Texas Permanency Statue
Sequence of Hearings as of 1998
Hearing Type
Initial Hearing/ Ex parte
Order
Adversary Hearing / 14
Day Hearing
Status Hearing
Initial Permanency
Hearing
Permanency Hearing
Dismissal/ Final Order3
Placement Review
Hearings4
Purpose
To determine if removal
was appropriate
To grant custody to the
child welfare agency1
To review the service plan
for the family
To review the child’s
permanency plan
To review the child’s
permanency plan and
determine a dismissal date
To implement the
permanent plan
To review the status of
children remaining in the
care of the child welfare
agency after permanency
has been decided5
Timeframe
Within 1 day of removal
Within 14 days of the
child’s removal
Within 60 days of the
Adversary Hearing
Within 180 days of the
Adversary Hearing
Within 300 days of the
Adversary Hearing, or 120
days of the Initial
Permanency Hearing2
Within 365 of the
Adversary Hearing
Every 6 months after the
Final Order until the child
attains adulthood or is
adopted
Defined in Texas as granting the child welfare agency “temporary managing conservatorship”
Prior to 1998 this hearing was to be held between 5 ½ and 7 ½ months after the date of the last hearing,
unless the court approved an earlier hearing for good cause shown by a party. Additionally, after 18
months in care, a federally mandated review was to occur to determine the status of the child, the
appropriateness of the date for the child to return home or whether the judge should render final orders
3
This hearing was statutorily mandated in 1998; previously decisions about permanency were not rendered
until 18 months
4
Statutorily mandated in 1998
5
In Texas, “permanent managing conservatorship” of a child is granted to the child welfare agency, a
relative or another person when the permanent plan is not reunification with the parent. This status may be
conferred with or without termination of parental rights.
1
2