What Child Services Does Texas DFPS Provide and How Do You Get Help?

Updated

Texas DFPS handles child-related matters through three main tracks: Child Protective Investigations (CPI) for reports of suspected abuse or neglect, Child Protective Services (CPS) for ongoing safety, family support, foster care, kinship care, and adoption, and Prevention programs for broader child safety efforts. If you need to report suspected abuse or neglect, the entry point is the Texas Abuse Hotline. If you are a parent, foster or adoptive parent, kinship caregiver, or youth in care, DFPS organizes services and information by role, so you can start from the "I am" menu on its site.

Reporting Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect

DFPS's core child protection function begins with a report. The agency's site lists Child Investigations and Child Services as separate top-level areas, and includes a dedicated "How to Report Abuse" entry under Adult Protection that also points to reporting pathways.

What happens after a report depends on which response track DFPS assigns:

Track What it is When it applies
Child Protective Investigations (CPI) Formal investigation of alleged abuse or neglect Reports meeting statutory investigation criteria
Alternative Response (AR) A non-investigative response focused on family needs and safety Cases where an investigation is not required but the family needs services
Child Care Investigations (CCI) Investigations involving child care operations Allegations tied to regulated child care settings
Special Investigations Investigations of specific case types Matters routed to this unit

DFPS publishes a Guide to Investigations and a Guide to Alternative Response so families can understand what to expect from each process. The site also links Case Connection, which is the mechanism for locating case-related information.

Child Protective Services: Safety, Family Support, and Children in Care

Once a case moves beyond investigation, Child Protective Services (CPS) covers the ongoing work. The DFPS site groups this under Child Services, with these sub-areas:

  • Child Safety — the safety planning and monitoring function
  • Child & Family Services — services delivered to the family unit
  • Family Support — support aimed at keeping families intact where possible
  • Children in Our Care — children removed from their homes and placed in DFPS conservatorship
  • Medical Services — health-related services for children in care
  • Youth & Young Adults — services for older youth and those transitioning out of care

DFPS also maintains CommunityBasedCare.org, described on the site as "Keeping foster care in local Texas communities." This reflects the shift of foster care management to local community-based care providers rather than a single statewide model.

Foster Care, Kinship Care, and Adoption

For people who want to care for a child, DFPS separates the pathways clearly:

  • Foster Care — becoming a foster parent, including Steps, Requirements, Information Meetings, and Get Started pages
  • Kinship Care — care by relatives or close family friends
  • Adoption — including Adoption Assistance and Medical Services for adopted children
  • Find a Child to Adopt — with Search Waiting Children and Heart Galleries as the tools to view children awaiting adoption

The site also has a dedicated Foster and Adoptive Parents section and a Foster Youth entry in the "I am" menu, so each group gets its own starting point rather than a single generic page.

Prevention and Child Safety Resources

DFPS runs prevention-focused content under its Prevention menu, including:

  • Office of Child Safety
  • Child Drownings — safety information on drowning prevention
  • Room Sharing & Safe Sleep — guidance for infant sleep safety

These sit alongside the agency's broader prevention and early intervention work. The site also references PEI Rider Reports (Prevention and Early Intervention) under Data & Reports, which document how prevention funding is used.

Records, Complaints, and Data

If you need information about a case or want to raise a concern about how DFPS handled something:

  • Case Records — the entry point for requesting case records
  • File a Complaint — linked from multiple sections, including Child Investigations, Child Services, and Adoption & Foster Care
  • Data & Reports — includes CPS Dashboard, Data Book, Monthly Data Reports & Presentations, Citizen Review Teams, and CPS Internal Audit

DFPS also publishes Reports & Statistics covering Active Contracts and Regional Statistics, and maintains a News & Information section for agency announcements. The FY26 DFPS Annual Plan is available on the home page.

Where to Start Based on Who You Are

DFPS's "I am" menu is the fastest routing tool. It lists: Parent, Foster or Adoptive Parent, Kinship Caregiver, Foster Youth, Elderly Person, Person with Disabilities, Teacher or Professional, Business or Service Provider, Volunteer, Looking for a Job, Looking for Training, and General Public. Selecting your role takes you to the services and forms relevant to your situation instead of the full agency structure.

For employment, the site links "Come work with us. Learn about jobs with DFPS." For contracting and business relationships, the Doing Business section covers DFPS Contracts, Contracting Policies, Contracting Forms, Funding Opportunities, and Purchased Client Services.