Protective Services

Protective Services: The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) works with communities to protect children, the elderly, and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. It also works to protect the health and safety of children in daycare, as well as foster care and other types of 24-hour care. We do this through investigations, services and referrals, regulation, and prevention programs.

DFPS has five major programs that do this important work:
Adult Protective Servicesprotects the elderly and people with disabilities from abuse, neglect, and exploitation through investigations and services. Child Protective ServicesProtects children from abuse and neglect through investigations, services, foster care, and adoption.Child Care LicensingRegulates daycare, foster care, adoption agencies, residential treatment centers, before- and after-school programs, and maternity homes.Statewide IntakeTakes reports of abuse, neglect, and exploitation from across the state through its Texas Abuse Hotline (1-800-252-5400) and through the website TxAbuseHotline.orgExternal Link 24-hours a day, every day of the year.Prevention and Early InterventionManages community-based programs that prevent juvenile delinquency and child abuse and neglect.
Please call the Texas Abuse Hotline if you suspect that a child or adult who is elderly or has disabilities is being abused, neglected, or exploited. Dr. Alex Jimenez’s collection of articles discusses how Protective Services helps protect individuals who’ve suffered sciatica due to a variety of circumstances.