Child Protective Investigations (CPI) is authorized to investigate abuse and neglect allegedly committed by a person responsible for a child's care, custody or welfare and to protect abused and neglected children from further harm. This authorization is derived from the U.S. Social Securities Act, Texas Family Code, Human Resources Code, Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, Indian Child Welfare Act and the Adam Walsh Act.

CPI conducts either a traditional investigation or Alternative Response (AR). Both require CPI to assess safety and take needed actions to protect a child and assess the risk of future abuse or neglect in the foreseeable future. AR, however, allows for a more flexible, family engaging approach on lower priority cases involving alleged victims who are age 6 or older. AR differs from traditional investigations in that there is no substantiation of allegations, no entry of perpetrators into the Central Registry (a repository for reports of child abuse and neglect), and there a heightened focus on guiding the family to plan for safety in a way that works for them and therefore sustains the safety.

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 is in the glossary.

FOOTNOTES
An investigation represents a report of abuse or neglect and can involve multiple children.

The data on completed investigations does not include investigative stages that were administratively closed or merged into another investigation.

All completed investigations have a case disposition and a risk finding.

Visit dfps.state.tx.us for information on Abuse/Neglect Investigations and all DFPS programs.

This data addresses Texas Family Code §261.004, Subsection (b) (5).

Services provided to clients by DFPS may include social casework, case management, and arranging for psychiatric and health evaluation, home care, day care, social services, health care, respite services, and other services.

The APS specialist works with the client to develop a service plan to address identified problems. Safely maintaining clients in the least restrictive environment is a primary goal of APS intervention.

Protective services may be necessary to alleviate or prevent the client from returning to a state of abuse, neglect or financial exploitation. In this case, DFPS may also provide services to a family member or caretaker. (Texas Human Resources Code §48.002(a)(5) and §48.204) Protective services may be delivered in every stage of an investigation

The APS specialist makes all reasonable efforts to resolve problems, including root causes, and stabilizes the client’s condition. Full resolution of a client’s problems is always the goal of APS casework, but it is not always achievable. When full resolution is not a practical goal because of inadequate resources, client resistance, or some other impediment, the APS specialist closes the case when a client’s situation is as close to stable as possible.

The phrase "reasonable effort" implicitly recognizes that:
• personal choice on the part of the client may limit the effectiveness of APS intervention;
• resources available to APS for helping clients are limited; and
• APS cannot remedy all situations.

1. Counts for FY 2015 and subsequent years cannot be compared to those from prior Data Books, due to changes in the APS casework practice model. Cases with services provided during the investigation may not have a separate service stage.

2. Clients in validated cases may receive more than one service.

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

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.

CPI Intakes: Priority, Screening and Assignment

To establish timeframes for investigations, each report of child abuse and neglect is assigned a priority:

Priority I - Intake reports that concern children who appear to face an immediate risk of abuse or neglect that could result in death or serious harm. CPI must initiate the investigation within 24 hours of receiving a Priority I report.

Priority II - All reports of abuse or neglect that are not assigned as Priority I are assigned as Priority II. These are reports that contain allegations of abuse or neglect in which there does not appear to be an immediate threat of serious harm or death. A subset of these reports are sent down the Alternative Response (AR)* pathway. Those reports not sent to AR continue as a traditional investigation. CPI must initiate these investigations within 72 hours of receiving a Priority II report.

*In November 2014, CPI implemented Alternative Response (AR) which is a different way to respond to reports of abuse/neglect. AR allows for a more flexible, family engaging approach while still focusing on the safety of the children. AR cases differ from traditional investigations cases in that there will be no substantiation of allegations, no entry of perpetrators into the Central Registry (a repository for reports of child abuse and neglect), and there will be a heightened focus on guiding the family to plan for safety in a way that works for them and therefore sustains the safety.

This dashboard addresses Texas Family Code Section 264.017(b)(1).

Child Protective Investigations (CPI) conducts either a traditional investigation or Alternative Response (AR). Both require CPI to assess safety and take needed actions to protect a child and assess the risk of future abuse or neglect in the foreseeable future. AR, however, allows for a more flexible, family engaging approach on lower priority cases involving alleged victims who are age 6 or older. AR differs from traditional investigations in that there is no substantiation of allegations, no entry of perpetrators into the Central Registry (a repository for reports of child abuse and neglect), and there a heightened focus on guiding the family to plan for safety in a way that works for them and therefore sustains the safety.

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 is in the CPS glossary.

At the end of a completed investigation, CPI assesses child safety, the risk of abuse or neglect in the foreseeable future, the ability of the family to reduce the risk without CPI intervention, the ability of CPI to provide needed services and other circumstances in the case to decide whether to provide ongoing services.

The Case Action Substitute Care includes investigations that resulted in at least one child (not necessarily all children in the home) being removed. Does not equal number of children removed.

Visit dfps.texas.gov for information on CPS Abuse/Neglect Investigations 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

This chart counts perpetrators in completed investigations. 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 confirmed perpetrator on a completed investigation is an individual who is a confirmed perpetrator on at least one allegation with a disposition of reason to believe.

An alleged perpetrator on a completed investigation is an individual where all the allegations on which they were an alleged perpetrator have a disposition of ruled out, unable to complete or unable to determine.

A description of Alternative Response and how it differs from a traditional investigation and the definitions of the different dispositions in a traditional investigation are in the glossary.

FOOTNOTES
1. Each victim may have more than one perpetrator in an investigation.
2. Each perpetrator may have more than one victim.

Visit dfps.state.tx.us for information on CPS Abuse/Neglect Investigations and all DFPS programs.

When interviewing the alleged victim, the APS worker:
• addresses all important factors regarding the allegations and the alleged victim’s overall situation;
• interviews the alleged victim alone in cases involving an alleged perpetrator, but allows the alleged victim to have another person present, if requested by the alleged victim; and
• interviews the alleged victim again at a later time as necessary to resolve discrepancies.

When another person is present during the interview, the APS worker documents whether the alleged victim requested that the person be present and the person’s relationship to the alleged victim.

The APS specialist monitors the alleged victim during the interview to see if the alleged victim appears to be hesitant, withdrawn, or nervous while participating in the interview. Such cues may be indications that the alleged victim is not comfortable speaking openly in the presence of the other person.

FOOTNOTES
1. Includes victims who were also perpetrators (findings of self-neglect.)

2. Victims have been unduplicated by investigation stage.

3. Some investigations were completed without region or county location information being recorded. These investigations are included in the relevant annual total, with "None Specified" as their Region and County values.

Tracks six month, one year, and five year outcomes for children who returned home from DFPS custody exiting CPS Conservatorship and subsequently alleged as a victim in an investigation within the noted time period.

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.

The six month period is calculated by following those children who exited DFPS Legal Responsibility within the first six months of the fiscal year (FY) and counting forward six months to see if the same child is a designated victim in an abuse/neglect child protective investigation.

For the one year outcome, those children who exited DFPS Legal Responsibility in the prior FY are tracked for one year and reported in the next fiscal year. The outcomes reported in FY 2018 had a beginning cohort from FY 2017.

The five year outcomes starts with the FY five years prior and follows each child for five years to track outcomes. FY 2018 would have a beginning cohort of those children who exited DFPS Legal Responsibility in FY 2013.

This does not track recidivism, which is defined by CPS as subsequent reason to believe finding in a new investigation or subsequent open case to FBSS or removal within a given timeframe.

This dashboard addresses the Texas Human Resources Code Section 40.0516 (a)(9)(A), (B), (C) and (a)(10).

More information at www.dfps.texas.gov