A parental child safety placement (PCSP) is a temporary out-of-home placement made by a parent when CPS determines that the child is not safe remaining in his or her own home. CPS may offer the parents the option of placing the child out of the home as an alternative to DFPS petitioning for court-ordered removal of the child (see 3210 Safety Plan).

A PCSP may occur in a CVS case in very limited circumstances. This could include when:

  •   a child is born to a parent who currently has children in an open CVS case but the new child can safely be placed in a PCSP;

  •   it is determined after an investigation that some of the siblings can be placed in a PCSP while the other siblings must be placed in substitute care (this should only occur in very limited situations);

  •   there is a current open CVS case for some siblings while other siblings are in the home and a new investigation warrants a PCSP; or

  •   there is currently an open CVS case for some siblings while other siblings are simultaneously in a PCSP.

If a PCSP is considered during an investigation related to an open CVS case, both the Investigations program director and the CVS program director must approve the PCSP before it is implemented.

A PCSP initiated in the CVS stage of service will be a very rare occurrence since a PCSP can only be used for a child who is not in the conservatorship of DFPS. However, if it is needed, see 3212 Assessing the Child’s Safety before Implementing a Safety Plan or Family-Initiated Parental Child Safety Placement (PCSP) and its sub-items.

Although DFPS does not have conservatorship of the child in the PCSP, that child is a member of the family unit. As such, the child must be seen face-to-face each month, and must be included in the parent’s family plan of service, just like a child who remains in the home with the parent.

See:

6242 The Family Plan of Service (FPOS)

3210 Safety Plan

If the child is in a PCSP that crosses county or regional boundaries, the primary caseworker for the case must arrange for the child and caregiver to be seen monthly by requesting courtesy supervision (see 6412.1 Courtesy Supervision – Contact across Regional Lines. If there is more than one child in a PCSP, the primary caseworker is responsible for coordinating monthly face-to-face contact for each of the children.

See also:

3214 Extending a Family-Initiated PCSP Past 60 Days

3215 Ending a Safety Plan or Family-Initiated PCSP