Source: http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/handbooks/CPS/Files/CPS_pg_5500.asp
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 05:51:04+00:00

Document:
For the legal requirements related to extended court jurisdiction for former foster children who are over 18, see 5600 Extended Court Jurisdiction When a Youth Turns 18 and its sub-items.
This timeline describes the sequence and deadlines for hearings under Chapter 263 of the Texas Family Code. The corresponding policies are in the items under 5500 From Status Hearing to the Final Hearing.
If the emergency possession is without a court order, an ex parte hearing must be held on the first working day after removal (maximum 3 days) (Texas Family Code §262.106).
If removal is ordered after a noticed hearing, the temporary order remains in effect until further order of the court and the next hearing is the status hearing.
Court must inform each parent in open court that parental rights may be restricted or terminated unless the parent is willing and able to provide a safe environment for the child (Texas Family Code §262.201(c) ).
If the court has rendered temporary orders, DFPS must request the identity of the court of continuing jurisdiction (Texas Family Code §262.202).
Transfer is mandatory, but does not affect the time limits for permanency. A motion to transfer may be filed outside the time limits in Chapter 155 (Texas Family Code §262. 203(b)).
DFPS must file its service plan not later than 45 days from the date DFPS is appointed TMC (Texas Family Code §263.101).
Court must hold a hearing to review the child’s status and the permanency plan within 60 days after TMC is awarded (Texas Family Code §263.201).
Court must inform each parent in open court that parental rights may be restricted or terminated unless the parent is willing and able to provide a safe environment for the child (Texas Family Code §263.006).
DFPS must file a permanency progress report and serve it on all parties at least 10 days before each permanency hearing (Texas Family Code §263.303).
Ten days before the hearing, notice of the hearing and a copy of the permanency plan is provided to the parties, foster parents, and ad litems, including volunteer advocates (Texas Family Code §263.0021 ; §263.3025(a)).
The court reviews the caseworker’s efforts to locate and serve the parties (Texas Family Code §263.0021 ; also in 263.306(2)).
The child must attend the hearing, unless specifically waived by the court (Texas Family Code §263.302).
The court informs each parent in open court that parental rights may be restricted or terminated unless the parent is willing and able to provide a safe environment for the child (Texas Family Code §263.006).
File a permanency progress report and serve it on all parties at least 10 days before each permanency hearing (Texas Family Code §263.303).
Court may shorten, but may not extend the 120-day deadline for subsequent permanency hearings (Texas Family Code §263.305).
All requirements for initial permanency hearing apply.
The court may extend the time by an additional 180 days from the original deadline if the court finds that there are extraordinary circumstances (Texas Family Code §263.401(b) ).
The court may not grant additional extensions (Texas Family Code §263.401(c)); however, the court may place the child with a parent for up to 180 days of monitoring (Texas Family Code §263.403).
A trial on the merits results in a final order.
The requirements for these hearings are set out in Texas Family Code §§263.501-503 and summarized in the Hearings and Legal Proceedings Resource Guide, under Requirements for the Court in a Permanency Hearing After the Final Order of Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC) The placement review hearing continues as long as DFPS is managing conservator.
The court may order DFPS to continue as temporary managing conservator for not more than 180 days with the child placed in the home of a parent for monitoring.
The court order must include specific findings of the grounds for the order and must establish a dismissal date not more than 180 days after the order is entered (Texas Family Code §263.403(b)).
If DFPS removes the child during the monitoring period, the deadline for dismissal or entry of a final order is the original dismissal date or 180 days after the removal of the child, whichever is later (Texas Family Code §263.403(c)).
The court must hold a status hearing within 60 days of issuing the order naming DFPS as the temporary managing conservator (TMC) of a child. The only exception to this requirement is if the court has made a finding of aggravated circumstances and no service plan is required.
The primary focus of the status hearing is to discuss the contents and execution of the family’s service plan that is filed with the court.
• whether sufficient efforts have been made to identify, locate, and provide information about the removal to the child’s relatives and fictive kin (such as persons who are close family friends).
Caseworkers must refer to 5534 Notice Requirements for All Hearings Prior to Final Order when sending notice of the status hearing.
As with any hearing, the attorney representing DFPS may also ask for additional documentation or information.
• the court order was issued following a show cause hearing for a nonemergency removal.
See 5520 The Family’s Service and Visitation Plans: Filing and Review Requirements.
If a parent cannot be located, the caseworker must attach Form 2277 Diligent Search for Missing Parent to the service plan.
• file the form no later than 10 days before the status hearing.
• provide the court with a summary of the child’s medical care (see Texas Family Code §266.007; see also 11161 Including Medical and Behavioral Health Information in Court Reports).
• place the child with a relative or fictive kin (such as persons who are close family friends), when appropriate.
• any actions the department is taking to place the child with a relative or other designated caregiver.
• send the form to the court.
For any child who is in DFPS’s temporary managing conservatorship and who has a goal of family reunification, the caseworker must file Form 2110 Visitation Plan no later than 10 days before the status hearing.
If the court continues DFPS’s managing conservatorship after the status hearing, DFPS must ask for an initial permanency hearing.
The first permanency hearing must take place within 180 days after the court issues the order appointing DFPS as temporary managing conservator of the child.
See 5532 Meeting the Time Frames for Holding a Permanency Hearing.
The caseworker must develop a family’s service plan to conform to the requirements explained in 6242 The Family Plan of Service.
Once the plan is developed, the caseworker must file it with the court no later than 45 days after the order is issued appointing DFPS temporary managing conservator.
• the goals the parent must achieve.
If a service plan is well-crafted with the parents and the parents meaningfully participate in the services identified by it, the child should usually be able to return home.
This does not mean that the parents have to complete every service in the plan for the child to be able to return home. Rather, the caseworker must outline the logical series of steps that must be taken for the child to return home at some point in the case, if the parents are making the necessary changes.
• the parent made a good faith effort to comply and the failure to comply is not attributable to any fault of the parent.
• when the court issues an order giving effect to the plan without the signatures.
If a parent has not signed the plan, the plan does not take effect when it is filed with the court. It must first be reviewed by and made an order of the court.
If a parent was previously missing but is located after the 60-day status hearing, the service plan developed with the newly located parent is considered to be the original family service plan and must be filed with and made an order of the court.
• consult with the attorney representing DFPS as soon as possible.
If the Indian Child Welfare Act applies, applicable legal requirements are significantly different. See 5740 The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA).
• when DFPS files the plan with the court, if the parent does not sign it.
However, regardless of whether the parent signs the plan, all amended family service plans and family plan evaluations must be filed with and made an order of the court.
To comply with this requirement, the caseworker must file every amended family service plan or family plan evaluation at least 10 days before the next court hearing.
• the change results in a great deal of resistance from the family.
• enters an order terminating the parent’s rights.
• parents who live in another country.
• requiring the parent to respond with written summaries.
For more information on service planning requirements see 6240 Case Planning.
For more information on providing services specifically to parents who are living outside the country see 6243 Services to Parents Who Live Outside of the Country.
The caseworker must file Form 2110 Visitation Plan 10 days before the status hearing. See 5513.4 Visitation Plan 10 Days Before the Hearing.
The visitation plan may be amended at any time with the agreement of the parent and DFPS. Each amended visitation plan must be filed with the court.
The court reviews the visitation plan at the status hearing and subsequent permanency hearings and may modify the plan or order DFPS to modify the plan at any time.
After reviewing the filed plan, the court makes any appropriate orders.
The court holds permanency hearings for each child who is under the temporary managing conservatorship (TMC) of DFPS.
• making other determinations pertinent to the care, custody, and control of the child.
Permanency hearings also fulfill the federal requirements for conducting reviews every six months and permanency hearings annually, while a child is in the temporary managing conservatorship of DFPS.
The court must hold the initial permanency hearing within 180 days after the court appoints DFPS as the temporary managing conservator of the child.
Subsequent permanency hearings must be held no later than 120 days after the initial permanency hearing.
For good cause shown, or on the court’s own motion, the court may order more frequent hearings.
• the child’s volunteer advocate.
For all hearings held before the final order is rendered, including status hearings, the caseworker must notify the persons and entities listed below at least 10 days before the hearing. For permanency hearings held before a final order is rendered, the caseworker must complete and send Form 2051 Permanency Hearing Notice Letter.
• any other person or agency named by the court or determined by DFPS to have an interest in the child’s welfare.
• in any other manner that would provide actual notice to a person entitled to notice.
• consult with the attorney representing DFPS if the caseworker is not certain who is responsible for providing notice.
Unless a court requires a different format, the caseworker must use Form 2088 Permanency Plan and Progress Report to the Court to report on the permanency plan for a child who is under DFPS’s temporary managing conservatorship (TMC).
The form provides fields for entering content required by federal law, state law, and DFPS policy.
The caseworker must include information in the progress report necessary for the court to make findings and determinations in the following categories.
• obtain a parent’s assistance in locating the child’s absent parent, alleged father, or relative.
• the extent of the parties’ progress toward alleviating the causes that led to the child’s removal.
• for a child who is age 16 or older and has a permanency plan of another planned permanent living arrangement, the child’s foster family home or child care institution is consulting with the child in an age-appropriate manner about opportunities for the child to participate in activities.
• the child’s placement options, both in-state and out-of-state, if the child’s permanency plan no longer calls for reunification with the parents.
• the appropriateness of the permanency goals for the child developed in accordance with department rule, and whether DFPS has made reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan.
• the services required to assist a child aged 14 or older in transitioning from substitute care to successful adulthood and if such services are available in the child’s community.
• any activity that the child should avoid or should engage in that might affect the effectiveness of the treatment, including physical activities, other medications, and diet.
The caseworker must also include information on whether the child has been provided, in a developmentally appropriate manner, the opportunity to express the child’s opinion on any medical care the child is receiving.
• whether the child’s education needs and goals have been identified and addressed.
• any event determined to be significant under DFPS rules.
• any other information requested by the court.
• both the supervisor and caseworker must sign it.
When DFPS is named as a child’s temporary managing conservator in a proceeding for a suit affecting the parent-child relationship (SAPCR), the legal relationships that existed before the case almost always change.
In addition, whether DFPS leaves the case because a child or youth is reunited with his or her parents, is placed with a managing conservator, is adopted, or becomes an adult, there are key issues that pertain solely to the child or youth that should, ideally, be resolved while the court retains jurisdiction over the case.
• other critical issues identified by the child or youth, or the attorney ad litem or guardian ad litem.
To facilitate timely permanency for children in conservatorship, Texas law requires that the court in a DFPS conservatorship case dismiss the case on the first Monday following the one-year anniversary of the date that DFPS is named as temporary managing conservator (TMC), including cases in which DFPS is named TMC by an ex parte court order.
• the court has ordered a monitored return of the child to the child’s home, as described in 5543 Extending the Dismissal Deadline and 5551.1 Monitored Return of a Child to a Parent, and sets a new dismissal date consistent with that option.
For information on calculating days, see the Hearings and Legal Proceedings Resource Guide.
At the conclusion of a DFPS conservatorship case, whether the court holds a contested trial on the merits or the parties mediate a settlement, the court issues a final order. A final order is an order that specifies the parties’ new legal relationship as described in 5550 Outcomes in a Court’s Final Order.
• legal considerations of significance to the child or youth, such as documents that establish the child’s legal name and correct identity or issues related to guardianship. See 5541 Issues to Resolve Before DFPS’s Role in the Lawsuit Ends.
In the case of a final order that is subject to modification, as described in 5542.2 Standard for Modifying a Final Order, final does not always mean permanent in the sense of never subject to change. A final order that names DFPS as the child’s managing conservator must never be a signal to staff that they cease permanency efforts. See 6233 Selecting the Permanency Goal.
A final order granting DFPS conservatorship of a child may be subject to modification; however, any modification to a final order requires filing a new lawsuit, which in turn requires providing new evidence of a material change in circumstances, as discussed below.
If a final order granting DFPS permanent managing conservatorship needs to be modified, the caseworker must discuss the circumstances with the supervisor and the attorney representing DFPS.
Modification requires that the child’s or a conservator’s circumstances have materially changed since the date of the original order. Conservator includes DFPS, a parent who has parental rights, or another party.
• a change in a child’s behavior or wishes.
• arrive early for the final hearing to answer any last minute questions and help the attorney representing DFPS identify witnesses.
• remaining in DFPS conservatorship is in the child’s best interest.
Extraordinary circumstances are not defined and are subject to the court’s discretion, but by definition this is not an option for most cases. The caseworker must consult with the attorney representing DFPS as soon as possible, if he or she believes there is a need to extend the dismissal deadline.
If the court makes a finding of extraordinary circumstances, the dismissal deadline is extended no more than 180 days beyond the original dismissal deadline.
Each permanency plan, if incorporated into a court’s final order, has a specific effect on DFPS’s conservatorship status and may result in termination of the parent’s rights as shown in the table below. For information on permanency goals and the general order of preference for the goals, see 6212 Permanency Planning.
• DFPS is dismissed as conservator and the parents, who are cohabitating, have their rights restored, as if the lawsuit did not happen.
When a family is reunified and DFPS is dismissed as the child’s conservator, the child is returned to one or both parents and DFPS is no longer the conservator of the child in the case. There may be a monitored return before the reunification, as described in 5551.1 Monitored Return of a Child to a Parent. However, once reunification is achieved, DFPS is dismissed as the conservator of the child.
At the point of dismissal, the need for legal orders depends on the parents’ circumstances.
If the parents live together, there may be no need for a court order. When the DFPS suit is dismissed, the parents have the same rights with respect to their children that they had before DFPS was involved.
If the parents do not live together, the necessary legal orders depend on what, if any, issues remain regarding the child’s safety.
If one parent is named as the child’s managing conservator, the other parent may be made the child’s possessory conservator.
In some cases, the child’s parents may be named as joint managing conservators with one parent having the right to designate the child’s primary residence. However, if an absent parent poses a safety threat, DFPS does not assume that because the parent is temporarily absent, the parent will not reappear in the child’s life.
If there are safety concerns regarding a parent who may reappear in the child’s life and place the child at risk of abuse or neglect, the caseworker must solidify the legal relationships before DFPS is dismissed as conservator, including the rare circumstance of terminating the parental rights of one parent and making efforts toward reunification with the other.
In any event, the caseworker must be prepared to make recommendations on issues of each parent’s legal relationship to the child, to eliminate as much uncertainty as possible once DFPS is dismissed as conservator.
• the schedule for shared custody.
• orders DFPS to monitor the child’s placement to ensure that the child is in a safe environment.
If the court grants such an order, the new dismissal deadline is no later than 180 days from the date that the temporary order for monitored return is granted. DFPS is not required to wait until the expiration of this period to recommend to the court that the case be dismissed. DFPS may reunify a child, and ask that the case be dismissed as soon as the caseworker determines it is safe and appropriate to do so. This permits the family to end its involvement with DFPS and return to normal when oversight by DFPS and the court is no longer needed.
• 180 days following the change in placement from the parent’s home under the monitored return.
No additional extension based on extraordinary circumstances is allowed. See 5543 Extending the Dismissal Deadline.
Unless there is a finding of a history of family violence under Texas Family Code §153.004, there is rebuttable presumption, in all suits that affect the parent-child relationship, that it is in the child’s best interest to name the child’s parents as the child’s joint managing conservators.
If DFPS does not intend reunification as the outcome for the case, the caseworker must prepare sufficient evidence to show the specific parental conduct that threatens the child’s safety, or otherwise concretely demonstrate why appointing the parent as managing conservator is not in the child’s best interest.
If DFPS plans to ask the court to name an individual other than DFPS as the child’s conservator, DFPS must present a preponderance of evidence to show that it is not in the child’s best interest to appoint the child’s parent or parents, because it would significantly impair the child’s physical health or emotional development. DFPS must present evidence showing the specific conduct of each parent that harms the child’s physical health or emotional development.
• obtain approval from the program director before seeking to name someone as the child’s managing conservator.
For information on how to apply for permanency care assistance, see 6685 Applying for Permanency Care Assistance.
For information on the problems associated with naming a relative or fictive kin (such as close family friends) as the child’s managing conservator before the relative or fictive kin has qualified for, negotiated, and signed a PCA agreement, see Form 2127 PCA Bench Card.
DFPS always attempts to pursue a preferred permanency option for the child or youth, such as reunification, adoption, or granting permanent managing conservatorship (PMC) to a relative, fictive kin (such as close family friends), or other suitable individual (also referred to as positive permanency).
However, there may be circumstances when naming DFPS as the permanent managing conservator (PMC) is a necessary step to support a child’s ultimate permanency goal.
When reunification, adoption, or other permanent placement is not possible within the 12-month time frame established by the Texas Family Code, the caseworker must continue to work with the child, family, and potential caregivers to achieve a preferred permanency option.
If the court decides to name DFPS as PMC, the caseworker must continue to plan for permanency and seek a permanent legal family for the child. Permanency planning is an ongoing process that continues until a child leaves DFPS conservatorship.
• develop lifelong connections for youth who will age out of DFPS conservatorship when they become adults.
For DFPS to be named as the child’s permanent managing conservator (PMC) following the termination of parental rights, DFPS must prove the need for termination, as described in the items under 5563 Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights.
Proof of termination rebuts the presumption that appointing a child’s parents as managing conservator is in the child’s best interest.
If parental rights are terminated and DFPS is named as the child’s permanent managing conservator (PMC), the caseworker must work with the attorney representing DFPS to ensure that the first placement review hearing is scheduled no more than 90 days following issuance of the final order.
Because naming DFPS as the child’s permanent managing conservator (PMC) without terminating parental rights is generally disfavored, several additional requirements apply when permanent managing conservatorship without termination is the outcome in the case.
• It is not possible to dismiss DFPS as conservator or name another individual as the child’s PMC; and it is not possible to terminate parental rights.
• The appointment is an interim solution to a more favored conservatorship option, as discussed in 5553.3 Pursuing Preferred Permanency Options When DFPS Is Named as the Child’s PMC.
• The option is the most appropriate outcome for the child.
• obtain final approval from the program director.
If the caseworker is seeking PMC without terminating parental rights because the county or district attorney disagrees that the evidence supports a more favored option, the caseworker must also consult as soon as possible with the supervisor and regional attorney to consider alternative options.
The caseworker must follow the requirements explained in 5572 Agreeing to Accept DFPS Conservatorship Without Termination of Parental Rights.
• follow the guidance regarding ongoing permanency in 6233 Selecting the Permanency Goal.
• a conservatorship option that is preferable to DFPS remaining managing conservator until the child becomes an adult, is adopted, or is otherwise permanently placed.
• document the decision clearly in the case record (in the monthly evaluations and the child’s service plan in IMPACT).

References: §262
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 §153