April 23, 1971 

Honorable Naomi Harney 

County Attorney 

Potter County Courthouse 

Amarillo, Texas 79101 

Dear Miss Harney: 

Opinion No. M.-a43 

Re: Authority of Potter 

County to contract with, 

or employ personnel to 

work with, a non-profit 

agency for rehabilitation 

of juvenile delinquents. 

You have requested an official opinion from this office concerning the two questions which are specifically set out as follows: 

"1. Whether Potter County can contract with Kids 

Incorporated to furnish, for fees, special services to 

youngsters who have been in trouble and are assigned 

to Kids Incorporated by the Juvenile Probation Department for its assistance in involving the child in 

special activities such as improvement of school work, 

recreation, family counseling, boy scouts and girl 

scouts, church work, etc. 

"2 . Whether Potter county Commissioner's Court 

can employ a person to be under the supervision of the 

Commissioners' Court or Potter County Probation 

Officer to work with Kids Incorporated to assist with 

children who have been in trouble and those who have 

been placed on probation and assigned to Kids Incorporated by Juvenile Probation Department for special 

assistance and special supervision." 

Factually you have furnished us with the following: 
Hon. Naomi Ilarney, page 2 (M-U43) 

, 

"Kids Incorporated is a non-profit organization 

with a youth program and made up largely of voluntary 

workers. It is financed by a small fee paid by the 

United Fund and the City of Amarillo . . . 

“One divi.sion is basically designed to serve as 

a volunteer probation department for Potter County. 

Youngsters who are adjudged to be in trouble are 

assigned to Kids Incorporated by the Potter County 

Juvenile Probation Department and this division gives 

special attention to these children . .." (Emphasis 

added.) 

As we view the matter presented by you, the basic differe:-.k:+ 

between the services sought to be obtained by the County in reg:;? 

to the care and special supervision of the juvenile delinquents 

who have been placed on probation is that your first question 

proposes an employment by the county of a non-profit agency fo- -k? 

furnishing of such services by the agency, while your second 

question proposes only the employment of a person by the count: 

to assist such juvenile delinquents who have been assigned to 

such non-profit agency. In the first instance the county would 

furnish payment for the care and supervision of such children 

by the agency, and in the second, the county would furnish only 

the person employed to assist the agency. It seems clear that 

both of these proposed contracts are amply authorized by the 

following provisions of law: 

Article 2338-1, Section 13, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provixes 

in pertinent part as follows: 

II . . . 

"(c) If the judge or jury finds that the child 

is delinquent, or otherwise within the provisions of 

this Act, the Court may by order duly entered proceed 

as follows: (1) place the child on probation or under 

supervision in his own home or in the custody of a 

relative or other fit person, upon such terms as the 

-4087- 
Ron. Naomi Harney, page 3 (M-843) 

court shall determine (2) commit the child to a 

suitable public institution or agency or to a suitable 

private institution or aqency authorized to care for 

children: or place the child in a suitable family home 

or parental home for an indeterminate period of time, 

not extending beyond the time the child shall reach the 

age of twenty-one years; (3) make such further disposition 

as the court may deem to be for the best interest of the 

except as otherwise provided.' (Emphasis added.) 

Article 2338-1, Section 11, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provides 

in pertinent part as follows: 

11 

. . . The court may make a general order desiqnatinq such places of detention which may include 

private foster or boarding homes for children, or 

such other places of detention which to the court 

seem desirable. The County Commissioners' Court 

may pay for boardinq or foster home care for such 

children to be detained, or all children coming 

within the meaning of this Act whether prior to, or 

after the child has been adjudged a 'delinquent 

child'." (Emphasis added.) 

Article 2338-3, Section 8, Vernon's Civil Statutes, provides 

in pertient part as follows: 

"The Judge of the Court of Domestic Relations 

shall have authority to appoint such juvenile officers, 

juvenile probation officers and investigators as might 

be deemed necessary to the proper administration of its 

jurisdiction in Potter County, provided such appointments are approved by the Commissioners' Court of such 

county . ..'I 

Whether the agency or tile person so employed to aid the agency 

would be under the supervision of the Potter County Probation 

Officer would be within the discretion of the Judge of the Court 

of Domestic Relations of Potter County with the approval of the 

Commissioners' Court. This office has upheld the authority of 
Hon. Naomi Harney. page 4 (M-%43)' 

the county to contract with others to carry out its statutory 

duties to provide for public or governmental purposes. Attorne? 

General Opinions No. M-605 (1970) and M-678 (1970). 

In conclusion, we point out that in arriving at our holdint, 

that the county is authorized by law to make such contracts, we 

have taken into consideration the prohibition of Section 52 of 

Article III of the Texas Constitution, in regard to a loan of 

credit or grant of public money by the County to an individual, 

association or corporation. We believe that the contracts in 

question, so long as they are limited to statutory authorizatio::. 

are not such as those that are prohibited by the Constitution ir 

that the services to be received by the county in return for th(? 

sums to be expended therefor by the county are such as to come 

within the scope of authorized county business, involving "Quid 

Pro Quo" as to the county, and the payments therefor are not 

gratuitous in any sense. See, for example, Articles 5138 and 

5143f, Vernon's Civil Statutes, which would authorize counties 

to establish facilities for supervision of children in the 

prevention or cure of delinquency. Attorney General opinions 

No. 6125 (1944) and O-7102 (1946). The constitutional prohibit? 

has been held inapplicable where a governmental or public purpose 

for the expenditure exists. Weaver v. Scurry County, 28 S.W.83; 

(Tex.Civ.App. 1894); State v. City of Austin, 160 Tex. 348, 331 

S.W.Zd 737 (1960); Attorney General Opinions No. V-1067 (1950), 

C-530 (1965), C-584 (1966), M-125 (1967) and M-138 (1967); 52 

Tex. Jur.Zd 754-757, State of Texas, Section 43. 

SUMMARY 

Potter County may contract with a private 

non-profit institution to expend public funds 

for public or governmental services rendered 

to the county in the care and supervision of 

juvenile delinquents committed to such institution by the Judge of the Court of Domestic 

Relations. The Judge of the Court of Domestic 

Relations of Potter County has authority, with 

-4089- 
Hon. Naomi Harney, page 5 (M-843) 

the approval of the Commissioners' Court, to 

appoint such juvenile officers and juvenile 

probation officers as might be deemed necessary 

to the proper administration of its jurisdiction in assisting the Juvenile Probation 

Department in giving special supervision to 

juvenile delinquents on probation who are placed 

in the care of a non-profit institution. 

Yours very truly, 

CRAWFORD C. MARTIN 

Attorney General of Texas 

BY 

NOLA WHITE 

First Assistant 

Prepared by Sam Jones and R. L. Lattimore 

Assistant Attorneys General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

W. E. Allen, Co-Chairman 

Dan Green 

Jim Swearingen 

Rex White 

James Broadhurst 

ALFRED WALRJZR 

Executive Assistant 

mE F. GRIFFIN 

Staff Legal Assistant 

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