Appendix 4525: Offenses from the Texas Penal Code and Other Codes
CPS September 2023
The following charts describe the offenses in the Texas Penal Code that affect a potential caregiver’s approval for a:
- Parental Child Safety Placement (PCSP)
- Kinship placement
- Kinship foster or adoptive home
The charts are intended to help a caseworker easily identify the potential consequences of a conviction, if a caregiver moves from a PCSP to kinship, foster, or adoptive placement.
Explanatory Notes
Following are explanatory notes pertaining to offenses under the Texas Penal code and other offenses:
- A substantially similar conviction under another state’s law or federal law is handled as though the conviction was one for the comparable offense under Texas law.
- An “attempt to commit” conviction is treated as falling under the same section of the Penal Code as the crime that was attempted.
- Time limits are based on the date of conviction.
- All areas marked with an asterisk (*) indicate that the bar is based on federal requirements set forth in State Plan for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance, 42 USC 671(a)(20)(A).
- “N/A” means there is no such relevant misdemeanor or felony crime.
- “No action needed” means a crime was committed, but no specific DFPS action is required. Nevertheless, if there is a conviction, it needs to be considered for its overall impact to child safety.
- The term “verified,” under Chart 2 and Chart 3, is used to refer to applications submitted for verification by adults who:
- Are verified as foster parents or approved as adoptive parents.
- Are currently verified foster parents and approved adoptive parents.
- The tables in Chart 2 and Chart 3 are in numerical order by the number of the Texas Penal Code offense chapters identified in the second column.
See:
Chart 1: Assessing Criminal History Offenses and Convictions for Safety Plan Monitors and PCSPs
Chart 3: Low-Risk Criminal Offenses Eligible for an Appeal in Kinship Placement Decision