CREATION OF OFFICE OF CHILD REPRESENTATION OR OFFICE OF PARENT REPRESENTATION

(a) An office described by Section 107.254 or 107.255 may be a governmental entity or a nonprofit corporation operating under a written agreement with a governmental entity, other than an individual judge or court. (b) The commissioners court of any county, on written approval of a judge of a statutory county court or a district court having family law jurisdiction in the county, may create an office of child representation, an office of parent representation, or both offices by establishing a department of the county or designating under a contract a nonprofit corporation to perform the duties of an office. (c) The commissioners courts of two or more counties may enter into a written agreement to jointly create and jointly fund a regional office of child representation, a regional office of parent representation, or both regional offices. (d) In creating an office of child representation or office of parent representation under this section, the commissioners court shall specify or the commissioners courts shall jointly specify, as applicable: (1) the duties of the office; (2) the types of cases to which the office may be appointed under this chapter and the courts in which an attorney employed by the office may be required to appear; (3) if the office is a nonprofit corporation, the term during which the contract designating the office is effective and how that contract may be renewed on expiration of the term; and (4) if an oversight board is established under Section 107.262 for the office, the powers and duties that have been delegated to the oversight board.