# The Attorney General of Texas
December 22, 1982 MARK WHITE Attorney General

Supreme Court Building P. 0. Box 12546 Austin, TX. 76711. 2546 512/475-2501 Telex 9101674-1367 Telecopier 5121475.0266

1607 Main St., Suite 1400 Dallas, TX. 75201-4709 2141742.6944

4624 Alberta Ave.. Suite 160 El Paso. TX. 79905.2793 915l533.3484

1220 Dallas Ave., Suite 202 ti~uslon, TX. 77002.6966 713/650-0666

606 Broadway. Suite 312 Lubbock, TX. 79401.3479 6061747-5238

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An Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer HonorableJames S.McGrath CriminalDistrictAttorney JeffersonCounty P. 0. Box 2553 Beaumont,Texas 77704 DearMr. McGrath: OpinionNo. MW-523 Re: The special fund established by section 54.061(c) of the Family Code

You have asked two questions dealing with the special fund establishedby section 54.061 of the FamilyCodewhich reads:

(a) If a child is placed on probation under Section 54.04(d)(l) of this code, the juvenile court, after giving the child, parent, or other person responsible for the child’s support a reasonable opportunity to be heard, may order the child, parent, or other person, if financially able to do so, to pay to the court a fee of not mre than $15 a month during the period that the child continueson probation. (b) Orders for the payment of fees under this section may be enforced as provided by Section 54.07 of this code. (c) The court shall deposit the fees received under this section in the county treasury to the credit of a specialfund thatmay be used only for juvenile probation or community-based juvenile corrections services or facilities in which a juvenilemay be required to livewhile under court supervision. (Emphasisadded). Your questionsare:

1. Can the county place the funds paid to it by the Texas Youth Council pursuant to section 61.083 of the Human Resources Code in the special fund? 2. Can the county place the funds paid to it as an adoption investigation fee in the special fund?

p. 1895Honorable James S.McGrath - Page 2 (MW-523)

Section 54.061 limits the use to which the special fund created can be put, but it does not restrict the sources fromwhich the fund may be augmented. Itmerely directs that certain receiptsbe credited to that fund and no other. Section 61.083 of the Human Resources Code authorizes contracts between the TexasYouth Counciland thevarious countiesof the state. The councilmay thereby obtain the services of the county's juvenile probation department for the supervisionof childrenon furlough from a council facility. See V.T.C.S. arts. 5138d. 5142b. The statute restricts the amount that may be paid to a county therefor, but it does not restrict theuse of themoney after it is paid to the county. We have found nothing in the law thatwould prevent a solvent county from depositing into the special section 54.061 fund the moneys received from the council. Cf.V.T.C.S.arts. 1630, 1709a. Similarly,we findnothing toprohibit the county from depositing in the special fund the money it might be allowed by a court as fees for the conduct of adoption investigation social studies pursuant to sections 11.12and 16.031of the FamilyCode. Section 16.031requires the court in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to order themaking of a social study as provided in section 11.12. The latter section permits the study to be made by "any person appointed by the court." In our opinion "any person" includes an agency of a county. See Code ConstructionAct, V.T.C.S. art. 5429b-2; Family Code §ll.O1(7)>rown v. Brown, 521 S.W.2d 730 (Tex.Civ.App.
- Houston [14thDist.] 1975, no writ). It was determined in Attorney General Opinion H-362 (1974) that the court is authorized to impose the cost of the study as court costs. SUMMARY Jefferson Countymay place in the special fund established by section 54.061 of the Family Code the funds it receives from the TexasYouth Council pursuant to section 61.083 of the Human Resources Code, and those it receives for conducting social studies pursuant to section 16.031 of the Family Code.

MARK WHITE Attorney General of Texas JOHNW. FAINTER,JR. FirstAssistantAttorney General

p. 1896HonorableJames S.McGrath - Page 3 (m-523)

RICHARD E. GRAY III ExecutiveAssistantAttorney General Preparedby Bruce Youngblood AssistantAttorney General APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTEE SusanL. Garrison,Chairman Jon Bible Rick Gilpin PatriciaHinojosa SteveMartin Jim Moellinger BruceYoungblood

p. 1897