Major Accomplishments
Adoptions and Foster Care
In FY 2019, a record number of children in state care found permanent homes as DFPS completed 6,107 adoptions. That compares to 5,678 adoptions in FY 2018 and 5,413 adoptions in FY 2017. Relatives adopted more than half of these children and teens. Also, for the first time in a number of years, more children left foster care than entered it. In FY 2019, 18,615 children entered care and 20,343 children left foster care or other forms of DFPS legal responsibility, including those who were adopted.
Texas Abuse Hotline
The DFPS Statewide Intake program operates the Texas Abuse Hotline, which includes a 24/7/365 call center and an online reporting website. SWI assessed 772,206 contacts during the fiscal year, while achieving an average hold time of 7.8 minutes. This average hold time was a 34% improvement over the previous year.
SWI achieved this through an efficiency initiative called LEAN that streamlined the intake process, allowing SWI to handle more calls in less time. Shorter hold times allowed DFPS to help more clients. Learn more about the LEAN Initiative in the Statewide Intake section of this report.