Child Protective Services
Handbook Revision, September 2013
This revision of the Child Protective Services Handbook was published on September 1, 2013. Summaries of new or revised items are provided below.
Information Systems (PATS 5917)
Transferring a Case to Family-Based Safety Services (PATS 5238)
Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) Monthly Evaluations (PATS 5762)
Exceptions When Obtaining Service Levels (PATS 5597)
The CPS handbook is revised to update information about legacy information systems.
See:
1180 Information Systems
1181 Information Management Protecting Adults and Children in Texas (IMPACT)
1181.1 Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry
1181.2 Who Can Access Central Registry
1182 Self-Request Central Registry Checks
1183 Previous Information Systems (Legacy Systems)
Transferring a Case to Family-Based Safety Services
The following items are added or revised to clarify the FBSS case referral process for Investigations when a family requires FBSS but has moved before or during the referral process to FBSS and for transferring cases between FBSS units when a family moves or when a case needs to be transferred to another FBSS unit.
See:
2460 Transferring a Case to Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS)
2461 Overview of Transferring a Case to FBSS
2462 Referral to FBSS
2462.1 Preparing the FBSS Referral
2462.2 Submitting the FBSS Referral Packet
2462.3 Monitoring the FBSS Referral
2463 The FBSS Family Assessment and Staffing
2463.1 [new item] When a Family Moves to New Location Before Referral to FBSS
2463.2 [new item] When a Family Moves to New Location After the Family Assessment
2464 Making Key Decisions About Transferring a Case to FBSS
2465 Maintaining Contact With the Family During the Transfer to FBSS
2466 Delivering Services During a Transfer to FBSS
2467 Requesting That the Court Order FBSS
2468 Documenting the Transition to FBSS
2469 Documenting an Investigation Without Offering FBSS
3240 [new item] Case Transfer Across FBSS Units and Regional Lines
The following items have been added or revised to address the use of secondary workers in Family-based Safety Services. It includes the definition of the secondary worker, the process for requesting/assigning a secondary worker, and the responsibilities of the primary and secondary workers. Items have been renumbered because of the reorganization of the Child Protective Services Handbook.
See:
3326 Roles of Secondary Workers
3326.1 [new item] Requesting a Secondary Caseworker
3326.2 [new item] Process for Assigning a Secondary Caseworker
3326.3 [new item] Resolving Disagreements Regarding Secondary Caseworker Assignments
3326.4 [new item] Responsibilities of a Primary Caseworker While a Secondary Caseworker Is Assigned
3326.5 [new item] Responsibilities of a Secondary Caseworker – Completing Visits
3326.6 [new item] Responsibilities of a Secondary Caseworker in Parental Child Safety Placements
3326.7 [new item] Ongoing Communication Between Primary Caseworker and Secondary Caseworker
Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) Monthly Evaluations
This revision updates the policy involving documentation of contacts and Monthly Evaluations based on the reorganization of the FBSS 3000 section of the CPS Handbook.
See:
3329 Documenting Contacts and Visits
3329.1 [new item] Documentation of Contacts with Principals and Collaterals
3329.2 [previously 3329.3] Timeframes for Documenting FBSS Contacts
3329.3 [previously 3329.1] Documenting Critical Contacts
3329.4 [previously 3329.2] Documenting Noncritical Contacts
3329.5 [previously 6131.22] Completing a Monthly Evaluation/Assessment and Entering the Required Content
3329.6 [previously 3482] Entering FBSS Contacts and Submitting Monthly Evaluations for Supervisory Approval
Exceptions When Obtaining Service Levels
The following item is revised to explain when a caseworker is not required to submit clinical records for the last 30 days to obtain a service level. CPS staff were informed about this policy with the issuance of PSA 12-112 on August 6, 2012.
See:
4325 Obtaining a Scheduled or Nonscheduled Review of a Service Level
4325.1 [new item] Requesting a Review of a Service Level (Scheduled or Nonscheduled) by Preparing a Complete Clinical Record
4325.2 [new item] If a Complete Clinical Record Is Not Available When Requesting a Review of a Service Level
4325.3 [new item] Submitting the Clinical Record (or Narrative and Application) to Request a Review of a Service Level (Scheduled or Nonscheduled)
4325.4 [new item] After Submitting the Clinical Record (or Narrative and Application) to Request a Review of a Service Level (Scheduled or Nonscheduled)