Acknowledgments

This revised edition of the Texas Child Protection Law Bench Book (Bench Book) includes additions of and revisions to important topics such as Community Based Foster Care, Caregiver Assistance Agreements, new Bureau of Indian Affairs Guidelines regarding implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act, and new federal laws affecting educational outcomes of children in the child welfare system.

This project is supported by the Court Improvement Program grants, awarded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. The information in this publication has been developed by the Bench Book Advisory Committee and the staff of the Supreme Court of Texas Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families (Children’s Commission). Any resource materials or other written contributions provided by the Children's Commission should not be read as an advisory issued by the Supreme Court of Texas or any other court. Contributions to this Bench Book are not rulings on specific cases or legal issues, but are solely intended to address the improvement of the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice related to child protection cases.

Bench Book Advisory Committee

The Honorable Dean Rucker (ret.), Children’s Commission Jurist in Residence

Audrey Carmical, Department of Family and Protective Services

The Honorable Virginia Schnarr

The Honorable Thomas Stuckey

Children’s Commission Staff:

Tina Amberboy, Executive Director

Jessica Arguijo, Communications Manager

Jamie Bernstein, Staff Attorney

Monica Mahoney, Administrative Assistant

Dylan Moench, Staff Attorney

Patrick Passmore, Grant Administrator

Milbrey Raney, Staff Attorney

Kristi Taylor, Assistant Director

Andrea Vicencio, Administrative Assistant