need authority that states an enforcement for restitution may be filed against the PARENT past child's 18th birthday when court order does NOT specifically order the parent to pay; the restitution order is a condition of probation for the juvenile. have done many times, but now someone contesting. thx.

Robert Dawson's Juvenile Law Book may give you a good start. On p. 219 it says:
"Under Section 54.041(b), a restitution order against a child may extend beyond the child's 18th birthday as a court order independent of probation if the child is currently enrolled in a secondary school. That period conforms to the parental liability for support under Title 5 of the Family Code.

The parent of a child may be ordered to make restitution to the victim of the offense. An order directd against a parent may extend beyond the child's 18th birthday until such time as the child is no longer enrolled in secondary school."

Just a quick look in Family Code and I didn't find the exact language about parental liability, but that may give a start to research, anyway.

thank you for the reply. dawson's and fam code were the first places i went before i posted, but they seem to refer to cases where there was a direct order for the parents to pay. juv says we cannot go after the parents because the order to pay rest. was a condition of juv's probation and not an order for the parents to pay.

do any of you always make separate orders for the parents to pay?

Always

I have started to, also, since this exact issue has come up when my 16 and 17 year olds are aging out and paying absolutely nothing. Since the parents are present at the plea, I put an order for parental responsibility in the packet they look at and sign, and that way if there is restitution to be made, when the plea of true is taken on the record, the prosecutor can say that the order was there, parents were aware, and restitution is owed. That seems to be enough notice up front.

We always have the Court sign an Order of Payment directed at the parents. There are also a couple of places in our adjudication/disposition order that are directed at the parents as far as paying attorneys fees and restitution.

We have never really filed a motion to enforce restitution against a parent, but our judge has indicated that she would like us to do so. Does anyone have the paperwork, so we don't have to re-invent the wheel? Also, I would love a copy of the order directing the parent to pay! That sounds like a great idea.