DFPS provides substitute care services that meet the requirements of Titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, and the Texas Family Code, including requirements that:
(1) a child is placed in a safe setting that is the least restrictive (most family-like) and most appropriate setting available, in close proximity to the parent's home when the child's permanency goal is reunification, consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child;(2) a child is returned to the family from which the child was removed whenever safe and appropriate; and(3) when it has been determined that a child cannot be safely reunified with the family from which the child was removed, the child is placed in a safe and permanent placement as soon as possible, consistent with the best interest of the child.40 Tex. Admin. Code § 700.1305
The provisions of this §700.1305 adopted to be effective August 1, 2012, 37 TexReg 5632