare facility, in a school, in DFPS conservatorship, or on church premises during church-related activities — and the committee…
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