This revision of the Child Protective Services Handbook was published on August 1, 2024.
On September 1, 2017, the investigations branch of CPS became a separate division named Child Protective Investigations (CPI). Until CPI develops its own policy handbook, investigation policies and procedures will remain in the CPS Handbook.
Court-Ordered Participation (PATS 13939)
This handbook revision updates time frames for entering a case’s legal status.
12581 Documenting Court-Ordered Participation and Other Legal Actions
Safety Plan Update (PATS 14070)
This handbook revision updates policy to do the following:
3210 Safety Plan
3212 Assessing the Child’s Safety Before Implementing a Safety Plan or Family-Initiated Parental Child Safety Placement (PCSP)
3212.1 Assessment of Caregivers
3212.6 New Child Placed into an Existing Family-Initiated PCSP
3212.7 New Child Placed into a Kinship or Licensed Foster Home
3212.8 Court Places a Child in a Family-Initiated PCSP without DFPS Agreement
3214 Extending a Family-Initiated PCSP Past 30 Days
3215.1 Closing a Case When the Child Remains in a Family-Initiated PCSP
Changing Priority of Report (PATS 14133)
This handbook revision updates policy about changing the priority of a report or closing a report using the Priority None (PN) closure code.
2154 Changing the Priority of a Report About Abuse or Neglect
2155.3 Closing Reports Using Priority None (PN) Closure Codes
2155.4 Required Tasks before Closing Report Using Priority None (PN)
2155.5 Reports of Abuse or Neglect That Require Program Director Approval for Closure
2155.6 Reports of Abuse or Neglect That Require Program Administrator Approval for Closure