What is Adoption?

If CPS and the family cannot resolve the safety issues that created a barrier for the child to return and live at home safely, CPS may recommend to the court that the parent-child relationship be terminated and the children placed with permanent families or caregivers. Adoption is a permanent lifelong commitment to a child.

CPS must explore every reasonable alternative for keeping the child safe from abuse and neglect before removing a child from his home. If preserving the family is not possible, CPS may petition the court to remove the child (or children) from their home. The courts are required to place the children with an appropriate non-custodial parent or relative, if they are willing and able to care for them. If not, the court may place the children with close family friends who have been given temporary legal possession of the children. Otherwise, the court will ask CPS to place the children temporarily with relatives or family friends with a completed home study or in foster care with a foster family, foster group-home, or residential group-care facility.

Permanency Legislation

Permanency legislation, implemented in 1998, requires courts to render a final order for children in the agency's custody within 12 months of their removal from their home, with a one-time, six-month extension for special circumstances. There were further legislative changes in the state's approach to permanency planning that were reflected in the Texas Government Code. DFPS updated its permanency goals in the fall of 2003 to show a focus on seeking families for children. The new goals include:

• Family Preservation
  
• Family Reunification
  
• Alternative Family Placement with Long-Term Commitment
  
  • Adoption and care by a relative
    
  • Permanent Managing Conservatorship and care by a relative
    
  • Adoption and care by an unrelated family
    
  • Permanent Managing Conservatorship and care by an unrelated family
    
  • Care by a foster family with DFPS having Permanent Managing Conservatorship
    
  • Care in some other family arrangement with DFPS having permanent managing conservatorship (PMC)
    
• Another Planned Living Arrangement with Support of a Family
  
  • Independent Living (youth at least 16 years old, no developmental disability)
    
  • Community Assistance in Most Integrated Setting (youth at least 18 years old with a developmental disability)

The agency has initiated numerous programs to speed the state's adoption process, increase the availability of adoptive and foster parents, and streamline the processing of cases through the legal system.

Adoption Increase

As a result of increased collaboration with private child-placing agencies, child-specific recruitment activities, and supporting foster family adoptions, adoption consummations increased from 2,512 in Fiscal Year 2004 to 3,173 in Fiscal Year 2005 and 3,293 in Fiscal Year 2006.

Adoption Collaborative Efforts

Collaborative efforts have expanded to new outlets for helping children achieve permanency. For example, the Collaborative Adoption Project (CAP) is a three-year federal adoption opportunities grant under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The CAP created an innovative partnership between Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and a statewide network of private foster and adoptive child-placing agencies. A private child-placing agency staff person is co-housed with DFPS staff in each region of the state. The CAP goals are to place children whose permanency plan is adoption more quickly and with fewer moves; and to reduce the pool of special needs children waiting for adoption.