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 

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El Paso. TX. 79905.2793 

915l533.3484 

1220 Dallas Ave., Suite 202 

ti~uslon, TX. 77002.6966 

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Lubbock, TX. 79401.3479 

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MAW”, TX. 76501-1685 

5121662-4547 

200 Main Plaza, Suite 400 

San Antonio. TX. 762052797 

5121225-4191 

An Equal Opportunity/ 

Affirmative Action Employer 

Honorable James S. McGrath 

Criminal District Attorney 

Jefferson County 

P. 0. Box 2553 

Beaumont, Texas 77704 

Dear Mr. McGrath: 

Opinion No. 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 

established by section 54.061 of the Family Code which 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 continues on 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 special fund that may be used only for 

juvenile probation or community-based juvenile 

corrections services or facilities in which a 

juvenile may be required to live while under court 

supervision. (Emphasis added). 

Your questions are: 

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. 1895 
Honorable 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 from which the fund 

may be augmented. It merely directs that certain receipts be credited 

to that fund and no other. 

Section 61.083 of the Human Resources Code authorizes contracts 

between the Texas Youth Council and the various counties of the state. 

The council may thereby obtain the services of the county's juvenile 

probation department for the supervision of children on 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 the use of the money after it is paid to the county. 

We have found nothing in the law that would 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 find nothing to prohibit 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 11.12 and 16.031 of the Family Code. Section 16.031 requires 

the court in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship to order 

the making 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 Construction Act, V.T.C.S. art. 5429b-2; 

Family Code §ll.O1(7)>rown v. Brown, 521 S.W.2d 730 (Tex. Civ. App. 

- Houston [14th Dist.] 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 County may place in the special fund 

established by section 54.061 of the Family Code 

the funds it receives from the Texas Youth 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 

JOHN W. FAINTER, JR. 

First Assistant Attorney General 

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

RICHARD E. GRAY III 

Executive Assistant Attorney General 

Prepared by Bruce Youngblood 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Susan L. Garrison, Chairman 

Jon Bible 

Rick Gilpin 

Patricia Hinojosa 

Steve Martin 

Jim Moellinger 

Bruce Youngblood 

p. 1897