Press release from Texas Department of Families and Protective Services

05-06-25

We work with families to safely return children to their homes or place them with an alternative family Find a child to adopt in the Texas Adoption Resourse Exchange(TARE). Information on adoption assistance Supporting older foster youth as they become adults. Families Open Homes and Hearts with Kinship Care Family members can help give children a safe, loving, and stable home when they are unable to live with their parents. With kinship care – or relative care – children benefit by living with relatives they know and trust in a place that’s familiar and safe. Learn more about kinship care Resources and support Give Children a Safe Place to Live: Foster Care Foster care gives children who are unable to live with their parents or other family members a safe place to live until they can return to their parents’ home or are found a permanent home. Learn more about foster care Become a foster parent Reuniting Families and Finding Children New Forever Homes After CPS removes a child from their home, our caseworkers work with families on what we call a permanency plan. It’s a road map to getting the child into a safe and permanent home. First, we work with families to return the child to a parent or parents, and that is usually what happens. But, if that’s not possible, we work to find an alternative family (preferably a kinship family) to adopt or accept legal custody of the child. With adoption or legal custody (permanent managing conservatorship or PMC), a new family makes a lifelong commitment to a child – giving the child a chance to have a “forever” home without CPS in his or her life. Learn about adoption or permanent managing conservatorship (PMC) Learn more about adoption options Learn more about permanency options Adoption resources and support Find a child to adopt on the Texas Adoption Resource Exchange (TARE)External Link Helping Foster Youth Become Successful Adults The State of Texas DFPS has many programs to support older foster youth as they become young adults. These programs make their transition to adulthood smoother and help them identify and achieve long-term goals at school, at work, and in everyday life. The benefits can include assistance with college tuition, health coverage, housing, and much more. Learn about the Preparation For Adult_Living (PAL) program Learn about Transitional Living Services for foster youth See how Extended Foster Care helps support youth past age 18 Find out about tuition waivers and other education resources

Foster and Adoption Agencies in Texas

A child placing agency (CPA) is a private foster and/or adoption agency that works in partnership with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to train foster and adoptive parents and find homes for children. If you foster or adopt a child in the conservatorship of DFPS, the agencies below can provide you with services at minimal costs.

To learn about requirements for becoming a verified foster parent or approved adoptive parent, read Texas Child Placing Agency Foster and Adoptive Parent Training Requirements, which provides details on each child placing agency and their unique requirements for licensure. If you need help finding a CPA that’s right for you, contact your local child care regulation office.

Foster and adoption agency offices are located in most regions of Texas. Several of them provide services statewide. To find a CPA in your area visit this site.

Resources for Foster Families

If you are a foster parent looking for information and assistance, there are organizations throughout the state that offer support to foster families. Resources are sorted by those that serve regions of Texas as well as cities and metropolitan areas. These organizations work specifically with current and former foster youth and their families. For a list of mentoring opportunities for foster youth, visit the Mentoring Foster Youth page.

Press release from the Texas Department of Family and Mental Health Services

05-01-25

Press release from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

03-31-25

  The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and TexProtects invite you to join our Child Abuse Prevention Month event featuring State Representative John Lujan.

  Join us on April 5th at 9:00 A.M. at the Texas Capitol South Steps in downtown Austin as we hear from speakers and plant a pinwheel garden to raise awareness around child abuse and neglect prevention efforts in Texas and across the nation!

  April is designated every year as National Child Abuse Prevention Month. During this time, we recognize the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect. It is also a time to spotlight the work being done across our state to support families and prevent children from experiencing the trauma of abuse or neglect.

  Preventing child abuse cannot be accomplished by one community, agency, or system alone. We must work together to strengthen our communities and create accessible support for families and children to thrive. Join us as we gather to emphasize the importance of family support services and child abuse and neglect prevention.

Don’t forget to wear blue, the official color of Child Abuse Prevention Month, and we hope to see you at the Capitol!

WHEN:      April 5, 2024
9:00 to 9:45 a.m.

WHERE:   Texas Capitol South Steps
1100 Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78701

Opening Prayer

 Welcome, DFPS Commissioner Stephanie Muth 

 Proclamation of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Rep. Lujan

 Importance of child abuse prevention, TexProtects Chief Executive Officer Adrianna Cuéllar Rojas

Prevention Takes a Community, Associate Commissioner of Prevention and Early Intervention Sasha Rasco

Pinwheel Planting Ceremony, all attendees

Press release from The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

January 29th,2025 

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is excited to announce the release of the January 2025 update to the Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C) System Blueprint.  The T3C System Blueprint is a guide to help Texas foster care stakeholders understand the framework and parameters for T3C’s service packages and add-on services. DFPS will continue to update the T3C System Blueprint quarterly (January, April, July, October) to include revisions (if necessary) and provide detailed information related to transition and implementation of the T3C System. During the transition to this new system, we will learn lessons and make modifications for continued improvement, and the T3C System Blueprint will be the primary way we communicate those changes. Among the updates to this version of the T3C System Blueprint are details regarding the Full Credential process, to reflect the refinements made to the Applications in response to lessons learned during the initial roll-out of the Interim Credential process. You can find the updated version of the T3C System Blueprint, and all previous versions of the document, on the DFPS Texas Child-Centered Care webpage. You can also find a change log that details the changes made in the most recent Blueprint. Webinar DFPS is hosting a webinar that will give a brief overview of the updates made to the T3C System Blueprint, and an introduction to the Full Credential Application.  The webinar will be held on: Tuesday, February 4th, 2025 at 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Prior registration for the webinar is not required. Just click on the above link at the indicated start time. The webinar will be recorded and posted to the T3C webpage. Survey To ensure efficiency of the Credentialing review process, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) is asking that providers complete a brief online survey. This will assist DFPS in assessing the progress that providers are making in their preparations to apply for T3C Credentials and help project anticipated workload for Credentialing staff. The information requested in the survey will capture the time frame(s) between December 2024 and August 2027 that providers are currently intending to submit applications for Interim or Full Credentials. Perpetual Provider Survey Questions The T3C frequently asked questions (FAQ) page has been updated. If you have any questions or feedback related to the T3C, please contact us at dfpstexaschildcenteredcare@dfps.texas.gov.

Press release from the Texas Department of Families and Protective Services

image by Sammis Reachers from Pixabay

01-02-25

DFPS is committed to eradicating human trafficking through awareness, services, and prevention efforts. There are many exciting and impactful events happening this January across Texas and the United States. Please see the 2025 Human Trafficking Prevention Month Participation Guide for events and information to join the fight against human trafficking.

Wear Blue Day

January 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, also known as Wear Blue Day. DFPS invites you to take photos of yourself and your friends, family, and colleagues while wearing blue. Then, share those photos on social media. Please use #WearBlueDay, tag DFPS in your post by using the handle @TexasDFPS, and email your photos to HumanTrafficking@dfps.texas.gov. Anyone can participate. All you need is something blue!

Lunch and Learn Series

Join DFPS for our Light the Way End Human Trafficking 2025 Lunch and Learn Series. Subject matter experts from across the country will join us during the lunch hour (starting at noon Central Time) to cover various human trafficking topics:

• January 9, 2025 — How to Activate Faith Communities to Protect Their Children
• January 16, 2025 — Child Exploitation: Parenting in the Digital Age
• January 23, 2025 — Groomed to Hide It: Challenges of Victim Identification in Sex Trafficking Cases
• January 30, 2025 — Caught in the System: The Intersection of Human Trafficking and Forced Criminality

Visit DFPS’s Human Trafficking Prevention Month page for information about all the events featured this month, and learn more at TexasEndHumanTrafficking.org.