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Section 35A.003 – Petition For Temporary Authorization

May 14, 2021 | Family Law, Texas

A petition for temporary authorization to consent to voluntary inpatient mental health services for a child must:

(1) be styled “ex parte” and be in the name of the child;
(2) be verified by the petitioner;
(3) state:

(A) the name, date of birth, and current physical address of the child;
(B) the name, date of birth, and current physical address of the petitioner; and
(C) the name and, if known, the current physical and mailing addresses of the child’s parents, conservators, or guardians;
(4) describe the status and location of any court proceeding in this or another state with respect to the child;
(5) describe the petitioner’s relationship to the child;
(6) provide the dates during the preceding six months that the child has resided with the petitioner;
(7) contain a certificate of medical examination for mental illness prepared by a physician who has examined the child not earlier than the third day before the date the petition is filed and be accompanied by a sworn statement containing the physician’s opinion, and the detailed reasons for that opinion, that the child is a person:

(A) with mental illness or who demonstrates symptoms of a serious emotional disorder; and
(B) who presents a risk of serious harm to self or others if not immediately restrained or hospitalized; and
(8) state any reason that the petitioner is unable to obtain signed, written documentation from a parent, conservator, or guardian of the child.

Tex. Fam. Code ยง 35A.003

Added by Acts 2019, Texas Acts of the 86th Leg.- Regular Session, ch. 988,Sec. 1, eff. 9/1/2019.