Texas Statutes
Chapter 45 - Protection of Rights of Conscience for Child Welfare Services Providers
Section 45.002. Definitions

Sec. 45.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Adverse action" means any action that directly or indirectly adversely affects the person against whom the adverse action is taken, places the person in a worse position than the person was in before the adverse action was taken, or is likely to deter a reasonable person from acting or refusing to act. An adverse action includes:
(A) denying an application for, refusing to renew, or canceling funding;
(B) declining to enter into, refusing to renew, or canceling a contract;
(C) declining to issue, refusing to renew, or canceling a license;
(D) terminating, suspending, demoting, or reassigning a person; and
(E) limiting the ability of a person to engage in child welfare services.
(2) "Catchment area" means a geographic service area for providing child protective services or child welfare services.
(3) "Child welfare services" means social services provided to or on behalf of children, including:
(A) assisting abused or neglected children;
(B) counseling children or parents;
(C) promoting foster parenting;
(D) providing foster homes, general residential operations, residential care, adoptive homes, group homes, or temporary group shelters for children;
(E) recruiting foster parents;
(F) placing children in foster homes;
(G) licensing foster homes;
(H) promoting adoption or recruiting adoptive parents;
(I) assisting adoptions or supporting adoptive families;
(J) performing or assisting home studies;
(K) assisting kinship guardianships or kinship caregivers;
(L) providing family preservation services;
(M) providing family support services;
(N) providing temporary family reunification services;
(O) placing children in adoptive homes; and
(P) serving as a foster parent.
(4) "Child welfare services provider" means a person, other than a governmental entity, that provides, seeks to provide, or applies for or receives a contract, subcontract, grant, subgrant, or cooperative agreement to provide child welfare services. The person is not required to be engaged exclusively in child welfare services to be a child welfare services provider.
(5) "Governmental entity" means:
(A) this state or a municipality or other political subdivision of this state;
(B) any agency of this state or of a municipality or other political subdivision of this state, including a department, bureau, board, commission, office, agency, council, and public institution of higher education; or
(C) a single source continuum contractor in this state providing services identified under Section 264.153, Family Code.
Added by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1152 (H.B. 3859), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2017.
Amended by:
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 915 (H.B. 3607), Sec. 11.001, eff. September 1, 2021.