Texas Child Protection Law Bench Book

2024 version: As effective October 1, 2024

B. ICPC Applicability

Generally, the ICPC applies to any interstate placement of a child over whom the court has jurisdiction.

1. ICPC Applies to the Following Placements:

•   Placements that are preliminary to an adoption whether public or private adoption;

•   Placements in a licensed or approved foster home, including related and unrelated caregivers;

•   Placements with relatives when a parent or relative is not making the placement (i.e., the parent does not have legal custody/right to make the placement); and

•   Placements in group homes or residential placement, including accused or adjudicated delinquents placed in institutions in other states.

2. The ICPC Does Not Apply to the Following Placements:

•   Birth parents placing with a non-custodial birth parent, or a relative as long as no court has assumed jurisdiction of the child to be placed;

•   Relatives placing with birth parents or another relative as long as no court has assumed jurisdiction of the child to be placed;

•   A court with jurisdiction that transfers the child to an out of state parent; (note that the receiving state has no responsibility for supervision or monitoring a placement made under these circumstances);

•   Placements into schools where the primary purpose for the placement is educational;

•   Placements into medical and mental facilities;

•   Tribal Placements (See the Indian Child Welfare Act section within this chapter); and

•   Visits, as long as the visit meets the definition under the ICPC Section I.D.3 (See also Visits vs. Placement section within this chapter).

3. Placement of a Child with an Out of State Parent

State courts throughout the nation have reached different conclusions on whether ICPC procedures apply when courts place a child with an out of state biological parent. Until 2017, Texas courts had followed the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC) Regulations that state ICPC procedures do apply to placement with parents in certain circumstances, but no Texas court had addressed the issue directly.

In March 2016, DFPS updated its policy related to placing children with an out-of-state parent. DFPS will not initiate an ICPC home study request on a non-offending, non-custodial parent residing in another state, unless it is ordered to do so by the court with jurisdiction over the SAPCR. The policy related to out of state placements with non-offending parents is found in the CPS Policy Handbook § 4513.1.^[102]

In May 2017, the Fourth Court of Appeals ruled that despite Texas's adoption of Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC) Regulations, the plain unambiguous wording of ICPC Article III excluded biological parents as placements subject to ICPC procedures. The court ruled the compact does not apply to interstate placement of children with their natural parent and therefore the determination whether to place the child with the out of state parent is left to the court's discretion. In the Interest of C.R.-A.A., 521 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2017). Note that in the Interest of C.R.-A.A. is still the most recent and prevalent Texas case which discusses the ICPC not applying to children placed out-of-state with a biological parent.