Reorganization of Health and Human Services
House Bill 2292, passed by the 78th Texas Legislature, created a new health and human services system in Texas. This unprecedented legislation mandated that 10 of 12 health and human services agencies be abolished and their powers and duties transferred into three entirely new departments and into the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). H.B. 2292 left the programs and duties of the former Department of Protective and Regulatory Services intact and renamed the agency as the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). DFPS began its redirected operations February 1, 2004.
Mission of DFPS
The nearly seven thousand employees of the Department of Family and Protective Services work tirelessly to assure that vulnerable children and adults receive the services they so desperately need. The strongest asset for this agency has been, and will continue to be, the dedication of the front-line staff who make a difference in people's lives each and every day. These dedicated public servants need the resources requested to fulfill the mission of our agency - to protect the unprotected.