reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
TX Fam Code art V (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter C. Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance|Article V. Contents of Compacts

A compact entered into under the authority conferred by this compact shall contain:(1)  a provision making the compact available for joinder by all states;(2)  a provision for withdrawal from the compact on written notice to the parties, with a period of one year between the date of the notice and the effective date of the withdrawal;(3)  a requirement that protections under the compact continue for the duration of the adoption assistance and apply to all children and their adoptive parents who on the effective date of the withdrawal are receiving adoption assistance from a party state other than the one in which they reside and have their principal place of abode;(4)  a requirement that each case of adoption assistance to which the compact applies be covered by a written adoption assistance agreement between the adoptive parents and the state child welfare agency of the state that provides the adoption assistance and that the agreement be expressly for the benefit of the adopted child and enforceable by the adoptive parents and the state agency providing the adoption assistance; and(5)  other provisions that are appropriate for the proper administration of the compact.
TX Fam Code art VI (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter C. Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance|Article VI. Optional Contents of Compacts

A compact entered into under the authority conferred by this compact may contain the following provisions, in addition to those required under Article V of this compact:(1)  provisions establishing procedures and entitlement to medical, developmental, child-care, or other social services for the child in accordance with applicable laws, even if the child and the adoptive parents are in a state other than the one responsible for or providing the services or the funds to defray part or all of the costs thereof; and(2)  other provisions that are appropriate or incidental to the proper administration of the compact.
TX Fam Code § 162.306 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter D. Adoption Services by the Department Of|Section 162.306. Postadoption Services

Sec. 162.306.  POSTADOPTION SERVICES.  (a)  The department may provide services after adoption to adoptees and adoptive families for whom the department provided services before the adoption.(b)  The department may provide services under this section directly or through contract.(c)  The services may include financial assistance, respite care, placement services, parenting programs, support groups, counseling services, crisis intervention, and medical aid.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 412, Sec. 6, eff. Aug. 28, 1995.|
TX Fam Code § 162.3085 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter D. Adoption Services by the Department Of|Section 162.3085. Adoptive Placement in Compliance With Federal Law Required

Sec. 162.3085.  ADOPTIVE PLACEMENT IN COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL LAW REQUIRED.  The department or a licensed child-placing agency making an adoptive placement shall comply with the Multiethnic Placement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. Section 1996b).|Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 206), Sec. 18, eff. September 1, 2015.|
TX Fam Code § 162.401 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.401. Purpose

Sec. 162.401.  PURPOSE.  The purpose of this subchapter is to provide for the establishment of mutual consent voluntary adoption registries through which adoptees, birth parents, and biological siblings may voluntarily locate each other.  It is not the purpose of this subchapter to inhibit or prohibit persons from locating each other through other legal means or to inhibit or affect in any way the provision of postadoptive services and education, by adoption agencies or others, that go further than the procedures set out for registries established under this subchapter.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.|
TX Fam Code § 162.403 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.403. Establishment of Voluntary Adoption Registries

Sec. 162.403.  ESTABLISHMENT OF VOLUNTARY ADOPTION REGISTRIES.  (a)  The vital statistics unit shall establish and maintain a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry.(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), an agency authorized by the department to place children for adoption and an association comprised exclusively of those agencies may establish a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry.  An agency may contract with any other agency authorized by the department to place children for adoption or with an association comprised exclusively of those agencies to perform registry services on its behalf.(c)  An authorized agency that did not directly or by contract provide registry services as required by this subchapter on January 1, 1984, may not provide its own registry service.  The vital statistics unit shall operate through the central registry those services for agencies not permitted to provide a registry under this section.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, Sec. 20, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.111, eff. April 2, 2015.|
TX Fam Code § 162.404 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.404. Requirement to Send Information to Central Registry

Sec. 162.404.  REQUIREMENT TO SEND INFORMATION TO CENTRAL REGISTRY.  An authorized agency that is permitted to provide a registry under this subchapter or that participates in a mutual consent voluntary adoption registry with an association of authorized agencies shall send to the central registry a duplicate of all information the registry maintains in the agency's registry or sends to the registry in which the agency participates.|Added by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, Sec. 21, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.|
TX Fam Code § 162.405 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.405. Determination of Appropriate Registry

Sec. 162.405.  DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE REGISTRY.  (a)  The administrator of the central registry shall determine the appropriate registry to which an applicant is entitled to apply.(b)  On receiving an inquiry by an adoptee, birth parent, or sibling who has provided satisfactory proof of age and identity and paid all required inquiry fees, the administrator of the central registry shall review the information on file in the central index and consult with the administrators of other registries in the state to determine the identity of any appropriate registry through which the adoptee, birth parent, or sibling may register.(c)  Each administrator shall, not later than the 30th day after the date of receiving an inquiry from the administrator of the central registry, respond in writing to the inquiry that the registrant was not placed for adoption by an agency served by that registry or that the registrant was placed for adoption by an agency served by that registry.  If the registrant was placed for adoption by an agency served by the registry, the administrator shall file a report with the administrator of the central registry including:(1)  the name of the adopted child as shown in the final adoption decree;(2)  the birth date of the adopted child;(3)  the docket number of the adoption suit;(4)  the identity of the court that granted the adoption;(5)  the date of the final adoption decree;(6)  the identity of the agency, if any, through which the adopted child was placed;  and(7)  the identity, address, and telephone number of the registry through which the adopted child may register as an adoptee.(d)  After completing the investigation, the administrator of the central registry shall issue an official certificate stating:(1)  the identity of the registry through which the adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling may apply for registration, if known;  or(2)  if the administrator cannot make a conclusive determination, that the adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling is entitled to apply for registration through the central registry.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 751, Sec. 79, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 968, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.|
TX Fam Code § 162.406 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.406. Registration Eligibility

Sec. 162.406.  REGISTRATION ELIGIBILITY.  (a)  An adoptee who is 18 years of age or older may apply to a registry for information about the adoptee's birth parents and biological siblings.(b)  A birth parent who is 18 years of age or older may apply to a registry for information about an adoptee who is a child by birth of the birth parent.(c)  An alleged father who is 18 years of age or older and who acknowledges paternity but is not, at the time of application, a birth father may register as a birth father but may not otherwise be recognized as a birth father for the purposes of this subchapter unless:(1)  the adoptee's birth mother in her application identifies him as the adoptee's biological father;  and(2)  additional information concerning the adoptee obtained from other sources is not inconsistent with his claim of paternity.(d)  A biological sibling who is 18 years of age or older may apply to a registry for information about the person's adopted biological siblings.(e)  Only birth parents, adoptees, and biological siblings may apply for information through a registry.(f)  A person, including an authorized agency, may not apply for information through a registry as an agent, attorney, or representative of an adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 968, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.|
TX Fam Code § 162.407 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.407. Registration

Sec. 162.407.  REGISTRATION.  (a)  The administrator shall require each registration applicant to sign a written application.(b)  An adoptee adopted or placed through an authorized agency may register through the registry maintained by that agency or the registry to which the agency has delegated registry services or through the central registry maintained by the vital statistics unit.(c)  Birth parents and biological siblings shall register through:(1)  the registry of the authorized agency through which the adoptee was adopted or placed;  or(2)  the central registry.(d)  The administrator may not accept an application for registration unless the applicant:(1)  provides proof of identity as provided by Section 162.408;(2)  establishes the applicant's eligibility to register;  and(3)  pays all required registration fees.(e)  A registration remains in effect until the 99th anniversary of the date the registration is accepted unless a shorter period is specified by the applicant or the registration is withdrawn before that time.(f)  A registrant may withdraw the registrant's registration in writing without charge at any time.(g)  After a registration is withdrawn or expires, the registrant shall be treated as if the person has not previously registered.(h)  A completed registry application must be accepted or rejected before the 46th day after the date the application is received.  If an application is rejected, the administrator shall provide the applicant with a written statement of the reason for the rejection.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 968, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, Sec. 22, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.112, eff. April 2, 2015.|
TX Fam Code § 162.408 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.408. Proof of Identity

Sec. 162.408.  PROOF OF IDENTITY.  The rules and minimum standards of the Department of State Health Services for the vital statistics unit must provide for proof of identity in order to facilitate the purposes of this subchapter and to protect the privacy rights of adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents, biological siblings, and their families.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, Sec. 23, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.113, eff. April 2, 2015.|
TX Fam Code § 162.411 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.411. Fees

Sec. 162.411.  FEES.  (a)  The costs of establishing, operating, and maintaining a registry may be recovered in whole or in part through users' fees charged to applicants and registrants.(b)  Each registry shall establish a schedule of fees for services provided by the registry.  The fees shall be reasonably related to the direct and indirect costs of establishing, operating, and maintaining the registry.(c)  A fee may not be charged for withdrawing a registration.(d)  The fees collected by the vital statistics unit shall be deposited in a special fund in the general revenue fund.  Funds in the special fund may be appropriated only for the administration of the central registry.(e)  The administrator may waive users' fees in whole or in part if the applicant provides satisfactory proof of financial inability to pay the fees.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 968, Sec. 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, Sec. 24, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.114, eff. April 2, 2015.|
TX Fam Code § 162.412 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.412. Supplemental Information

Sec. 162.412.  SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION.  (a)  A registrant may amend the registrant's registration and submit additional information to the administrator.  A registrant shall notify the administrator of any change in the registrant's name or address that occurs after acceptance of the application.(b)  The administrator does not have a duty to search for a registrant who fails to register a change of name or address.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.|
TX Fam Code § 162.413 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.413. Counseling

Sec. 162.413.  COUNSELING.  The applicant must participate in counseling for not less than one hour with a social worker or mental health professional with expertise in postadoption counseling after the administrator has accepted the application for registration and before the release of confidential information.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 968, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.|
TX Fam Code § 162.414 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.414. Matching Procedures

Sec. 162.414.  MATCHING PROCEDURES.  (a)  The administrator shall process each registration in an attempt to match the adoptee and the adoptee's birth parents or the adoptee and the adoptee's biological siblings.(b)  The administrator shall determine that there is a match if the adult adoptee and the birth mother or the birth father have registered or if a biological sibling has registered.(c)  To establish or corroborate a match, the administrator shall request confirmation of a possible match from the vital statistics unit.  If the agency operating the registry has in its own records sufficient information through which the match may be confirmed, the administrator may, but is not required to, request confirmation from the vital statistics unit.  The vital statistics unit may confirm or deny the match without breaching the duty of confidentiality to the adoptee, adoptive parents, birth parents, or biological siblings and without a court order.(d)  To establish a match, the administrator may also request confirmation of a possible match from the agency, if any, that has possession of records concerning the adoption of an adoptee or from the court that granted the adoption, the hospital where the adoptee or any biological sibling was born, the physician who delivered the adoptee or biological sibling, or any other person who has knowledge of the relevant facts.  The agency, court, hospital, physician, or person with knowledge may confirm or deny the match without breaching any duty of confidentiality to the adoptee, adoptive parents, birth parents, or biological siblings.(e)  If a match is denied by a source contacted under Subsection (d), the administrator shall make a full and complete investigation into the reliability of the denial.  If the match is corroborated by other reliable sources and the administrator is satisfied that the denial is erroneous, the administrator may make disclosures but shall report to the adoptee, birth parents, and biological siblings involved that the match was not confirmed by all information sources.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 968, Sec. 8, eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 561, Sec. 25, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.Amended by: Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.115, eff. April 2, 2015.|
TX Fam Code § 162.416 (2021)
2021 Texas Statutes|Family Code|Title 5 - The Parent-Child Relationship and the Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Subtitle B - Suits Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship|Chapter 162 - Adoption|Subchapter E. Voluntary Adoption Registries|Section 162.416. Disclosure of Identifying Information

Sec. 162.416.  DISCLOSURE OF IDENTIFYING INFORMATION.  (a)  When a match has been made and confirmed to the administrator's satisfaction, the administrator shall mail to each registrant, at the registrant's last known address, by fax or registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, delivery restricted to addressee only, a written notice:(1)  informing the registrant that a match has been made and confirmed;(2)  reminding the registrant that the registrant may withdraw the registration before disclosures are made, if desired;  and(3)  notifying the registrant that before any identifying disclosures are made, the registrant must:(A)  sign a written consent to disclosure that allows the disclosure of identifying information about the other registrants to the registrant and allows the disclosure of identifying information about the registrant to other registrants;(B)  participate in counseling for not less than one hour with a social worker or mental health professional who has expertise in postadoption counseling;  and(C)  provide the administrator with written certification that the counseling required under Subdivision (B) has been completed.(b)  Identifying information about a registrant shall be released without the registrant's having consented after the match to disclosure if the registrant is dead, the registrant's registration was valid at the time of death, and the registrant had in writing specifically authorized the postdeath disclosure in the registrant's application or in a supplemental statement filed with the administrator.(c)  Identifying information about a deceased birth parent may not be released until each surviving child of the deceased birth parent is an adult or until each child's surviving parent, guardian, managing conservator, or legal custodian consents in writing to the disclosure.(d)  The administrator shall prepare and release written disclosure statements identifying information about each of the registrants if the registrants complied with Subsection (a) and, before the 60th day after the date notification of match was mailed, the registrant or registrants have not withdrawn their registrations.(e)  If the administrator establishes that a match cannot be made because of the death of an adoptee, birth parent, or biological sibling, the administrator shall promptly notify the affected registrant.  The administrator shall disclose the reason why a match cannot be made and may disclose nonidentifying information concerning the circumstances of the person's death.|Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 968, Sec. 9, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.|