Services
Special Investigations
Special investigators are former law enforcement officers and have expertise in criminal investigations. They assist in high-profile or high-risk abuse and neglect cases that may require joint investigation with law enforcement. Special investigators take the lead on school investigations, DFPS employee investigations, and child fatality cases when there are no surviving children in the home. They also participate on local boards and multi-disciplinary teams.
Special investigators handle or assist in investigations of abuse and neglect in situations when law enforcement experience is crucial or when their skill set is more appropriate than that of a CPI caseworker.
Special investigators play a large role in locating and recovering children that have gone missing from foster care or other forms of DFPS conservatorship (legal custody). They are liaisons in missing children cases to the National Crime Information Center and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and they provide recovery interviews and services and assist with the Governor’s human trafficking initiatives. Special investigators work closely with the DFPS Human Trafficking Team to develop tools to help in investigations involving missing children and victims of sex or labor trafficking.
Child Care Investigations
Child Care Investigations (CCI) investigates allegations of abuse and neglect in daycare and in foster care to ensure the safety of children. CCI reports its findings to the Child Care Licensing (CCL) program at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. CCI investigators also share information with CCL inspectors when they identify possible violations of child care minimum standards so that CCL can address them with the daycare or foster care provider. CCI also coordinates with Child Protective Services if the allegations involve a child in foster care.