SECTION 379.610. Emergency Shelter or Care for an Unaccompanied Minor

(a) For purposes of this division,

(1) "Emergency shelter or care" means shelter or care provided by a shelter center under Texas Family Code §32.201 and §32.202.

(2) "Minor" means a person under 18 years of age who:

(A) is not and has not been married; or

(B) has not had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes.

(3) "Unaccompanied minor" means a minor who is not accompanied at the shelter center by the minor's parent, managing conservator, or guardian.

(b) A shelter center may provide emergency shelter or care to an unaccompanied minor and the minor's child or children, if any, only during an emergency constituting an immediate danger to the physical health and safety of the minor or the minor's child(ren).

(c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, a shelter center may not provide emergency shelter or care to an unaccompanied minor or the minor's child(ren) after the 15th day following the date on which the center began to provide the shelter or care.

(d) With or without the consent of the minor's parent, managing conservator, or guardian, the shelter center may continue to offer emergency shelter or care to an unaccompanied minor and the minor's child(ren), if any, after the 15th day if the minor:

(1) is unmarried and is pregnant or is the parent of a child;

(2) has qualified for financial assistance under Texas Human Resources Code, Chapter 31, and is on the waiting list for housing assistance; or

(3) is 16 years of age or older; and

(A) resides separate and apart from the minor's parent, managing conservator, or guardian, regardless of whether the parent, managing conservator, or guardian consents to the residence and regardless of the duration of the residence; and

(B) manages the minor's own financial affairs, regardless of the source of income.

(e) The shelter center may rely on the minor's written statement containing the grounds on which the minor has the capacity to consent to emergency shelter or care.

(f) A victim of family violence under 18 years of age may consent to 24-hour-a-day shelter services provided by a shelter center, at any time and for any duration, if:

(1) the victim is married or has been married; or

(2) the victim has had the disabilities of minority removed for general purposes (i.e., is legally emancipated).

Source Note: The provisions of this §379.610 adopted to be effective December 23, 2007, 32 TexReg 9328; amended to be effective December 16, 2015, 40 TexReg 8886