Texas HB 3390 (2019): Finding Relatives and Family Friends to Care for a Child
HB 3390 is Texas law; it took effect immediately when signed on June 14, 2019. When DFPS thinks removal may be needed, its child placement resources form asks the parent to name at least three possible relative or designated caregivers and to ask the child for names, and judges must check at hearings whether the child was asked.
This bill is law. It took effect June 14, 2019.
The short answer
HB 3390 is about finding relatives, and other adults with a close, long relationship with the child or family, who could care for a child if DFPS removes the child from home. When DFPS decides removal may be warranted, it must give the parent a form asking for at least three possible caregivers and asking the parent to get names from the child. Judges must then check, at several hearings, whether the child was asked. HB 3390 took effect immediately when the Governor signed it on June 14, 2019.
What it changes
Why the bill was written. The Senate Research Center's Highlights report says HB 3390 tries to make sure children in state conservatorship (state legal custody) get to name adults who could care for them.
Who counts as a "designated caregiver." A relative caregiver is related to the child by blood or marriage. HB 3390 rewrote the definition of a designated caregiver: a person with a "longstanding and significant relationship" with the child or the child's family.
The child placement resources form. HB 3390 renamed Family Code §261.307 to cover "child placement resources." If DFPS decides that removing the child may be warranted, it must give the parent or legal custodian a proposed child placement resources form. The form tells the parent to:
- name at least three people who could be relative or designated caregivers;
- ask the child, in a way that fits the child's age and development, to name any adult who could be a caregiver, especially an adult in the child's community;
- list each person the child names; and
- turn the form in at a location open 24 hours a day, in person, by fax or by e-mail.
Background checks before the hearing. Before the full adversary hearing, DFPS must run background and criminal history checks on the people named on the form, including adults the child names. Until DFPS finds a qualified caregiver, it must keep looking, including by asking the child.
If the child is not with kin. If the child has not been placed with a relative or designated caregiver by the full adversary hearing, DFPS must file a statement with the court. The statement explains why, and what DFPS is doing to place the child.
What the judge must ask. At the full adversary hearing, the court must ask everyone present whether the child had a chance to name possible caregivers, and whether those people are listed on the form. At each Chapter 262 hearing, the court must also review the placement of any child in DFPS conservatorship who is not with a relative or designated caregiver.
The child's representatives. The child's guardian ad litem (a person appointed to look out for the child's best interests) and the child's attorney ad litem (the child's lawyer) must each try to learn from the child the names of adults who could be caregivers. They must give those names to DFPS right away.
Which laws it affects
- Tex. Fam. Code §261.307: information DFPS gives at the start of an investigation, including the child placement resources form. HB 730 (2023) later amended this section again, so read the current text at the link.
- Family Code §262.114: background checks and the caregiver statement before the full adversary hearing.
- Family Code §262.201(l-1) (new) and §262.0022: what the court asks and reviews about kin placements.
- Family Code §§263.002, 263.202, 263.306 and 263.5031: similar questions at later status and permanency hearings, including whether the child had the chance to name possible caregivers.
- Family Code §§107.002 and 107.003: duties of the child's guardian ad litem and attorney ad litem.
- Family Code §264.751(1): the definition of "designated caregiver."
- Human Resources Code §42.041: an exception from child-care licensing for certain caretakers.
Related
- Your Rights When Texas CPS Contacts You (Family Code §261.307)
- The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
- Texas HB 4 (2017): Payments for Relative and Kin Caregivers: the 2017 law on payments to relative and designated caregivers
- Texas SB 999 (2017): CPS Removal Procedures and the Full Adversary Hearing: the 2017 law on removals and the full adversary hearing
- Texas HB 730 (2023): Rights Notices, Investigation Limits and Safety Placements: the 2023 law that amended §261.307 again
Ask a question
We read every question and add answers to the library, with official sources. We can’t advise on your own case. Please don’t include names, case numbers, addresses or other personal details.
Sources
- Texas Legislature Online, 86(R) HB 3390 bill history checked 2026-10-02
- 86(R) HB 3390, enrolled version checked 2026-10-02
- Senate Research Center, Highlights of the 86th Legislature, Regular Session, Vol. I (2019), HB 3390 checked 2026-10-02
- House Research Organization, Major Issues of the 85th Legislature (2017), HB 4 checked 2026-10-02
- 88(R) HB 730, enrolled version checked 2026-10-02
Every legal statement on this page was checked word for word against the official sources above on 2026-10-02. Not yet reviewed by an attorney. Legal information, not legal advice.