A Parent's Guide to a Child Protective Services (CPS) Investigation

Version en Español

We know that a visit or contact from a Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworker about your family can be difficult and confusing. This pamphlet will help you better understand the CPS program.

Clear and honest communication is very important in CPS' mission to protect children from abuse and neglect. If you have any questions about what is being said, or about anything you are asked to do, please ask your caseworker what they mean. If it is still unclear, you may ask to speak with a supervisor.

• If you have a hearing impairment or trouble understanding English, please tell your caseworker so that CPS can provide an interpreter.
• If your child is of American Indian or Native Alaskan heritage, please tell your caseworker because it affects the legal requirements that may apply in the case.
  

What is Child Protective Services (CPS)?

The CPS program receives, investigates, and assesses reports of child abuse and neglect by parents, family, or household members.

If needed, CPS may refer parents to services for help. The services may assist them solve their problems and learn how to care for and discipline their children in ways that do not harm them or place them at risk of abuse or neglect. These services may include counseling, day care, homemaker services, evaluation, treatment, and parenting training.

CPS caseworkers have identification cards. Ask to see your caseworker's DFPS
identification card if you want to know if they really work for CPS.

Why is CPS visiting my family?

State law requires anybody who believes that a child has been abused or neglected to make a report to the Child Protective Services (CPS) program of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or to a law enforcement agency. The law requires CPS to investigate reports of child abuse or neglect for the main purpose of protecting children.

What does CPS do in a child abuse or neglect investigation?

When investigating a report, a caseworker:

• interviews the child reported to have been abused or neglected. The interview with the child must be audio taped or videotaped. The interview may be held at any reasonable time and place, including at school.
  
• makes a reasonable effort to tell you of any interviews and the nature of the allegations within 24 hours after an interview has taken place.
  
• discusses the report with you to get an explanation about any injuries, safety concerns, or risk of abuse or neglect to the child.
  
• gets criminal history information about people alleged to have abused or neglected your child.
  

As necessary, the caseworker may also:

• interview other children in the home;
  
• visually examine children in the home for signs of physical abuse or neglect;
  
• interview any other person alleged to have abused or neglected your child;
  
• interview anyone with information about the situation, including those who can verify explanations of the harm to your child;
  
• ask for access to mental health records on your child, yourself, or people alleged to have abused or neglected your child;
  
• ask for a medical, psychological, or psychiatric examination of you or your child if it is needed to find out if abuse or neglect has occurred or if risk of abuse or neglect exists;
  
• visit the child's home; and
  
• transport the child for purposes relating to the interview or examination. If this occurs, CPS will notify the parent.

Please cooperate with your caseworker in taking these steps, which are authorized by law to complete the investigation. However, if necessary, CPS has the authority to ask a court for an order giving your caseworker permission to talk to or examine your children, visit your home, or receive health records.

Will CPS speak with Law Enforcement?

The law requires CPS to tell law enforcement agencies of all reports of alleged abuse or neglect. The law enforcement agency decides, separate from CPS, whether to conduct a criminal investigation and whether a criminal violation occurred. You can contact the local law enforcement agency to ask about a criminal investigation. You can also contact local law enforcement if you feel that someone has made a false report against you.

How long does it take to complete the investigation?

Your caseworker normally completes the investigation in 30 days. As a result of the investigation, your caseworker will decide if:

• abuse or neglect occurred;
  
• the child is safe; and
  
• the child is at further risk of abuse or neglect.

If CPS determines that the child is not safe, your caseworker will decide if:

• removing your child from your care is necessary; and whether
  
• you need ongoing treatment services to reduce the risk of further abuse or neglect.

Your caseworker will get approval about these decisions from his or her supervisor and then will tell you about them.

What does risk of child abuse and neglect mean?

Children are at risk of abuse or neglect when there is a reasonable likelihood that they will be abused or neglected, as defined by the Texas Family Code, in the near future.

What is a Family Team Meeting?

CPS knows that all families have strengths. Families know their children best and want them to be safe. If your caseworker consults with their supervisor and thinks that children are not safe in their current situation, CPS may ask the family to help. Then they may ask that you attend a Family Team Meeting. At this meeting, several things happen:

• Everyone will be encouraged to talk openly about child safety issues.
• Parents, the family, and others will work together to make a plan to keep the
  child safe.
• Parents get to choose who will attend these meetings, including friends and family they believe may be able to help them.

Family Team Meetings are voluntary. Parents may request them at any time if they feel it will help them find a way to keep their child safe.

What is a Safety Plan?

If your caseworker and supervisor think your child is not safe or might be harmed in the very near future, they will work with you to develop a Safety Plan. A Safety Plan is a written agreement between you and CPS that asks you to do certain things to make sure your child will continue to be safe. This is a voluntary agreement, though there may be consequences if you do not take the actions you agreed to. The Safety Plan might be a result of the Family Team Meeting or it may be made at other times during the investigation.

What is a Parental Child Safety Placement?

A Parental Child Safety Placement is an agreement between the parents and a voluntary caregiver who has been approved by CPS. In these placements, parents agree to temporarily place their children with family or close friends because CPS has determined the children are not safe with their parents. CPS calls the family or close friends "voluntary caregivers." Your caseworker must tell you why your child is not considered safe. If you and CPS develop a Parental Child Safety Placement, CPS will try to work with you to make the changes needed so your children can be safely returned to your home.

Will CPS take my child away?

CPS only removes children when it is necessary to protect them from abuse or neglect. This happens when there are no reasonable efforts that will keep children safe in their homes. With a court order, CPS can remove children when they are unsafe and the family is unable to make the changes needed to keep them safe. Depending on what is going on with the family, CPS may have a court order to remove children or it may remove children before getting a court order.

If CPS removes your child from your care without a court order, the court will review the case the next working day. In any instance when CPS removes a child, the court will schedule a hearing within two weeks after the child is removed. When CPS removes children it will ask the parents to complete a Child Caregiver Resource Form. The form provides CPS with the names of at least three people, including grandparents and other adult relatives, who could provide care, emotional, or other support for the child while the parents receive services.

If my child has been removed will I be able to contact him/her?

Before the initial court hearing regarding your case, your caseworker will decide the type and amount of contact you may have with your child. Your caseworker will work with their supervisor and make these decisions on a case-by-case basis. When possible at the time CPS removes your child, your caseworker will discuss a plan for you to have contact with your child. Additional decisions about contact with your child may be determined at court hearings or through more discussions with your caseworker. If you disagree with the plan for contact, you should discuss your concerns with your caseworker and supervisor. After these discussions if you still disagree with the plan for contact, let the judge know at the next court hearing. If you have a lawyer, we suggest you discuss these concerns with him or her.

Do I need a lawyer? How do I get one?

You have the right to consult with a lawyer at any point in the investigation at your own expense. If CPS files a lawsuit regarding your children, you may ask the court for a lawyer to represent you. The court may or may not be able to provide you with a lawyer based on court rules and your financial situation. In some communities Legal Aid may be available, or you can contact the local bar association or call Lawyer Referral Service, State Bar of Texas 1-800-252-9690. CPS staff are prohibited by law from giving legal advice.

Who will know what is in CPS records about me?

Because Texas law requires CPS to keep the report and investigation confidential from the public, CPS will only give information to the people who were investigated, the victim's parents, law enforcement officials, courts, and county or district attorneys. There is a very limited exception for certain details about a child death investigation, which must be released to the public, and CPS will share information with providers and others as necessary for services to be provided. For example, a therapist will need to know details of the abuse and neglect to provide counseling. CPS will give relatives or other individuals with whom a child is placed any information necessary to ensure that they are prepared to meet the child's needs. This may include information about any abuse or neglect. The law does not allow CPS to give you the name of the person who reported the child abuse or neglect.

How can I know what is in my CPS record?

You can get, at your expense, a deidentified copy of the report with investigation information concerning you unless:
releasing the information would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation or the child's safety; or
court proceedings are pending and the lawyer representing CPS has determined that CPS cannot give the information to you.
You can get a copy of the form needed to request a copy of your CPS record from your local CPS office or here. The cost of the copy is determined by DFPS, using established rates.

What can I do if I disagree with the conduct or findings of the CPS investigation?

Speak to the caseworker. An open discussion may settle the matter. If you cannot resolve your concerns with the caseworker, discuss them with the supervisor. If CPS thinks that you were responsible for child abuse or neglect and you disagree, you can request an administrative review of the investigation, unless a court has upheld the findings. CPS will give you instructions about how to request this review in the letter it sends when it closes the investigation.

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Office of Consumer Affairs handles case-specific complaints relating to programs including Child Protective Services, Adult Protective Services, and Child Care Licensing. You may contact the Office of Consumer Affairs online or at the following numbers: toll free 1-800-720-7777, fax (512) 339-5892, or e-mail address oca@dfps.state.tx.us

References

References to the law in this pamphlet are primarily from the Texas Family Code, Chapter 261, Investigation of Report of Child Abuse or Neglect; Chapter 262, Procedures in Suit by Governmental Entity to Protect Health and Safety of Child; Chapter 263, Review of Placement of Children under Care of the Department of Family and Protective Services; the Texas Administrative Code and the CPS Handbook.

The Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Coordinator can be reached at:
Texas Health and Human Services Commission Civil Rights Office
701 W. 51st St., Mail Code W206
Austin, Texas 78751
(512) 438-4313 or 1-888-388-6332
TDD for people with hearing impairments (512) 438-2960 or 1-877-432-7232

More Resources

The National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
TDD for people with hearing impairments 1-800-787-3224
Family violence is when a family or household member commits an act intended to result in physical or emotional harm against someone else in the family or household. Family violence is against the law in Texas. The first step in stopping family violence is to recognize it when it happens. It's hard to accept that you may be battered by someone you love. Still, you may be a victim of family violence if:

• you are being pushed, shoved, slapped, bruised, kicked, strangled, or threatened with a weapon;
  
• you are verbally attacked or accused;
  
• your possessions are intentionally damaged;
  
• you are not allowed to come and go as you wish;
  
• you are being followed, harassed, or spied upon;
  
• you are forced to have sex or perform a degrading sexual act;
  
• you are kept in isolation;
  
• you have to ask for permission to spend money;
  
• you feel nervous or afraid for your safety when your partner becomes angry;
  
• your partner has threatened to hurt you, your children, or other family members if you leave.
  

Studies show that between 30 and 60% of batterers who physically abuse their spouses also physically abuse their children. Studies also show that batterers are more than four times as likely as other men to sexually abuse their children or stepchildren. Children may also be hurt indirectly when their parent is abused or may be injured trying to protect their parent.
Family violence victims include men, women, and children. Nationally, reports of domestic disturbances involve almost equal numbers of female and male perpetrators. However, women are 5 to 8 times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than men. In 2009, law enforcement reported 196,713 incidents of family violence in Texas, with 111 women killed by their intimate male partners. No one deserves to be abused. If something about your relationship frightens you, or if you or someone you know is suffering abuse in a relationship, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The CPS caseworker who gave you this brochure may also have information on more community resources.

CHIPS/Medicaid (formerly TexCare Partnership)
Children’s Health Insurance to Fit Your Budget
Call toll-free 1-877-543-7669 (1-877-KIDS-NOW)
Texas families with uninsured children who are approved may be able to get health insurance through Children's Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Both programs offer health care benefits, including regular medical and dental checkups. Pregnant women who are approved may also receive health services for their unborn children under CHIP's Perinatal program.

Medicaid Buy-In for Children
Call 2-1-1 or 1-877-541-7905
Medicaid Buy-In for Children can help pay medical bills for children with disabilities. This program helps families who need health insurance, but make too much money to get traditional Medicaid. Families "buy in" to Medicaid by making a monthly payment (premium).

Health Insurance Premium Payment (HIPP)
Call the HIPP Helpline at 1-800-440-0493 (toll-free)