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Tex. Fam. Code § 261.106

IMMUNITIES

Applied in 14 court decisions — leading case Thapar v. Zezulka (1999)

Most recently applied in Tim Thibodeau, as Legal Guardian of Grace Angelica Westcott-Thibodeau, a Minor Child v. Dr. Mary Lyles and Katy Family Counseling, PLLC (August 2018)

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff

How often courts cite this section

199720002010201830
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(a) A person acting in good faith who reports or assists in the investigation of a report of alleged child abuse or neglect or who testifies or otherwise participates in a judicial proceeding arising from a report, petition, or investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect is immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed.

(b) Immunity from civil and criminal liability extends to an authorized volunteer of the department or a law enforcement officer who participates at the request of the department in an investigation of alleged or suspected abuse or neglect or in an action arising from an investigation if the person was acting in good faith and in the scope of the person's responsibilities.

(c) A person who reports the person's own abuse or neglect of a child or who acts in bad faith or with malicious purpose in reporting alleged child abuse or neglect is not immune from civil or criminal liability.

Official source: Texas Constitution and Statutes. Reproduced from public-domain Texas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.