Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Article Contents

Role in Child Protection
Structure and Leadership
Budget
Address and Contact
Recent News Coverage

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is a state agency responsible for investigating allegations of child abuse, elder abuse, and abuse of adults with disabilities.

DFPS works with the Texas judiciary to enforce laws that protect children and the elderly.

The department has five major internal divisions:

Adult Protective Services offers services for the elderly and people with people with disabilities, and investigates reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation;
Child Protective Investigations looks into reports of child abuse or neglect to determine if any child in the family has been abused or neglected;
Child Protective Services oversees kinship placements, foster care, and adoption;
Prevention and Early Intervention runs preventative programs to address juvenile delinquency, child abuse, and neglect; and
Statewide Intake operates the Texas Abuse Hotline (1-800-252-5400 and TxAbuseHotline.org), which receives reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation from across the state.

Role in Child Protection

Working with the family court system, DFPS plays a central role in protecting children from abusive situations. In the 2019 fiscal year, DFPS placed 18,615 children in foster care, helped 20,343 children to leave foster care, and completed 6,107 adoptions.

The department’s Investigations and Child Protective Services (CPS) divisions handle these cases. If CPS determines that a family is unwilling or unable to provide a safe environment for a child, then the department may ask a judge to remove that child from the family.

Often, CPS will try to identify a member of the extended family to take the child. When that is not an option, a child may live in foster care. Foster families are reimbursed for the costs of caring for children.

In the meantime, CPS provides services to the parents until the family is reunited or a judge determines that reunion is not in the best interest of the child and approves another permanent living arrangement. Throughout a child’s stay in foster care, a judge has ongoing oversight.

Structure and Leadership

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services employs about 12,000 staff in more than 250 local offices and the agency headquarters in Austin.

The department is headed by a commissioner appointed by the governor. An advisory council called the Family and Protective Services Council assists the commissioner in setting policies and strategy for the department.

Additionally, DFPS has several specialized advisory committees, including the Committee on Advancing Residential Practices, Advisory Committee on Promoting Adoption of Minority Children, and the Parent Collaboration Group.