Sec. 42.044. INSPECTIONS. (a) An authorized representative of the commission may visit a facility regulated under this chapter or a registered or listed family home during operating hours to investigate, inspect, and evaluate.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-3), the department shall inspect all licensed or certified facilities at least once a year and may inspect other facilities or registered family homes as necessary. At least one of the annual visits must be unannounced and all may be unannounced.

(b-1) At least one of the unannounced, annual inspections of a residential child-care facility must be conducted by a team of at least two residential child-care monitoring staff, and, if feasible, members of the inspection team must be from different residential child-care monitoring units.

(b-2) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, during an unannounced annual or biennial inspection of a day-care center, the department shall meet with the director designated by the day-care center as having daily, on-site responsibility for the operation of the day-care center to assess whether the director meets the qualifications of a director specified by this chapter and department rules. If the director is not present during the unannounced annual or biennial inspection, the department shall schedule a subsequent meeting with the director for that purpose and shall conduct that meeting at the day-care center.

(b-3) The department may, in accordance with rules adopted by the executive commissioner, designate a licensed day-care center or group day-care home for a biennial inspection if the department determines, based on previous inspections, that the facility has a history of substantial compliance with minimum licensing standards. The biennial inspection of a day-care center or group day-care home must be unannounced.

(c) The commission must investigate a facility regulated under this chapter or a registered or listed family home when a complaint is received by the commission. The representative of the commission must notify the operator of a registered or listed family home or the director or authorized representative of a regulated facility when a complaint is being investigated and report in writing the results of the investigation to the family home's operator or to the regulated facility's director or the director's authorized representative.

(c-1) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 589 (S.B. 569), Sec. 11, eff. September 1, 2019.

(c-2) Repealed by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 589 (S.B. 569), Sec. 11, eff. September 1, 2019.

(d) The department may call on political subdivisions and governmental agencies for assistance within their authorized fields.

(e) In addition to the department's responsibility to investigate an agency foster home under Subsection (c), the department shall:

(1) periodically conduct inspections of a random sample of agency foster homes;

(2) investigate any report of a serious incident in an agency foster home that pertains to a child under the age of six;

(3) investigate any alleged violation of a minimum standard by an agency foster home that poses a high degree of risk to a child in the care of the home who is under the age of six; and

(4) conduct at least one annual enforcement team conference for each child-placing agency to thoroughly review the investigations or inspections of the child-placing agency and all of its agency foster homes to monitor and enforce compliance by a child-placing agency with rules and standards established under Section 42.042.

(f) The department shall use an inspection checklist that includes a list of all required items for inspection in conducting a monitoring inspection under this section.

Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 2363, ch. 842, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1979. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1063, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1022, Sec. 27, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1217, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 218, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 268 (S.B. 6), Sec. 1.96, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1406 (S.B. 758), Sec. 32(a), eff. September 1, 2007.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 720 (S.B. 68), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2009.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1082 (S.B. 1178), Sec. 3, eff. September 1, 2011.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 746 (S.B. 427), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2013.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 317 (H.B. 7), Sec. 49, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 319 (S.B. 11), Sec. 31, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1136 (H.B. 249), Sec. 13, eff. September 1, 2017.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 589 (S.B. 569), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2019.

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 589 (S.B. 569), Sec. 11, eff. September 1, 2019.