Texas Foster Care and Adoption Guidelines

Thank you for considering becoming a foster or adoptive parent.

View the contacts for each of the 11 Texas Department of Family and Protective Services regions. You will see a map of Texas with each of the regions outlined. To the right of the map is a list of each region’s contact person. Clicking on the person’s name will start an email to that person (emailing is recommended).

• Para información en español, contacte:
  Texas Department of Family and Protective Services
  Ofrecen asistencia en español
  Phone: 817-792-4418
• Para información en español, contacte:
  Phone: 800-233-3405
  Línea directa para informacion de la adopcion y de familias temporales. Este programa es un servicio del Departamento de Servicios de Regulación y Protección de Texas.

Documentos De La Adopcion Y De Familias Temporales

Things You Should Know

• Foster Care and Adoption Licensing Requirements
• Costs to Foster and Adopt
• Parent Support Groups
• Agency Contacts and Orientation Information
• Information on Texas' Waiting Children

Licensing Requirements for Foster or Adoption

• Must be at least 21 years of age, financially stable and responsible, and a mature adult
• Complete an application (staff will assist you, if you prefer)
• Share information regarding their background and lifestyle
• Provide relative and non-relative references
• Be single, married or divorced. Please show proof of marriage if you are married and/or proof of divorce if you are/were divorced.
• Agree to a home study which includes visits with all household members
• Allow staff to complete a criminal history background check and an abuse/neglect check on all adults in the household
• Attend free training to learn about issues of abused and neglected children

The training provides an opportunity for the family and the family’s agency to assess whether foster care or adoption is best for the family. The family may withdraw from the training meetings at any time. There is no charge for the training meetings. Foster and adoptive parents generally train together.

Costs to Foster and Adopt

A family must pay for some services, including criminal background checks, home inspections, CPR, TB testing, etc.

Parent Support Groups

To view a list of parent support groups in Texas, please:

• Visit the Child Welfare Information Gateway's National Foster Care & Adoption Directory.
• In the list of states, choose Texas. In the list of categories, check the box for “Foster Care and Adoption Support Groups”, and click the “Go” button.

Agency Contact and Orientation Information

Find out about foster and adoption information meetings in your area.

Y para información de contacto de agencias en Texas que podrán ayudarle en español, por favor visite esta pagina: Personas de habla hispana disponsibles.

Information on Children

There are 28,883 children in foster care in Texas; 10,768 of these children are waiting for adoptive families. Find out more