For four years, THSC has been working on legislation to reform CPS and protect innocent children and families from the trauma that occurs when CPS investigates and removes children from homes unnecessarily.
State Representative James Frank sponsored HB 567, a major reform bill of CPS, which recently passed the Texas House with only five “no” votes. The bill was then heard in the Senate committee and passed committee unanimously. Within the next two weeks, we expect the bill to be heard on the Senate floor, at which point it will hopefully be sent to the Governor’s test to be signed into law.
This bill tightens the definition of neglect to limit CPS involvement in families for little or no reason. Neglect is the stated reason for the vast majority of CPS investigations of families, and this change will protect many, many innocent families.
The measure ensures that children will be sent home at modification hearings as soon as the home is safe instead of keeping the child in the custody of CPS for up to 18 months. It also requires courts to complete a trial, not just begin the trial, by the statutory deadlines. Many children are stuck in CPS for years due to the courts not complying with these deadlines.
The legislation also protects so-called “non-offending parents” from having children removed based on the conduct of the other parent. CPS often removes children from the home even when one of the parents has not been accused and is even referred to as non-offending.
Finally, this bill prevents CPS from accusing parents of allegations without any evidence. It is a standard practice for CPS to file with the court accusations of all the offenses listed in the family code that are grounds for removing children permanently from parents, even if they only have evidence of one of them. CPS files allegations that they know not to be accurate and can’t prove simply because it is easier for them!
We continue to work hard to get this legislation passed into law to protect innocent children and families. Please continue to pray for our efforts and sign up for updates when we need folks to contact their legislators to support these kinds of measures.
We believe in Keeping Texas Families Free – free from harassment from the government and free to raise their children as they see fit! Become a THSC member today to help us do just that for families across Texas.
For four years, THSC has been working on legislation to reform CPS and protect innocent children and families from the trauma that occurs when CPS investigates and removes children from homes unnecessarily.
State Representative James Frank sponsored HB 567, a major reform bill of CPS, which recently passed the Texas House with only five “no” votes. The bill was then heard in the Senate committee and passed committee unanimously. Within the next two weeks, we expect the bill to be heard on the Senate floor, at which point it will hopefully be sent to the Governor’s test to be signed into law.
This bill tightens the definition of neglect to limit CPS involvement in families for little or no reason. Neglect is the stated reason for the vast majority of CPS investigations of families, and this change will protect many, many innocent families.
The measure ensures that children will be sent home at modification hearings as soon as the home is safe instead of keeping the child in the custody of CPS for up to 18 months. It also requires courts to complete a trial, not just begin the trial, by the statutory deadlines. Many children are stuck in CPS for years due to the courts not complying with these deadlines.
The legislation also protects so-called “non-offending parents” from having children removed based on the conduct of the other parent. CPS often removes children from the home even when one of the parents has not been accused and is even referred to as non-offending.
Finally, this bill prevents CPS from accusing parents of allegations without any evidence. It is a standard practice for CPS to file with the court accusations of all the offenses listed in the family code that are grounds for removing children permanently from parents, even if they only have evidence of one of them. CPS files allegations that they know not to be accurate and can’t prove simply because it is easier for them!
We continue to work hard to get this legislation passed into law to protect innocent children and families. Please continue to pray for our efforts and sign up for updates when we need folks to contact their legislators to support these kinds of measures.
We believe in Keeping Texas Families Free – free from harassment from the government and free to raise their children as they see fit! Become a THSC member today to help us do just that for families across Texas.
