THE ATJXBRNEY GENERAL
OF TEXAS
Decemberll. 1975
TheBriorable~Jackscm CQinionNo. n-748
Emzutive Director
TexasYouthBuhcil Fe: Administrationof
the
201 East 14thstreet l%zlnssma.intajnadhyths
Austin,Texas 78701 lkxasYouthCouncilfor
E"dnegleded
.
Bar Mr. aBckson:
Youhaveaskedtwoquestionsamemingthea&ninistrationofthe
~YouthQuncil's~fordependentandnsglectedchildren. Your
questionsare:
(1) Mayhouseparentsheenployedonalive-in
hasiswitbut violatingarticle5159d,V.T.C.S.?
(2) May the TexasYouthCouncilcontjnuetooffer
educationalsl?rvices,includinglmusingandmeals,
onavoluntarybasis toresidentsofthehmzswhc
have reachedths age of eighteen(1811
Youhaveinfoxm&usthatthehousepa?xntsinvolm?dwnlldhe
umrrisdcouplesand Wouldbe paid not lessthan $7,560.00per personpar
snnun. Article 5159d reqires a nCn.imnwage of $1.40per hour subject
to certainexceptions.Secticm4(b)(3)exempts",y personwloyed in
a . . .professionalcapacity."We neednotd&emue*theror inwhat
circunstancesahouseparent~dbewithinthis~m,forunder
ths infomationyouhave suppliedtous it is clearthat article5159d,
assuningitsapplicability, wouldmtpmhibit thiseqloymnt. A
salaryof $7,560.00per annunis roughlyequivalent to $145.00per week.
Thus,suchaneroplayeecouldbe~~toworkalmost104 imursper
week withxt any violationof article5159d. You have informedus that
~the~parentswillprabablywork55to6Ohoursperweekandwill
therefore receivemre than themininunwage. It may also be notedthat
sections5(c)and 5(d)are applicable.
p. 3172
'IbeHonorable
Ikm Jackson- page tm (H.-748)
Your secondguestionishhethertheTexasYouthCouucilmayam-
tinuetooffereducationalservices, inclwlinghousingandmeals,to
residents
of the l-meswhen they reach18 yearsof age. Article5143d,
section9a,V.T.C.S.provides:
Subjectto suchpoliciesas the TexasYouth
Councilmayadopt,theCorsicanaStateliane,
theWestlkxasChil&en'sRcmat Pyote,and
the Waco Statsl-km2may acceptfor amnission
any childbetmen the ages of three (3)years
and eighteen(18)yearswhc is a fullorphan,
ahalf-omhan.ora demndentaudneclscted
child,and may offer,if needed,car& treatment,
education,andtrainiug,tosuchchildrenasare
admittedtheretountiltheyha reachedthe age
of +zwenty-ona(21)years. (&zaSlS added)
In our view,this articleclearlyauthorizesthe provision
of care
audaducationonavoluntarybasistc residents of thehams*have
reachedths age of 18 b.xtnot 21. WetelievetheLegislatureiutended
to specifythatotherpersons,at the discretionoftheYouthCouncil,
wouldamtinue tcbe qualifiedfor thesebenefitswitbutregard to
theirlegalinfancyor adultstatus. AttorneyGeneral@inion H-585
(1975).canpareAttorneyGeneralC&ion H-83 (1973).
SUMMARY
UnderthestatedfactstheTexasYouth
Cbuncilmay~loyhouseparentsonalive-in
basiswithoutviolatingarticle5159d.
TheYouthCcuncilmyamtinue tooffer
educatimlalservicesandcare,includingmsals
andlxmsing,on amluutarybasis to residents
ofl-uaesfordepemkntamdneglectedpersons
andorphansaftertheyreachl8yearsofage
anduntiltheyreach21yearsofage.
AttorneyGeneral
of lkxas
p. 3173
. .
The Homrable F&m Jackson- page three (H-748)
p. 3174