The Texas Family Code §261.301 authorizes the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate the abuse and neglect of children and to provide protective services to identified victims. The process is as follows:

• Statewide Intake (SWI) receives information alleging abuse and neglect.
• The intake specialist determines if legal definitions of abuse or neglect are met.
• If legal definitions are met, the intake specialist completes an intake and refers it to the appropriate Child Protective Investigations (CPI) office for investigation.

After an investigation, Child Protective Services (CPS) may provide interventions or services to families.

The intake specialist refers information about families receiving these services to CPS in the form of an Information & Referral (I&R).

Statutory and Agency Definitions

Alleged Sex Offender – Any person 10 years old and above who is alleged to have sexually abused or sexually assaulted someone, whether the victim was a child or an adult. The alleged sex offender does not have to have a criminal conviction or be on the sex offender registry.

See 2252 Alleged Perpetrator (AP).

Conservators – People, usually parents, who are in charge of the child or have custody. The type of conservatorship determines the legal rights and duties that each parent has regarding the child. A managing or possessory conservator is a person legally responsible for a child as the result of a court order.

40 Texas Administrative Code 707.451(a)(12)

Texas Family Code Chapter 153

Family – These are individuals who are:

• Related by blood, adoption, or marriage.
• Former spouses of each other.
• The biological parents of the same child, without regard to marriage.
• Foster children and foster parents, without regard to whether these individuals reside together.

Texas Family Code §71.003

Fictive Kin – Someone who is not related to a child, but who has, or who once had, a prior longstanding relationship with the child or the child’s sibling group. Teachers, coaches, family friends, godparents, and long-time neighbors are examples of people who may be fictive kin.

Household – A unit composed of persons living together in the same dwelling, whether they are related to each other or not. A member of a household includes a person who previously lived in a household.

A child’s household may include the following:

• The households of both parents, even when the parents reside separately.
• A household in which the parent has arranged for or authorized placement of the child.
• A household in which the child is legally placed by a parent or a court.

Texas Family Code §71.005

Texas Family Code §71.006

40 Texas Administrative Code 707.451(a)(9)(A)(i, ii & iii)

An unrelated person who resides elsewhere, or whose place of residence cannot be determined, is a member of the household if the person is at least 10 years old and either of the following applies:

• The person has regular free access to the household.
• When in the household dwelling, the person takes care of or assumes responsibility for children in the household.

40 Texas Administrative Code 707.451(a)(9)(B)(i & ii)

Joint Managing Conservatorship – The sharing of the rights and duties of a parent by two parties, ordinarily the parents, even if the exclusive right to make certain decisions may be awarded to one party. Joint managing conservatorship does not require the award of equal or nearly equal periods of physical possession of the child. A sole managing conservator or a primary joint managing conservator has the exclusive right to designate the residence of the child.

Texas Family Code §101.016

Texas Family Code §153.133(1)

Texas Family Code §153.135

Managing Conservator – A sole person or joint persons who make major decisions regarding the care of the child. Decisions include things such as:

• Consent to medical, dental, and surgical treatment involving invasive procedures.
• Consent to psychiatric and psychological treatment.

A primary managing conservator has the exclusive right to determine the primary residence of the child.

Texas Family Code §151.001

Texas Family Code §153.132(1-10)

Parent – The mother, a man presumed to be the biological father or who was adjudicated to be the biological father by a court, or an adoptive mother or father. The term does not include a parent whose parent-child relationship was terminated.

Texas Family Code §101.024

40 Texas Administrative Code 707.451(a)(13)

Possessory Conservator – A person who is not appointed as a sole or joint managing conservator, but who has the right to have physical possession of the child. This person has rights and duties while the child is in his or her possession such as:

• Directing moral and religious training.
• The duty of care, control, protection, and reasonable discipline.
• The duty to support the child, including clothing, food, shelter, medical and dental care, and education.

This person does not have the right to determine primary residence and often does not have the right to make major decisions.

Texas Family Code Chapter 151

Texas Family Code §153.191

See Child Protective Services Handbook:

2112 Primary Statutory Definitions

2114 Statutory Definition of Person Responsible for Child's Care, Custody, or Welfare

2115 Terms Used in Primary Statutory Definitions

Definitions of Terms