Texas Permanency Statue
Texas Permanency Statue
Sequence of Hearings as of 1998
Hearing Type / Purpose / TimeframeInitial Hearing/ Ex parte Order / To determine if removal was appropriate / Within 1 day of removal
Adversary Hearing / 14 Day Hearing / To grant custody to the child welfare agency[1] / Within 14 days of the child’s removal
Status Hearing / To review the service plan for the family / Within 60 days of the Adversary Hearing
Initial Permanency Hearing / To review the child’s permanency plan / Within 180 days of the Adversary Hearing
Permanency Hearing / To review the child’s permanency plan and determine a dismissal date / Within 300 days of the Adversary Hearing, or 120 days of the Initial Permanency Hearing[2]
Dismissal/ Final Order[3] / To implement the permanent plan / Within 365 of the Adversary Hearing
Placement Review Hearings[4] / To review the status of children remaining in the care of the child welfare agency after permanency has been decided[5] / Every 6 months after the Final Order until the child attains adulthood or is adopted
[1] Defined in Texas as granting the child welfare agency “temporary managing conservatorship”
[2] Prior to 1998 this hearing was to be held between 5 ½ and 7 ½ months after the date of the last hearing, unless the court approved an earlier hearing for good cause shown by a party. Additionally, after 18 months in care, a federally mandated review was to occur to determine the status of the child, the appropriateness of the date for the child to return home or whether the judge should render final orders
[3] This hearing was statutorily mandated in 1998; previously decisions about permanency were not rendered until 18 months
[4] Statutorily mandated in 1998
[5] In Texas, “permanent managing conservatorship” of a child is granted to the child welfare agency, a relative or another person when the permanent plan is not reunification with the parent. This status may be conferred with or without termination of parental rights.