Texas SB 11 (2017): Community-Based Care and CPS Changes

This bill is law. It took effect September 1, 2017.

The official bill history adds one exception: Section 23 took effect immediately. The Governor signed SB 11 on May 31, 2017.

The short answer

SB 11 set up the legal framework for "community-based care" in Texas foster care. In a community-based care area, DFPS keeps legal custody of the child, but a local contractor handles day-to-day case management. SB 11 also required quick medical exams for some children entering DFPS care, tracking of repeat abuse reports, and a pilot program for family-based safety services. This page describes the bill as it passed in 2017. Later laws may have changed these sections.

What it changes

Community-based care. SB 11 renamed "foster care redesign" as community-based care. In this model, DFPS keeps temporary or permanent custody of the child. A "single source continuum contractor" (SSCC), one lead agency for an area, oversees case management in a "catchment area" (a geographic service area chosen for community-based care). According to the Senate Research Center, the bill addressed a statewide foster care capacity crisis.

The Legislature said it intends DFPS to contract with community-based nonprofit and local government groups. The goals include:

• placing children in their home community;
• using the least restrictive setting possible, and a family home if possible;
• keeping placement changes to a minimum;
• keeping children in contact with their families and other important people; and
• placing children with their siblings.

What the contractor does. "Case management" includes caseworker visits, family and caregiver visits, permanency planning meetings, and writing and updating child and family plans of service. It also includes court duties, such as preparing court reports and attending hearings, trials and mediations. In the first community-based care areas, DFPS had to hand the contractor the case management of children, relative and kinship caregivers, and families. It also handed over reunification support after a child goes home. The contractor takes on DFPS's legal duties for foster care and kinship services in that area, with some exceptions.

DFPS keeps some control. DFPS may review, approve or disapprove a contractor's recommendation about a child's permanency goal. DFPS must keep services going without a break while an area moves to community-based care.

Records. A contractor's community-based care records fall under the Texas Public Information Act the same way DFPS records do. The confidentiality rules for CPS case records also apply. See How to Get Your CPS Case Records in Texas.

Growth. By December 31, 2019, DFPS had to pick up to eight catchment areas best suited for community-based care.

A family-based safety services pilot. DFPS had to run a pilot in two CPS regions. In each region, one nonprofit or government agency provides family-based safety services (FBSS) and case management. To learn what FBSS is, see Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) in Texas: What Families Should Know.

Medical exams after removal. Some children must get a first medical exam by the end of the third business day after removal. This applies if the child was removed because of sexual abuse, physical abuse or an obvious physical injury, or has a chronic or complex medical condition or a diagnosed mental illness. The provider may not give a vaccination during that exam without a parent's consent, except a tetanus shot in an emergency. Every child entering DFPS care must get needed emergency medical care as soon as possible.

Repeat reports. DFPS must collect and track repeated reports of abuse or neglect about the same child or the same alleged perpetrator. DFPS must consider reports about anyone in the child's household when it decides how urgent a case is and when it plans services or safety.

Definitions. SB 11 amended the Family Code's definitions of abuse and neglect and added a definition of "exploitation."

Which laws it affects

• Family Code Chapter 264, Subchapter B-1 (§§264.151–264.169): community-based care and the FBSS pilot (new).
• Family Code §264.1076: medical exam after removal (new).
• Family Code §261.004: tracking repeat reports (new).
• Tex. Fam. Code §261.001: definitions of abuse, neglect and exploitation (amended by SB 11; the current text shown here includes later changes).

Related

• Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) in Texas: What Families Should Know
• The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
• How to Get Your CPS Case Records in Texas
• Texas SB 1398 (2025): Family Preservation, Placement Limits and Community-Based Care: the 2025 law on family preservation and community-based care
• Texas HB 3041 (2021): Family Preservation Services Instead of Removal: the 2021 law on family preservation services
• Texas HB 5 (2017): DFPS Becomes a Stand-Alone Agency: the 2017 law that made DFPS a stand-alone agency
• Texas HB 7 (2017): CPS Court Case Reforms: the 2017 bill on CPS court cases