Guides
Plain-language guides to Texas CPS cases and family law, with the law quoted and linked, and local help for Weatherford and Parker County.
Texas CPS cases, step by step
How to Ask for an ARIF (Administrative Review of CPS Findings) in Texas
If DFPS makes a Reason to Believe finding against you and names you a designated perpetrator, you can ask for an Administrative Review of Investigation Findings (ARIF). You must ask in writing within 45 days after you receive notice of the findings, and DFPS then generally has 45 days from receiving your request to hold the review or tell you that you are not eligible.
Court-Ordered Services in Texas CPS Cases (Family Code §264.203)
Under Texas Family Code §264.203, DFPS can ask a court to order a parent or household member into services; the court must hold a hearing within 14 days after the petition is filed (or up to 14 days later for good cause) and must deny the petition unless the evidence meets the standard in subsection (m). An order expires on the 180th day after it is signed unless the court extends it.
The Texas CPS Court Case Timeline: Service Plan, Status Hearing, Permanency Hearings and the One-Year Deadline
Most deadlines in a Texas CPS court case count from the date the court renders a temporary order naming DFPS temporary managing conservator: a service plan by the 45th day, a status hearing by the 60th day, and an initial permanency hearing by the 180th day. Unless trial has started or the court grants a limited extension, the case is automatically dismissed on the first Monday after the first anniversary of that order.
CPS Drug Testing in Texas: What DFPS Policy Says
DFPS policy lets a caseworker request a drug test when a court has ordered it, to find out whether a parent or caregiver is actively using substances, or to confirm participation in treatment or recovery. Urinalysis happens no more than once a week unless a court orders more or DFPS identifies new child safety concerns, and hair strand tests should be at least 105 calendar days apart unless a court orders otherwise.
CPS Investigation Findings in Texas: Reason to Believe, Ruled Out and More
At the end of a Texas CPS investigation, DFPS gives each allegation one of five findings: Reason to Believe, Ruled Out, Unable to Determine, Unable to Complete or Administrative Closure. DFPS sends written notice of the findings, and DFPS says Ruled Out and Unable to Determine findings are not included in its Central Registry.
The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
A Texas CPS investigation starts with a report, moves through interviews, a possible home visit and records checks, and ends with a finding for each allegation. After that, DFPS may close the case, refer the family to Family-Based Safety Services, ask a court to order services, or, in a separate court process, seek to remove a child.
When CPS Removes a Child in Texas: What Happens in the First 14 Days
After CPS removes a child in Texas, a full adversary hearing must be held no later than the 14th day after the child was taken, unless the child has already been returned and any temporary order dissolved, or the court grants an extension the law allows. If the child was taken without a court order, an initial hearing must be held on or before the first business day after the removal. At the end of the 14-day hearing, the court must return the child unless it makes specific findings about danger and reasonable efforts.
Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) in Texas: What Families Should Know
Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) is a DFPS program for families who need extra services to keep a child safe, built around a written Family Plan of Service and regular caseworker visits. DFPS policy says completing services as part of a service plan does not by itself warrant closing a case as Risk is Reduced in the Family.
How to Get Your CPS Case Records in Texas
If you were personally involved in a Texas CPS case, you can ask DFPS for a copy of the case record using Form 4885 and a copy of your photo ID. DFPS removes (redacts) information you are not entitled to, such as the name of the person who made the report, and fills requests in a set priority order.
Order in Aid of Investigation: When DFPS Asks a Court for Access (Family Code §261.303)
If DFPS cannot get into a home, school or other place to see a child, or a parent will not consent to releasing a child's prior medical or mental health records or to an exam, DFPS can ask a family court for an order. The judge must find good cause or probable cause, the order must state the court's findings, and it gives access for the investigation; it is not a removal order.
Termination of Parental Rights in Texas CPS Cases
Under Texas Family Code §161.001, a court may order termination of parental rights if it finds by clear and convincing evidence both that the parent did at least one act listed in the law and that termination is in the child's best interest. In a DFPS case, the court must also find in writing that DFPS made reasonable efforts to return the child, or that those efforts were waived. An indigent parent who opposes the case gets a court-appointed lawyer.
Your Rights When Texas CPS Contacts You (Family Code §261.307)
At first contact in an investigation, DFPS must give you a short written summary of the process and tell you out loud about your rights, including the right to a lawyer, to record, and to refuse entry to your home or an interview of your child without a court order. If you say no, DFPS can ask a judge for an order.
Family law: divorce, custody, child support and protective orders
Getting a Divorce in Parker County, Texas
Texas allows a no-fault divorce when a marriage has become insupportable. When the suit is filed, you or your spouse must have been a Texas domiciliary for the preceding six months and a resident of the county for the preceding 90 days, and the court may not grant the divorce before the 60th day after filing, with family-violence exceptions. In Parker County, district court family cases are filed with the District Clerk in Weatherford.
Child Custody in Texas: Conservatorship, Possession and the Best Interest of the Child
In Texas, custody is called conservatorship, and the best interest of the child is always the court's primary consideration. The law presumes that naming both parents joint managing conservators is in the child's best interest, but a finding of a history of family violence removes that presumption. A parent who is not a managing conservator is usually named a possessory conservator, with a possession schedule set by court order.
Child Support in Texas: How It Is Calculated and Who Collects It
Texas child support guidelines set support as a percentage of the paying parent's monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, and so on up to 40% for five, with lower percentages when net resources are under $1,000 a month. TexasLawHelp.org says the guidelines apply to net resources up to $11,700 a month, and the Office of the Attorney General's Child Support Division is the state's Title IV-D child support agency.
Changing a Custody or Child Support Order in Texas (Modification)
To change a Texas custody, visitation or child support order, you file a modification case and a judge must sign a new order. Custody changes must be in the child's best interest and usually need a material and substantial change since the order. Child support can also be changed when it has been three years and the order's monthly amount differs by either 20 percent or $100 from the guideline amount. The old order stays in effect until a judge signs a new one.
Protective Orders in Parker County, Texas
In Texas, a court must grant a protective order if it finds that family violence has occurred, and you cannot be charged a fee to apply. In Parker County, call the County Attorney's Assault Family Violence Unit at (817) 594-8409, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A protective order generally lasts up to two years. In an emergency, call 911.
Establishing Paternity in Texas
In Texas, a man becomes a child's legal father through a presumption (such as marriage to the mother), a signed Acknowledgment of Paternity (AOP), a court ruling, adoption, or consent to assisted reproduction by his wife. Unmarried parents who agree can sign an AOP, which is the equivalent of a court ruling; parents who disagree can ask a court to decide, usually with genetic testing.
Grandparents' Rights in Texas: Custody and Visitation
Grandparents' rights in Texas are narrow: a biological or adoptive grandparent can get court-ordered visitation only by meeting a strict three-part test, including proof that denying visits would significantly impair the child. Custody is a separate request with its own standing rules and a presumption in favor of parents.
Getting a lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County
Getting a CPS Lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County, Texas
If DFPS files a court case in Parker County asking to end your parental rights or to name a conservator for your child, the court must appoint a lawyer for you if you are indigent and oppose the case. If DFPS asks the court to order you into services, the court must appoint one right away. To hire your own lawyer, Parker County points families to the State Bar's lawyer referral service, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas in Weatherford, and TexasLawHelp.org.
Finding a Family Lawyer in Weatherford and Parker County: Divorce, Custody, Child Support and Protective Orders
In a private Texas family case, such as a divorce or a custody case between parents, you usually do not get a free court-appointed lawyer. Parker County points families to the State Bar's lawyer referral service, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas in Weatherford, the Texas State Law Library and TexasLawHelp.org. For a protective order, call the County Attorney's Assault Family Violence Unit at (817) 594-8409.
Your Right to a Lawyer in a Texas CPS Case
If DFPS files a suit asking to terminate your parental rights or to name a conservator for your child, the court must appoint a lawyer (an attorney ad litem) for you if you are indigent and respond in opposition. In a court-ordered services case under Family Code §264.203, the court must appoint a lawyer for each parent whose participation is requested immediately after the filing and before the hearing.