Relating to the liability of nonprofit entities contracted with the Department of Family and Protective Services or a single source continuum contractor to provide foster care or adoption services.
relating to the liability of nonprofit entities contracted with the
Department of Family and Protective Services or a single source
continuum contractor to provide foster care or adoption services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 84, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Section 84.0068 to read as follows:
Sec. 84.0068. LIABILITY OF SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM
CONTRACTORS OR CERTAIN NONPROFIT ENTITIES PROVIDING FOSTER CARE OR
ADOPTION SERVICES. (a) Subject to Subsection (b) and except as
provided by Subsection (c), an entity described by Section
264.170(a), Family Code, may not be held liable for damages in
excess of the amounts provided by Section 84.006 for any act or
omission by a person who is an employee or volunteer of the entity
or a caregiver or clinical professional providing services to the
entity if, for each person, the entity has:
(1) conducted timely criminal background checks as
required by law;
(2) before hiring, contracting with, or otherwise
enlisting the services of the person and then at least once every
five years, confirmed the person is not listed in a state registry
or database that indicates the person is ineligible to supervise or
treat children;
(3) reported any known allegation of misconduct by the
person as required by law;
(4) taken appropriate administrative or personnel
action in response to misconduct by the person; and
(5) required the person to complete training for:
(A) child sexual abuse prevention at least once
every five years; and
(B) the reporting of child abuse and neglect.
(b) An entity described by Section 264.170(a), Family Code,
may only be held vicariously liable by a claimant for the act or
omission of a person who is an employee or volunteer of the entity
or a caregiver or clinical professional providing services to the
entity if the claimant shows:
(1) the entity was not in substantial compliance with
a requirement described by Subsection (a);
(2) the requirement was designed to prevent the
specific type of harm alleged to have occurred; and
(3) the entity’s failure to be in substantial
compliance with the requirement was a substantial factor in
bringing about the harm.
(c) Subsection (a) does not affect the liability of an
entity described by Section 264.170(a), Family Code, arising from
an act or omission by the entity that constitutes gross negligence.
SECTION 2. Section 264.170, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 264.170. LIMITED LIABILITY FOR SINGLE SOURCE CONTINUUM
CONTRACTOR OR NONPROFIT ENTITY CONTRACTED TO PROVIDE FOSTER CARE OR
ADOPTION SERVICES AND RELATED PERSONNEL. (a) A nonprofit entity
that contracts with the department to provide services as a single
source continuum contractor under this subchapter or a nonprofit
entity that contracts with the department or a single source
continuum contractor to provide foster care or adoption services is
considered to be a charitable organization for the purposes of
Chapter 84, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, with respect to the
provision of those services, and that chapter applies to the entity
and any person who is:
(1) an employee or volunteer of the entity; or
(2) a caregiver or clinical professional providing
services to the entity.
(b) The limitations on liability provided by this section
apply:
(1) only to an act or omission by the entity or person,
as applicable, that occurs:
(A) while the entity or person is acting within
the course and scope of the entity’s contract with the department or
a single source continuum contractor; or
(B) while the person is acting within the course
and scope of [and] the person’s duties for the entity; and
(2) only if insurance coverage in the minimum amounts
required by Chapter 84, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is in
force and effect at the time a cause of action for personal injury,
death, or property damage accrues.
SECTION 3. Section 84.0068, Civil Practice and Remedies
Code, as added by this Act, and Section 264.170, Family Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to a cause of action that accrues on
or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that
accrued before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
