Tex. Fam. Code § 261.305 · Subchapter D. INVESTIGATIONS
ACCESS TO MENTAL HEALTH RECORDS.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) An investigation may include an inquiry into the possibility that a parent or a person responsible for the care of a child who is the subject of a report under Subchapter B has a history of medical or mental illness.
(b) If the parent or person does not consent to an examination or allow the department to have access to medical or mental health records requested by the department, the court having family law jurisdiction, for good cause shown, shall order the examination to be made or that the department be permitted to have access to the records under terms and conditions prescribed by the court.
(c) If the court determines that the parent or person is indigent, the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the parent or person at the hearing. The fees for the appointed attorney shall be paid as provided by Chapter 107.
(d) A parent or person responsible for the child's care is entitled to notice and a hearing when the department seeks a court order to allow a medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination or access to medical or mental health records.
(e) This access does not constitute a waiver of confidentiality.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 575, Sec. 15, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1150, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1390, Sec. 25, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.
Amended by:
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.135, eff. April 2, 2015.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/FA/htm/FA.261.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 d4e8bb751f2db6e2ddf164d35484fb465c584a3185c562e14da841a0fc9e5a72
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.