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This week I will continue discussing the interim charges for House committees. The charges are good indicators of what legislation the legislature will take up during the next session. Interim charges are the issues that the Speaker asks committees to study during the time between regular legislative sessions in order to make recommendations for legislation for the following legislative session. Legislators rely on public input when crafting legislation, and it is important that they hear from citizens during the interim. This week, I will discuss the Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family issues, which oversees issues pertaining to criminal law as applied to juveniles and civil law relating to familial relationships.
House Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family Issues
* Study the current Texas law governing suits by non-parents affecting the parent-child relationship, specifically including suits for possession of or access to a child by a grandparent in light of recent court rulings. Recommend any needed changes.
* Evaluate child support guidelines and formulas, considering whether the current methods provide adequate support to a child. Also, study child support for the costs of college.
* Review methods for determining equal access and visitation under the standard possession order, and ascertain whether or not the distance parents reside from each other should create the need for a distinct standard possession order.
* Consider the law governing presumption of parentage, and examine the adequacy of relief available to presumed parents who are child support obligors and who assert a claim of paternity fraud.
* Consider the law governing no-fault divorces and make recommendations for any possible changes.
* Study the use of police diversion for youth who are referred to the juvenile justice system, including those there as a result of incidents in school.
* Study victim-offender mediation and neighborhood restorative justice panels.
* Determine whether current mental health practices followed by the Texas Youth Commission are adequate or appropriate, and make recommendations for any needed changes.
* Study the organizational structure of the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission to determine if the current system is effectively and efficiently addressing the needs of the juvenile justice system in conjunction with the sunset review of these agencies. (Joint Interim Charge with the House Committee on Corrections)
* Study Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs and Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs, including referral rates, age of students, whether parents have sufficient recourse to challenge a placement, funding, and course requirements. (Joint Interim Charge with the House Committee on Corrections)
* Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction: the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and the Advisory Council on Juvenile Services.
The Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family issues can be reached at 512-463-7999. For more information on these charges or any other matter of state government, please contact my office by writing to P.O. Box 2910, Austin, TX 78768-2910 or by emailing me at larry.phillips@house.state.tx.us. My district office phone number is (903) 891-7297.