Texas CPS and family law, explained in plain English.
What happens when CPS (DFPS) contacts your family, what a court can and can't order, and how divorce, custody, child support and protective orders work in Texas. Every answer is quoted from Texas law and linked to the official text, with local help for Weatherford and Parker County. También en español.
Start where you are
CPS is at my door
What they have to tell you, and what you can do.
CPS took my child
The first hearing, the 14-day hearing, and your right to a lawyer.
What happens in an investigation
Step by step, from the report to the findings.
I got a findings letter
What Ruled Out, Unable to Determine and Reason to Believe mean.
We have a Family Plan (FBSS)
How Family Based Safety Services works and how it closes.
A court ordered services
The 90-day reviews, the 180-day limit, and how to ask to end it.
Drug testing
How often DFPS policy allows each kind of test.
Free private case binder
Organize your papers, court dates, requirements and contacts on your own device. Nothing is uploaded.
Weatherford and Parker County
Local courts, clerks, offices and legal help in Weatherford, Azle, Springtown, Aledo, Willow Park and Hudson Oaks, from official county and state sources.
Need a CPS lawyer in Parker County?
When the court must appoint one, and where to find one in Weatherford.
Need a family lawyer in Weatherford?
Referral lines, free legal aid and what to bring.
Divorce in Parker County
Residency, the 60-day wait, property, and where to file.
Protective orders in Parker County
How the County Attorney helps, and how long an order lasts.
Parker County courts and offices
District courts, clerks, the DFPS office and free legal help.
Texas CPS cases, step by step
- How to Ask for an ARIF (Administrative Review of CPS Findings) in Texas
- Court-Ordered Services in Texas CPS Cases (Family Code §264.203)
- The Texas CPS Court Case Timeline: Service Plan, Status Hearing, Permanency Hearings and the One-Year Deadline
- CPS Drug Testing in Texas: What DFPS Policy Says
- CPS Investigation Findings in Texas: Reason to Believe, Ruled Out and More
- The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
- When CPS Removes a Child in Texas: What Happens in the First 14 Days
- Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) in Texas: What Families Should Know
- How to Get Your CPS Case Records in Texas
- Order in Aid of Investigation: When DFPS Asks a Court for Access (Family Code §261.303)
- Termination of Parental Rights in Texas CPS Cases
- Your Rights When Texas CPS Contacts You (Family Code §261.307)
Family law: divorce, custody, child support and protective orders
- Getting a Divorce in Parker County, Texas
- Child Custody in Texas: Conservatorship, Possession and the Best Interest of the Child
- Child Support in Texas: How It Is Calculated and Who Collects It
- Changing a Custody or Child Support Order in Texas (Modification)
- Protective Orders in Parker County, Texas
- Establishing Paternity in Texas
- Grandparents' Rights in Texas: Custody and Visitation
Getting a lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County
- Getting a CPS Lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County, Texas
- Finding a Family Lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County: Divorce, Custody, Child Support and Protective Orders
- Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case
Historic cases
- Meyer v. Nebraska 262 U.S. 390 (1923)
- Pierce v. Society of Sisters 268 U.S. 510 (1925)
- Prince v. Massachusetts 321 U.S. 158 (1944)
- Stanley v. Illinois 405 U.S. 645 (1972)
- Wisconsin v. Yoder 406 U.S. 205 (1972)
- Parham v. J. R. 442 U.S. 584 (1979)
- All historic cases →
Local help
- Bexar County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Cameron County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Collin County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Dallas County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Denton County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- El Paso County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Harris County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Hidalgo County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Hood County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Johnson County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Palo Pinto County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Parker County and Weatherford, Texas: CPS and Family Courts, Court Records, DFPS Office and Free Legal Help
- Tarrant County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Travis County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help
- Wise County, Texas: CPS Courts, Court Records, DFPS Offices and Free Legal Help