Unless a court requires a different format, the caseworker must use Form 2088b [sic, broken link] Word Document Permanency Progress Report to file the report with the court. The form provides fields for entering content required by federal law, state law, and DFPS policy.

In the child’s permanency progress report for a child in DFPS’s PMC, the caseworker must include information required in 5535 Meeting the Content Requirements for the Permanency Plan and Progress Report for a child in TMC, and the following information necessary for the court to make findings and determinations about:

Permanency Plan

  •   if the child is age 16 or older and has a permanency plan of another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA), the intensive, ongoing, and, as of the hearing date, unsuccessful efforts to return the child home or to secure a placement with a relative, legal guardian (permanent managing conservator), or adoptive parent;

42 USC 675aExternal Link

  •   the appropriateness of the child’s permanency goals;

  •   if DFPS has made reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan;

  •   if DFPS has identified a family or other caring adult who has made a permanent commitment to the child;

  •   information on any significant changes in the child’s personal life or placement since the last hearing.

Placement Status

  •   for a child in institutional care, if efforts have been made to find the least restrictive placement consistent with the child’s best interest and special needs. See Texas Family Code §263.5031(3)(C)External Link;

  •   for a child in another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA), in addition to whether APPLA is the best permanency plan for the child, the compelling reasons why it continues to not be in the child’s best interest to return home, be placed for adoption, be placed with a legal guardian, or be placed with a fit and willing relative;

  •   for a child in DFPS’s permanent managing conservatorship for whom parental rights have not been terminated, if DFPS has diligently attempted to place the child for adoption; and

  •   for a child in DFPS’s permanent managing conservatorship for whom parental rights have been terminated:

  •   if placing the child in another permanent placement (including appointing a relative as managing conservator) or returning the child to a parent is appropriate for the child; and

  •   whether to order up to six months of services for a parent, if the court makes the necessary findings about the child’s placement and the possibility of reunification.

Texas Family Code §§263.5031(3)External Link; 263.502External Link