Who to Call?

About Background Checks

DFPS is required to do background checks to see if a person has a criminal, abuse and neglect, or reportable conduct history that might be a risk to the health and safety of children, elderly, or people with disabilities. The Background Checks team is responsible for processing checks for multiple populations, including:

  • Purchased Client Services (PCS) contractors
  • Foster and adoptive homes
  • Relatives who are taking care of children in state custody (Kinship Care)
  • DFPS employees, volunteers, and interns
  • Authorized volunteer organizations and individual volunteers

Background Check staff also conduct abuse and neglect history checks for anyone in the public through the Texas Central Registry Portal. Texas Central Registry Background Checks .

Information about obtaining criminal history or abuse and neglect background checks in states other than Texas can be found in the Criminal Background Check Contact List provided by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. This document replaces two older documents, "Out-of-State Criminal History Request List" and "Out-of-State Abuse and Neglect Request Resources."

For information about reportable conduct checks, visit SEMARC.texas.gov.

Processing background checks help DFPS identify potential risks and protect the safety and well-being of clients and agency resources.

Background Checks Program Goals

  • Provide background check results as quickly and efficiently as possible.
  • Ensure background check decisions follow DFPS policies.
  • Provide excellent customer service to individuals and organizations requesting background checks.