Only in limited circumstances may the caseworker remove a child first and then go to court to request a court order. This type of emergency removal is called an exigent removal. The caseworker must not remove a child without first obtaining a court order, unless the supervisor and program director have agreed and all of the following requirements are met:

• The caseworker has made reasonable efforts, consistent with the circumstances of the case, to secure the child’s safety.
• There is no other reasonable way to ensure child safety except for removal.  The caseworker must not implement a safety plan, including a family-initiated parental child safety placement (PCSP), or request an order to remove the perpetrator or alleged perpetrator from the child’s home (see 5120 Removing the Alleged Perpetrator From the Home), if the caseworker determines that removal is necessary and more appropriate because the intervention would not adequately protect the child, based on case-specific factors. These factors may include but are not limited to the following:
  • Danger to the child if the child remains with or returns to the parent.
  • Child’s and family’s history.
  • Risk to the child.
• Exigent circumstances exist requiring the immediate removal, and there is no time to obtain an emergency court order before removing the child.
• Based on the caseworker’s personal knowledge or information from another source that the caseworker has confirmed, the caseworker determines that the situation meets one or more of the following conditions (the caseworker also documents in the child’s case record what the caseworker personally knows about the child’s situation):
  • There is an immediate danger to the child’s physical health or safety. The danger may present itself in any form, or come from any source, such as the child, another person, or the physical environment, or because the child’s household includes a person who has either sexually abused another child or abused or neglected another child in a manner that caused serious injury or death.
  • The child is a victim of sexual abuse or human trafficking under Texas Penal Code 20A.02 or 20A.03External Link and is in imminent danger of further sexual abuse or trafficking.
  • The parent or person with possession of the child is using a controlled substance, and the use is an immediate danger to the child’s physical health or safety.
  • The parent or person with possession of the child is allowing the child to remain in a place where methamphetamine is manufactured.
• It is contrary to the child’s welfare to remain in the home of the parent or adult from whom the child is being removed.

Texas Family Code §262.104External Link

Texas Family Code §262.105External Link

Texas Family Code §262.107External Link

Texas Family Code §262.102(b)External Link