Who to Call?
DFPS is required to do background checks to see if a person has a criminal history, or abuse and neglect history that might be a risk to the health and safety of children, elderly, or people with disabilities. Background checks are required for:
- Purchased Client Services (PCS)
- 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."
About Background Checks
Our goals are to:
- Provide timely background check results.
- Establish consistency across DFPS background check policies as it applies to background check decision making.
- Provide excellent customer service to internal and external stakeholders.