The Transitional Living Services Program includes the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program, Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program and other services and supports to help youth transition from foster care to a successful adulthood.

PAL services ensure that youth in DFPS foster care and those transitioning from foster care to a successful adulthood receive the tools, resources, supports, and personal and community connections they need to become self-sufficient adults. PAL supportive services and benefits are provided to eligible youth and young adults ages 16 to 21. 14-15 year old youth in the Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) of DFPS will receive a life skills assessment. All other youth age 14 and 15 can be served, if funding or resources are available.

The ETV program can assist youth and young adults ages 16-23. ETV services can be provided to eligible youth and young adults for 5 years or 15 semesters up to their 23rd birthday.

Children in DFPS custody are those for whom a court has appointed DFPS legal responsibility through temporary or permanent managing conservatorship or other court ordered legal basis. This chart includes any child in DFPS custody on August 31 of the fiscal year.

A description of the different types of legal statuses is in the CPS glossary: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/About_DFPS/Data_Book/Child_Protective_Services/Resources/glossary.asp

Visit dfps.texas.gov for information on all DFPS programs

Family Preservation Services (FPR) are services provided to the child and the family where the caregiver retains legal custody.

This chart counts unique children served during fiscal year in Family Preservation Services (FPR) with a count of those removed. Children served in Family Preservation Services stay in their own home during services.

NOTE: Family Preservation Services is under the umbrella of Family Based Safety Services (FBSS).

The Transitional Living Services Program includes the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program, Education and Training Voucher (ETV) program and other services and supports to help youth transition from foster care to a successful adulthood.

PAL services ensure that youth in DFPS foster care and those transitioning from foster care to a successful adulthood receive the tools, resources, supports, and personal and community connections they need to become self-sufficient adults. PAL supportive services and benefits are provided to eligible youth and young adults ages 16 to 21. 14-15 year old youth in the Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) of DFPS will receive a life skills assessment. All other youth age 14 and 15 can be served, if funding or resources are available.

The ETV program can assist youth and young adults ages 16-23. ETV services can be provided to eligible youth and young adults for 5 years or 15 semesters up to their 23rd birthday.

Visit dfps.state.tx.us for information on the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program and all DFPS programs.

This chart includes child fatalities investigated and confirmed by Child Protective Investigations, Day Care Investigations, Residential Child Care Investigations, and Adult Provider Investigations. Fatality information does not include corrections or updates, if any, that may subsequently be made to DFPS data after fiscal year end.

The Adult Protective Provider Investigations (API) division was transferred to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) in Fiscal Year 2018.

This dashboard addresses Texas Family Code Section 264.017, Subsection (b) (4) and (5).

Prevention and Early Intervention (PEI) was created to consolidate child abuse prevention and juvenile delinquency prevention and early intervention programs within the jurisdiction of a single state agency. To provide services for at-risk children, youth, and families.

Community Youth Development (CYD) - The CYD program contracts services in 15 targeted Texas ZIP codes with community-based organizations to develop juvenile delinquency prevention programs in areas with high juvenile crime rates. Approaches used by communities to prevent delinquency include mentoring, youth employment programs, career preparation, youth leadership development and recreational activities. Communities prioritize and fund specific prevention services according to local needs.

Family and Youth Success Program (FAYS) (Formerly Services to At-Risk Youth (STAR)) - The FAYS program contracts with community agencies to offer family crisis intervention counseling, short- term emergency respite care, individual and family counseling, and universal child abuse prevention services, ranging from local media campaigns to informational brochures and parenting classes in all counties in Texas. Youth up to age 17 and their families are eligible if they experience conflict at home, truancy or delinquency, or a youth who runs away from home. In FY2018, contracts for the FAYS program were re-procured and started on December 1, 2017. Under these contracts, families could be served through traditional FAYS services or through one-time focused skills training. In some cases, families participating in skills training also chose to enroll in traditional FAYS services. Programmatically, these families are counted uniquely in both programs; for DFPS Data Book purposes, they are reported unduplicated.

Statewide Youth Services Network (SYSN) - The SYSN program contracts provide community and evidence-based juvenile delinquency prevention programs focused on youth ages 10 through 17, in each DFPS region.

Data as of December 21, 2023.

Please visit dfps.texas.gov to learn more about PEI and all DFPS programs.

Children in DFPS custody are those for whom a court has appointed DFPS legal responsibility through temporary or permanent managing conservatorship or other court ordered legal basis. This chart includes any child in DFPS custody at some point during the year. Children may be duplicated in the count, if they were in and out of DFPS custody more than once during the fiscal year.

See CPS Glossary for legal status definitions.

More information at www.dfps.state.tx.us.

This chart counts the number of unique children in DFPS custody who lived in an adoptive placement at some point during the fiscal year and the total number of adoptive placements during the year. Children can have more than one adoptive placement. This chart includes children in DFPS custody for whom a court has appointed DFPS legal responsibility through Permanent Managing Conservatorship.

An adoptive placement occurs when the child's caseworker, the family's case manager, and the adoptive family sign paperwork officially placing the child in the home for adoption. Before the paperwork can be signed, a child must be free for adoption (meaning a court has terminated parental rights), have a permanency goal of adoption and the family must have been approved for adoption through a licensed child placing agency.

Visit dfps.state.tx.us for information on adoption and all DFPS programs.

Priority 1 investigations must have initial contact within 24 hours and Priority 2 within 72 hours.

Completed investigations only include those cases conducted as a traditional investigation that were not administratively closed or merged into another stage. An investigation can only be administratively closed if all allegations have a disposition of administrative closure. A completed investigation can include more than one alleged victim. Completed investigations do not include any Alternative Response cases.

A description of Alternative Response and how it differs from a traditional investigation and priority response times are in the CPS glossary.

Visit dfps.texas.gov for information on all DFPS programs

Statewide Intake serves as the “front door to the front line” for all DFPS programs. As the
central point of contact for reports of abuse, neglect and exploitation of vulnerable Texans, SWI staff are available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.

SWI is the Centralized point of intake for child abuse and neglect, abuse, neglect or exploitation of people age 65 or older or adults with disabilities, clients served by DSHS or DADS employees in State Hospitals or State Supported Living Centers, and children in licensed child-care facilities or treatment centers for the entire State of Texas.

SWI provides daily reports on call volume per application; hold times per application, etc. and integrates hardware and software upgrades to phone and computer systems to reduce hold times and improve efficiency.

NOTE: Past Printed Data Books also included EBC, Re-Entry and Support Staff in all queues total.

An abandoned call is a call that disconnects after completing navigation of the recorded message, but prior to being answered by an intake specialist.

Legislative Budget Board (LBB) Performance Measure Targets are set every two years during Legislative Sessions.

LBB Average Hold Time Targets for English Queue:
2010 11.4 minutes
2011 11.4 minutes
2012 8.7 minutes
2013 8.7 minutes
2014 8.7 minutes
2015 8.7 minutes
2016 7.2 minutes
2017 10.5 minutes
2018 12.0 minutes
2019 9.8 minutes

Visit dfps.state.tx.us for information on all DFPS programs