CPS privatization in Texas refers to Community-Based Care, a system in which the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) contracts with regional nonprofits to run foster care placement and, eventually, full case management, while the state keeps legal custody of the children and an oversight role.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code Chapter 264 – Child Welfare Services The rollout is regional and incomplete: some parts of Texas have fully transitioned, others are in early phases, and several regions have not started.
Who Handles Your Case Now
In regions that have transitioned, your point of contact is no longer a DFPS caseworker. It is an employee of a Single Source Continuum Contractor, or SSCC, the one nonprofit assigned to manage foster care services across that catchment area. An SSCC recruits and trains foster families, builds the network of placements (including therapeutic and specialized homes), coordinates medical and educational services, and arranges support for youth aging out.2Texas Health and Human Services. Single Source Continuum Contractor Once an SSCC advances far enough in the rollout, its staff also handle face-to-face visits, write permanency plans, and appear in court.3Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Expanding Community-Based Care
The current contractors by region:
- Saint Francis Community Services — Region 1 (Texas Panhandle)
- 2INgage (Texas Family Initiative) — Region 2 (Big Country and Texoma)
- OCOK (ACH Child and Family Services) — Region 3W (Metroplex West)
- EMPOWER — Region 3E (Metroplex East)
- 4Kids4Families — Region 4 (Piney Woods)
- Texas Family Care Network — Region 5 (Deep East)
- DePelchin Children’s Center — Region 6a (Harris County)
- Belong (SJRC Texas) — Region 8a (Bexar County) and Region 8b (South Central and Hill Country)4Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Community-Based Care Contracts
Where the Transition Has Reached
Texas is a patchwork. The practical effect of privatization on your family depends entirely on which region you live in.
- Full implementation with financial incentives: Region 1 (Panhandle), Region 2 (Big Country/Texoma, 30 counties), Region 8b (South Central and Hill Country), and the southern seven counties of Region 3W.
- Case management transferred to contractor: Region 3E (Metroplex East, 9 counties), Region 4 (Piney Woods, 23 counties), Region 5 (Deep East, 15 counties), and Cook, Denton, and Wise counties in Region 3W.
- Early placement or readiness phase: Region 8a (Bexar County), Region 6a (Harris County), and Region 6b (Bay Area/Montgomery).
- Not yet implemented: Regions 7a, 7b, 9, 10, 11a, and 11b.5Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Community-Based Care – Community Areas
The Austin area (Region 7a) is still fully under DFPS. Houston (Region 6a) is only in early readiness. The rollout has moved more slowly than originally projected, partly because of funding constraints and partly because qualified contractors have to be found and built up in each region.
The Three Stages, and What Your Contractor Can Do
An SSCC does not take on everything at once. Chapter 264 of the Texas Family Code requires sequential implementation, and DFPS runs readiness reviews before advancing a contractor.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code Chapter 264 – Child Welfare Services Which stage your region is in tells you who makes which decisions.
In Stage I, the contractor builds the foster home network, makes placements, and oversees adoptions and support services. DFPS caseworkers still manage the actual cases. Stage I typically lasts about 12 months. In Stage II, the contractor takes over primary case management, including kinship and reunification work, visits, permanency planning, and court appearances. Stage II typically lasts about 18 months. Stage III adds performance-based financial accountability on top of all Stage I and II duties, starting at least 18 months after the contractor began case management across the full community area.3Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Expanding Community-Based Care
What DFPS Still Does
DFPS remains the legal conservator of every child in state custody, no matter which contractor operates in the region. The agency does not disappear under this model; it shifts from running day-to-day foster care to regulating and contract-managing the organizations that do. DFPS also keeps responsibility for annual performance reviews and biennial utilization reviews of each SSCC.1State of Texas. Texas Code Family Code Chapter 264 – Child Welfare Services
How Contractors Get Paid, and Why It Matters
Stage III builds financial consequences into permanency outcomes. If a contractor reduces the number of days children spend in paid foster care below a set baseline (by reunifying with family, placing with kin, or finalizing adoption), the SSCC earns an incentive equal to the state’s share of what it would have paid in foster care reimbursements for those saved days, and must reinvest that money in care quality.6Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Implementation Plan for the Texas Community-Based Care System
Penalties run the other way. If paid-care days exceed the baseline by more than 10%, DFPS assesses financial remedies equal to the state’s share of 50% of the excess days multiplied by the daily foster care rate. The structure gives contractors a direct financial stake in moving children to permanent homes faster. Watchdog groups have flagged the obvious concern: the same structure creates pressure to move children out of paid placements quickly.6Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Implementation Plan for the Texas Community-Based Care System
Oversight and the Funding Gap
Beyond DFPS’s own contract management, Texas Human Resources Code Section 40.0583 requires the State Auditor’s Office to review DFPS’s performance-based contracts every year and recommend improvements.7Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Human Resources Code 40.0583 – State Auditor Review
A July 2024 audit was not reassuring. The State Auditor’s Office found DFPS did not always perform required monthly payment reconciliations with contractors and did not consistently verify self-reported SSCC information. The audit also stated that the current funding model was “not always sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the SSCCs.”8Texas State Auditor’s Office. An Audit Report on Performance-based Contracts at the Department of Family and Protective Services When the state’s own auditor says reimbursement is not keeping pace with the actual cost of care, contractors are left stretching limited dollars across complex needs.
DFPS also publishes Rider 15 reports to the legislature tracking reunification rates, re-entry rates, the share of children who age out without a permanent home, and placement stability. The reports caution that those headline numbers “do not represent a comprehensive assessment of their overall contract performance.”9Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. DFPS Rider 15 Report for Community-Based Care
Legal Liability When Something Goes Wrong
Who bears responsibility if a contractor’s decision harms a child is one of the real consequences of privatization. The Texas Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to extend sovereign immunity to private companies that contract with the government. A private entity does not become sovereign simply by holding a government contract, and the government-contractor defense generally applies only to non-negligent conduct performed under the government’s direct control. That control becomes harder to establish once an SSCC takes on independent case management authority in Stage II and beyond.
For families, that means an SSCC operating with broad discretion over placements and case decisions may face fewer legal shields than a state agency would. Families who believe a contractor’s decisions harmed their child may have legal avenues that would not exist against the state itself, though litigation in this area is complex and depends heavily on the facts.
If You Have Concerns
If your child is in foster care in a region that has transitioned, raise concerns first with the SSCC’s assigned caseworker. Each contractor also runs its own complaint process; Saint Francis Ministries in Region 1, for example, operates a customer care line. Because DFPS remains the legal conservator, you can also contact DFPS directly about how an SSCC is handling your case. The contractor’s name and contact information for your region are listed on the DFPS Community-Based Care site.5Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Community-Based Care – Community Areas