Child Protective Services
Handbook Revision, August 1, 2017
This revision of the Child Protective Services Handbook was published on August 1, 2017.
CPS wants to ensure that the general public understands what critical actions caseworkers are required to perform and why. To further this understanding, CPS has set up a policy e-mail box for the general public: CPSPolicyQuestions@dfps.texas.gov. Please feel free to contact us, via this email address, with any general questions related to policy.
For questions or concerns regarding specific cases, please contact the caseworker or supervisor, or the Office of Consumer Affairs at 1-800-720-7777.
Consent in Investigation Interviews (4th Amendment) (PATS 9537)
The items below are revised to clarify the rules for obtaining consent to enter a home, based on the latest interpretations of 4th Amendment requirements. See:
2240 Interviewing, Examining, and Transporting a Child
2240 Interviews
2241 General Requirements for Consent
2241 Interviews With Children
2241.1 Time Frames for Interviewing Children
2241.11 Determining Whether a Child Has the Capacity to Give Consent
2241.2 Authority to Give Consent
2241.2 Interviewing Other Children in the Home
2241.3 Voluntary Consent
2241.3 Requirements for Contacting Children
2241.31 Consent to Interview a Child at Home
2241.32 Parental Refusal to Allow a Child to be Interviewed
2241.33 Child Privacy
2241.34 Audio and Visual Documentation of a Child's Interview
2241.4 Withdrawing Consent
2241.4 Parental Notification that a Child Has Been Interviewed
2241.5 Documenting Consent and Actions Taken Based on Exigent Circumstances
2241.5 Interviews with Children at Specialized Facilities
2241.6 Accepting Child Interviews Conducted by Others
2241.7 Transporting a Child
2242 Entering the Home
2242 Interviewing Parents and Alleged Perpetrators
2242.1 Consent to Enter the Home
2242.1 Obtaining Permission to Enter the Home
2242.11 Who Has the Authority to Give Consent to Enter the Home
2242.12 Consent Provided by an Adult Resident of the Home
2242.2 Exigent Circumstances
2242.2 Notification that the Interview is Being Recorded
2242.3 Court Order
2242.3 Obtaining Demographic Information from Principals
2242.4 Required Documents to Provide to Parents
2242.5 Complaints or Requests for Clarification
2243 Interviews With Children
2243.1 Time Frames for Interviewing Children
2243.2 Interviewing Other Children in the Home
2243.3 Consent to Interview a Child
2243.31 Consent to Interview a Child at Home
2243.32 Consent to Interview a Child at School
2243.4 Conducting the Interview
2243.5 Notifying a Parent that a Child Has Been Interviewed
2243.6 Interviews with Children at Specialized Facilities
2243.7 Accepting Child Interviews Conducted by Others
2244 Visual Examinations
2244.1 Consent for Visual Examination of a Child at Home or in the Presence of a Parent or Other Person Responsible
2244.2 Consent for Visual Examination of a Child at School
2244.21 Visual Examination of a Child at a School Under TEA Jurisdiction
2244.22 Visual Examinations of a Child at a School Not Under TEA Jurisdiction
2244.3 Conducting a Visual Examination
2244.4 Audio and Visual Documentation of a Child's Interview and Injuries to the Child
2244.5 Examinations by External Entities
2244.51 Sexual Abuse Examinations
2244.52 Medical, Psychological and Psychiatric Assessments
2245 Transporting a Child
2245.1 Authority to Transport a Child From School
2245.11 Parental Consent
2245.12 Court Order
2245.13 Reasonable Belief
2245.2 Transporting a Child in Other Circumstances
2245.3 Notifying the Parents Before Transporting a Child
2246 Interviews and Contact with Parents, Alleged Perpetrators, Other Adults, and Principals
2246.1 Interviewing Parents and Alleged Perpetrators
2246.2 Recording Interviews With an Adult
2246.3 Obtaining Demographic Information from Principals
2246.4 Required Documents to Provide to Parents
2246.5 Complaints or Requests for Clarification from Alleged Perpetrators or Principal Adults
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2320 School Investigations
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Appendix 2000-1 Summary of Consent Requirements
Collective Minor Updates to CVS Policies (PATS 10142)
The items below are revised to reflect corrections and clarifications to the January 30, 2017 publication of the streamlined conservatorship policy contained in section 6000. See:
6133.22 Documenting Monthly Contacts and Visits
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6242.11 Initial Family Plan of Service
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6252.1 Reviewing a Youth's Transition Plan
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6314.11 Courtesy Caseworker Responsibilities
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6352 Military Families
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6366 When Service Planning Has Been Discontinued or Resumed
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6416.1 Sibling Visitation Issues Must Be Addressed in the Child's Plan of Service
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6431 Initial Assessment Services
6431.1 Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) Assessment and Family Strengths and Needs Assessment (FSNA)
6431.11 Timeline for CANS and FSNA
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6461.1 Notification Requirements When a Child Runs Away or is Missing
6461.2 Other Initial Actions Efforts to Locate
6461.3 Ongoing Efforts to Locate
6461.31 6461.3 Documentation and Review
6461.4 When a Child is Located
6461.5 Caseworker Actions When a Missing Child Returns to Care
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6471.1 In-State Travel Approval
6471.2 Out-of-State Travel Approval
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6510 Initiating the Reunification Process
6511 Reunification Staffing
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6623.2 The Written Home Assessment
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6625 Requirements for a Kinship Safety Evaluation (KSE)
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6642 Services and Contact with the Kinship Caregiver
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6652.31 Eligibility Criteria
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6661.1 When There Is No Kinship Development Caseworker
6661.1 6661.2 When There Is a Kinship Development Caseworker
6661.2 6661.3 Explaining Eligibility for Services
6661.3 6661.4 Documenting in IMPACT a Caregiver's Disinterest
6661.4 6661.5 Addressing Finances
6661.5 6661.6 Addressing Child Care
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6662.5 Closing the Kinship Stage in IMPACT
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6710 Services to Children and Families Who Are Not U.S. Citizens
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6715 Working With the Foreign Consulate
6715.1 Giving Notice to a Foreign Consulate
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6732 Procedure for International Placement
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6926 Preparing the Child's Records for Presentation to Prospective Adoptive Parents
Child Safety Check Alert List (CSCAL) (PATS 10232)
The items below are revised to:
• clarify timeframes and actions for diligent searches; and
• organize policy based on staff responsibilities.
See:
3100 When a Child Who is With His or Her Family Cannot be Located
3110 Conducting a Diligent Search and Placing the Family on the Child Safety Check Alert List (CSCAL)Search for a Child
3111 The Caseworker's Responsibilities
3111.1 Time Frames for the Diligent Search
3111.2 Required Diligent Search Actions
3111.3 Actions at the End of the Caseworker's Diligent Search
3111.4 Required Casework If Family Is Not Located
3111.5 Immediate Face-to-Face Contact When a Family is Located
3111.51 A Special Investigator (SI) Locates the Family
3111.52 Law Enforcement Locates the Family
3111.6 Family is Not Located – Closing the Case
3112 The Special Investigator's Responsibilities
3112.1 Diligent Search
3112.2 Actions At the End of the Diligent Search in a Priority 2 INV, AR, or FPR Stage
3112.3 After the Child and Family Are Placed on the CSCAL
3112.4 Special Investigator Locates a Child on CSCAL
3112.5 Family is Not Located – Closing the Case
3113 The Special Investigator Program Director's (SIPD) Responsibilities
3113.1 Assigning the Special Investigator (SI) to Conduct a Diligent Search
3113.2 Arranging for the Child and Family to be Placed on the CSCAL
3113.3 Arranging for Child and Family to be Taken Off the CSCAL
3114 Exceptions to the Requirement to Place the Family on the CSCAL
3114.1 Uncooperative Family Whose Location is Known
3114.2 Family Cannot be Located When Case Closure is Begun
3114.3 Other Exceptions
3114.4 Length of Time the Case on the CSCAL if the Child is Not Located
3115 3114 Child in DFPS Conservatorship Goes Missing Abducted by Family
3110 Conducting a Search for a Child
3111 Preliminary Search
3112 Priority 1 Investigation Cases
3113 Priority 2 INV, AR, and FPR Cases - The Twenty Day Search
3114 Child in DFPS Conservatorship Abducted by Family
3120 After a Family is Placed on CSCAL
3121 CPS Locates a Child on CSCAL
3122 Law Enforcement Locates a Child or Family on CSCAL
3123 Child or Family on CSCAL is Not Located
3130 When a Child is Safe, but a Principal Cannot Be Located
Requiring Caseworker to Document Staffings with Supervisor (PATS 10297)
This revision updates policy regarding the documentation of needed actions, follow up, or critical next steps.
See:
2272 Supervisor Review of Case Actions and Safety Decisions
Alternative Response Face to Face Contact (PATS 10252)
This revision clarifies that "family" includes all children in the household and that all children in the home must be seen within five days of stage progression to Alternative Response (AR).
See:
2622.4 Initial Face-to-Face Contact