Regular Session
Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) • Texas Family Courts
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
The law removes the objective standard (compliance with a court order) but does not define how non-compliance interacts with the remaining subjective standards (Best Interest of the Child).
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This bill's path through the Texas Legislature
BILL ANALYSIS |
| H.B. 116 |
| By: Dutton |
| Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence |
| Committee Report (Unamended) |
| BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, there are numerous circumstances under which a parent-child relationship may be involuntarily terminated, particularly in cases involving abuse, neglect, or endangerment. In the 2025 State of the Judiciary Address, Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock recommended eliminating the statutory provision that allows a parent's rights to be terminated forever if the parent fails to check every box on a long list of things the state wants them to do to get their child back, while noting that there is already another provision that allows termination of rights if the parent endangers the child. H.B. 116 implements that recommendation.
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| CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
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| RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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| ANALYSIS H.B. 116 amends the Family Code to remove as grounds for a court to terminate a parent-child relationship in the child's best interest the court finding by clear and convincing evidence that the parent has failed to comply with the provisions of a court order that specifically established the actions necessary for the parent to obtain the return of the child who has been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services for not less than nine months as a result of the child's removal from the parent in a suit for the abuse or neglect of the child. H.B. 116 applies to a suit affecting the parent-child relationship that is pending in a trial court on the bill's effective date or that is filed on or after that date.
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| EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2025.
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| H.B. No. 116 | ||
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| relating to grounds for the involuntary termination of the | ||
| parent-child relationship. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Section 154.001(a-1), Family Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (a-1) The court may order each person who is financially | ||
| able and whose parental rights have been terminated with respect to | ||
| a child in substitute care for whom the department has been | ||
| appointed managing conservator, a child for a reason described by | ||
| Section 161.001(b)(1)(S)(iv) or (b)(1)(T) [ |
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| conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 21.02, 22.011, | ||
| 22.021, or 25.02, Penal Code, to support the child in the manner | ||
| specified by the order: | ||
| (1) until the earliest of: | ||
| (A) the child's adoption; | ||
| (B) the child's 18th birthday or graduation from | ||
| high school, whichever occurs later; | ||
| (C) removal of the child's disabilities of | ||
| minority by court order, marriage, or other operation of law; or | ||
| (D) the child's death; or | ||
| (2) if the child is disabled as defined in this | ||
| chapter, for an indefinite period. | ||
| SECTION 2. Section 161.001(b), Family Code, is amended to | ||
| read as follows: | ||
| (b) The court may order termination of the parent-child | ||
| relationship if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence: | ||
| (1) that the parent has: | ||
| (A) voluntarily left the child alone or in the | ||
| possession of another not the parent and expressed an intent not to | ||
| return; | ||
| (B) voluntarily left the child alone or in the | ||
| possession of another not the parent without expressing an intent | ||
| to return, without providing for the adequate support of the child, | ||
| and remained away for a period of at least three months; | ||
| (C) voluntarily left the child alone or in the | ||
| possession of another without providing adequate support of the | ||
| child and remained away for a period of at least six months; | ||
| (D) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the | ||
| child to remain in conditions or surroundings which endanger the | ||
| physical or emotional well-being of the child; | ||
| (E) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the | ||
| child with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the | ||
| physical or emotional well-being of the child; | ||
| (F) failed to support the child in accordance | ||
| with the parent's ability during a period of one year ending within | ||
| six months of the date of the filing of the petition; | ||
| (G) abandoned the child without identifying the | ||
| child or furnishing means of identification, and the child's | ||
| identity cannot be ascertained by the exercise of reasonable | ||
| diligence; | ||
| (H) voluntarily, and with knowledge of the | ||
| pregnancy, abandoned the mother of the child beginning at a time | ||
| during her pregnancy with the child and continuing through the | ||
| birth, failed to provide adequate support or medical care for the | ||
| mother during the period of abandonment before the birth of the | ||
| child, and remained apart from the child or failed to support the | ||
| child since the birth; | ||
| (I) contumaciously refused to submit to a | ||
| reasonable and lawful order of a court under Subchapter D, Chapter | ||
| 261; | ||
| (J) been the major cause of: | ||
| (i) the failure of the child to be enrolled | ||
| in school as required by the Education Code; or | ||
| (ii) the child's absence from the child's | ||
| home without the consent of the parents or guardian for a | ||
| substantial length of time or without the intent to return; | ||
| (K) executed before or after the suit is filed an | ||
| unrevoked or irrevocable affidavit of relinquishment of parental | ||
| rights as provided by this chapter; | ||
| (L) been convicted or has been placed on | ||
| community supervision, including deferred adjudication community | ||
| supervision, for being criminally responsible for the death or | ||
| serious injury of a child under the following sections of the Penal | ||
| Code, or under a law of another jurisdiction that contains elements | ||
| that are substantially similar to the elements of an offense under | ||
| one of the following Penal Code sections, or adjudicated under | ||
| Title 3 for conduct that caused the death or serious injury of a | ||
| child and that would constitute a violation of one of the following | ||
| Penal Code sections: | ||
| (i) Section 19.02 (murder); | ||
| (ii) Section 19.03 (capital murder); | ||
| (iii) Section 19.04 (manslaughter); | ||
| (iv) Section 21.11 (indecency with a | ||
| child); | ||
| (v) Section 22.01 (assault); | ||
| (vi) Section 22.011 (sexual assault); | ||
| (vii) Section 22.02 (aggravated assault); | ||
| (viii) Section 22.021 (aggravated sexual | ||
| assault); | ||
| (ix) Section 22.04 (injury to a child, | ||
| elderly individual, or disabled individual); | ||
| (x) Section 22.041 (abandoning or | ||
| endangering a child, elderly individual, or disabled individual); | ||
| (xi) Section 25.02 (prohibited sexual | ||
| conduct); | ||
| (xii) Section 43.25 (sexual performance by | ||
| a child); | ||
| (xiii) Section 43.26 (possession or | ||
| promotion of child pornography); | ||
| (xiv) Section 21.02 (continuous sexual | ||
| abuse of young child or disabled individual); | ||
| (xv) Section 20A.02(a)(7) or (8) | ||
| (trafficking of persons); and | ||
| (xvi) Section 43.05(a)(2) (compelling | ||
| prostitution); | ||
| (M) had his or her parent-child relationship | ||
| terminated with respect to another child based on a finding that the | ||
| parent's conduct was in violation of Paragraph (D) or (E) or | ||
| substantially equivalent provisions of the law of another state; | ||
| (N) constructively abandoned the child who has | ||
| been in the permanent or temporary managing conservatorship of the | ||
| Department of Family and Protective Services for not less than six | ||
| months, and: | ||
| (i) the department has made reasonable | ||
| efforts to return the child to the parent; | ||
| (ii) the parent has not regularly visited | ||
| or maintained significant contact with the child; and | ||
| (iii) the parent has demonstrated an | ||
| inability to provide the child with a safe environment; | ||
| (O) [ |
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| [ |
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| Chapter 481, Health and Safety Code, in a manner that endangered the | ||
| health or safety of the child, and: | ||
| (i) failed to complete a court-ordered | ||
| substance abuse treatment program; or | ||
| (ii) after completion of a court-ordered | ||
| substance abuse treatment program, continued to abuse a controlled | ||
| substance; | ||
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(P) [ |
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| that has resulted in the parent's: | ||
| (i) conviction of an offense; and | ||
| (ii) confinement or imprisonment and | ||
| inability to care for the child for not less than two years from the | ||
| date of filing the petition; | ||
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(Q) [ |
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| addicted to alcohol or a controlled substance, other than a | ||
| controlled substance legally obtained by prescription; | ||
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(R) [ |
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| designated emergency infant care provider under Section 262.302 | ||
| without expressing an intent to return for the child; | ||
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(S) [ |
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| (i) the murder of the other parent of the | ||
| child under Section 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code, or under a law of | ||
| another state, federal law, the law of a foreign country, or the | ||
| Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are | ||
| substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section | ||
| 19.02 or 19.03, Penal Code; | ||
| (ii) criminal attempt under Section 15.01, | ||
| Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, the law of | ||
| a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice that | ||
| contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of | ||
| an offense under Section 15.01, Penal Code, to commit the offense | ||
| described by Subparagraph (i); | ||
| (iii) criminal solicitation under Section | ||
| 15.03, Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, the | ||
| law of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice | ||
| that contains elements that are substantially similar to the | ||
| elements of an offense under Section 15.03, Penal Code, of the | ||
| offense described by Subparagraph (i); or | ||
| (iv) the sexual assault of the other parent | ||
| of the child under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code, or under a | ||
| law of another state, federal law, or the Uniform Code of Military | ||
| Justice that contains elements that are substantially similar to | ||
| the elements of an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal | ||
| Code; | ||
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(T) [ |
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| including deferred adjudication community supervision, or another | ||
| functionally equivalent form of community supervision or | ||
| probation, for being criminally responsible for the sexual assault | ||
| of the other parent of the child under Section 22.011 or 22.021, | ||
| Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal law, or the | ||
| Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are | ||
| substantially similar to the elements of an offense under Section | ||
| 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code; or | ||
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(U) [ |
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| (i) criminal solicitation of a minor under | ||
| Section 15.031, Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal | ||
| law, the law of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military | ||
| Justice that contains elements that are substantially similar to | ||
| the elements of an offense under Section 15.031, Penal Code; or | ||
| (ii) online solicitation of a minor under | ||
| Section 33.021, Penal Code, or under a law of another state, federal | ||
| law, the law of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military | ||
| Justice that contains elements that are substantially similar to | ||
| the elements of an offense under Section 33.021, Penal Code; and | ||
| (2) that termination is in the best interest of the | ||
| child. | ||
| SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to a | ||
| suit affecting the parent-child relationship that is pending in a | ||
| trial court on the effective date of this Act or that is filed on or | ||
| after the effective date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. | ||
| TO: | Honorable Jeff Leach, Chair, House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence |
| FROM: | Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB116 by Dutton (Relating to grounds for the involuntary termination of the parent-child relationship.), As Introduced |
| Source Agencies: | 212 Office of Court Administration, Texas Judicial Council, 530 Family and Protective Services, Department of |
| LBB Staff: | JMc, KDw, ER, AN |
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Common questions about HB116
The Texas Legislature has enacted HB116, removing Section 161. 001(b)(1)(O) ("Ground O") from the Family Code, meaning parental rights can no longer be terminated solely for failure to comply with a court-ordered service plan. This change fundamentally alters litigation strategy for family law firms and operational metrics for child welfare agencies, requiring a shift from proving technical non-compliance to proving actual endangerment.
HB116 was authored by Texas Representative Harold Dutton during the Regular Session.
HB116 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on May 28, 2025.
HB116 is enforced by Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and Texas Family Courts.
The compliance urgency for HB116 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
The cost impact of HB116 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
HB116 addresses topics including family, family--child protection and family--parent & child.
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