Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1940 )


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  •                OFFICE    OF THE A-ITORNEY    GENERAL   OF TEXAS ’
    i                             AU-
    --ls=                                                         Q.0,
    l;rse Violet 9. Greenhill,   Chief
    Dlvisi~n of Child xelrare
    stats Departiaent or i?ublic
    Austin, Texas
    Dsar lfrs.   Greenhillr
    This department h                 r request ror an
    oplnlon.     Y.-e quote the ;ert               r, your letter as
    r0u0ws I
    bond required for such
    t or brought into Texas
    been given    in confoinity
    and in co$‘orzity    with
    ‘;tates  Co.mlttee
    for the caze of European children,     that the
    children brought to ‘&is oountry will Lot be-
    cone a ?ubllo charge?
    *The imediate  need for your 0pid.0n in
    this netter has arisen out of a request from
    a Texas resident VisitirE: in New York.  This
    individual  has asked to be advised of the
    yrs.     Violet   9. Greenhill,   Page 2
    2’
    formalities   required,, under Taxas law, to
    bring a refugee child to this State to live
    ,        in his home for the duration of the Xar.
    ~e+a~eHatte.ching a copy of this let+.er.
    .
    The letter    to which you refer         in the final   para-
    graph of the foregoing,    reads:
    mA Client oi mine, who is a resident
    0r your state,  end who is in this city at
    the present time, is desirous of taking
    with him a refugee child now in the Chited
    States and to give the child a hone gra-
    tuitously  with himself and his raaily for
    the duration of the war.
    “1 would appreciate it very much if
    you would advise me whether any preliminary
    formalities  must be met vjith before the
    child can be made a resident   of your state.
    “1 wish to repeat that the child is
    now lawfully  in ,tierica,  and my client,    out
    of the kindness of his heart, wants .to give
    him all the necessaries    of life, and have
    the child live with him uutil he Can, be
    sent back to his own pareqts abroad.*
    ,
    The Acts of 1931, 42nd Legislature,       Senate F&11,No.
    375, Chapter 194, Fage 323, or,ated the Division        of Child Uel-
    fare in the Board of Control and defined,       its rUW2tiORS   as
    r0110ws t
    sec. 2.   “It shall be the duty of the
    Board to promote through the Child Y:elfare
    Division    the enforcessnt    of all laws for the
    proteotion, of defective,      illegitimate,     de-
    endent, neglected and delinquent          children
    P * * and to take the initiative          in all mat-
    ters Involving     the interest     of such children
    where adequate provision        therefor   has not
    already been nade.”
    Sections       0 and 7 0r that Act areincorporated   in
    Ve~rnon’s Annotated       Penal Code as titicle 606a.    That Article
    provides:
    c
    73s
    ‘. yrs.     Tliolet   9. Greenhill,    Page 3
    , .i
    I..’
    QArt. 606a.  ’
    Bringing child into state
    for placing out or adcytion without consent
    i           of State Board or Control
    *Sec. 0. It *shall be unlaxfkl ror any
    person, for timself      or as agent or re?resenta-
    tive of another, to bring or send into this
    Sta.te any child below the age of sixteen         (16)
    years for the Qurpose 0r placing him out or
    proouring his adoption without first        having
    obtained tha consent of the State Board or
    Control, which may be lcaas by application
    directly    to the Board of Control,     or through
    the County Child Xelfsre Board.        Said consent
    shall be given on a regular rors to be pra-
    scribed by the Board of Control snd no person
    shall bring any such child into this State
    without such permit and without having filed
    with the Eoard of Control a bond payable to                         _ _.-
    the State, JZI a form to be prescribed        by the
    Attorney Genaral, and apgroved by the Board
    in the penal sum of One Tho;lsand ($l,OOO.OOj
    ..,Dollars,     conditioned   that the: Person bringing
    or sending such child into this State u-i.11
    not send or bring any child \*ihOis incorrigible
    :, or unsound of mind or budy; that he v:ill re-
    .:move any such child why becomes a public
    charge or pay the eqe.lse       of removal of such
    ’ charge, who, in the opi’nion of the Board of
    Control,    beccaes a menc:e to the oozmunity
    prior to this adolMon or becoming of legal
    age; that he will place the child under a
    written contract      approved by the County Child
    Welfare Board and the Board of Control;         and
    that the person with whom the child Is ?l+zed
    shall be responsible      for his proper care and
    training.     Before any child shall be brought
    or sent into the State for the purpose of
    placing him in a foster       home, the person ao
    bringing or sendin: such child shall first
    notify the Eoard of Control of his intention
    and the Board of Control shall ifrzedietely
    notify the County Child :;elfarz      Board, who
    shall make a report to the Board of Control
    on the person whom it is indicated        will have
    oharge of the child,      and shall obtain from
    .:--.-
    739
    us.   Violet   S. Greenhill,    Page 4
    the Board of Control       a Certificate   stating
    that such home is, :ond such person or persons
    fn charge, are in the opinion of the Board of
    Control,    -uitsble   to have charge ?? such        .~.
    ohlld . Suoh notification       shall state the
    name, age and description       of the child,    the
    name and address of the person to whom the
    same is to be placed,      and such other iniorna-
    tion as may be required by the Board of Con-
    trol,   and the mm shKL1 be sworn to by such~
    Qerson.    The 3oard of Control shall require
    the person sending said child into this State,
    or the person who is in charge of the same
    after he has beon brought here, to make a
    report at certain stated times, snd in the
    event such reports are not mde suc,h. Board
    shall be authorized to deport said child
    from this State and the expenses thereof
    shall be recovered under said bond; provided,
    however, tha~t nothing herein shall be deened
    to prohibit     a resident   of this State from
    bringi=    into the State a relative      OF child
    for adoption into his own family.         The 5oard
    of Control and Child Zelfare Eoards shall not
    allo:? minors to come into and be brought into
    this State in violation       of this Act.
    “Sec. 7 If any’person      shall bring into          :
    this  State OS direct,    conspire,   or cause to
    ‘,e brought into or San’:. into this State any
    ehlld in violation    of the foregoing    section,
    he shall be guilty of a misiemearxr and upon
    conviction   therzof 33211 be r’ined in a sum
    not less than Twenty-five      ($25.00) Dollars
    nor more than One Thousand ($l,OOO.CO) Dol-
    I         lars,   or by confineaent   in the County Jail
    not exceeding t:%;elve months, or by both such
    rim and imprisonment,       Acts 1931, 42nd Leg.,
    Q. 323, ch. 194.”
    The language of Article    
    G06a, supra
    , is not aabigu-
    OUS. By the passage of this .Ict, the Legislature         sought to
    correct an existing      evil;  caoely,  the importation  of defective,
    illegitimate,     dependent, neglected,     or delincuect children
    Into this State by irresponsible        persons or agencies.    XOre
    than frequently,      these children becme yublic charges and OC-
    cassioned an overcrowded condition        in our State Institutions.
    (See Seotion 14 of the Act).
    . .
    ,Llrs.
    Viol&t S. Oreenhill, Fage 5
    The Legislature   qualified   the application of this
    statutory   provision,   however, to those persons or agencies
    who bring or send children under sixteen (IS) years of age
    into the State for the purpose of “plhctng them outW or
    wyrocuring their adoption.”       In the instant case, a person
    desires to bring a refugee child into this State and provide
    it with all the necessities      of life and have the child live
    with him. k bzLs QKYL   ~JUIUX
    wP.U Q-..&~II.,~ =&Yu& wti%      +Jn-e
    ahild’s  return to his rightful     parents.
    In the described  situation, no bond need be made
    for reason there is neither a “plaoing out* nor the procure-
    ment of an adoption.
    In the event there is a “placing   out’ or the pro-
    curement of an adoption,  the provisions   of Article  
    606a, supra
    , nust be set and conplied with for there is no evident
    exemption of war refugee ahfldren.     The Act applies to *any
    child below the age of sixteen   (16) * * *.*
    We trust   that the foregoing     answers your inquiry.
    Yours very truly
    ATTORNEYGEFiEE.LCB TEXkS
    Wm. J. Fan-~Lng
    Ass1&ant
    GX:RS    ARPROVmS= 30, 1S40
    

Document Info

Docket Number: O-2768

Judges: Gerald Mann

Filed Date: 7/2/1940

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/18/2017