(a) The Department of Aging and Disability Services shall develop and implement a process by which the department, on receipt of notification under § 531.164(h) that a child’s parent or guardian cannot be located, conducts a search for the parent or guardian. If, on the first anniversary of the date the department receives the notification under § 531.164(h), the department has been unsuccessful in locating the parent or guardian, the department shall refer the case to:
(1) the child protective services division of the Department of Family and Protective Services if the child is 17 years of age or younger; or
(2) the adult protective services division of the Department of Family and Protective Services if the child is 18 years of age or older.
(b) On receipt of a referral under Subsection (a)(1), the child protective services division of the Department of Family and Protective Services shall exercise intense due diligence in attempting to locate the child’s parent or guardian. If the division is unable to locate the child’s parent or guardian, the department shall file a suit affecting the parent-child relationship requesting an order appointing the department as the child’s temporary managing conservator.

(c) A child is considered abandoned for purposes of the Family Code if the child’s parent or guardian cannot be located following the exercise of intense due diligence in attempting to locate the parent or guardian by the Department of Family and Protective Services under Subsection (b).
(d) On receipt of a referral under Subsection (a)(2), the adult protective services division of the Department of Family and Protective Services shall notify the court that appointed the child’s guardian that the guardian cannot be located.

Text of section effective until April 01, 2025