Tex. Codes » Family Code · TITLE 5. THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP AND THE SUIT AFFECTING THE PARENT-CHILD RELATIONSHIP · SUBTITLE E. PROTECTION OF THE CHILD · CHAPTER 261. INVESTIGATION OF REPORT OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT
Texas Codes

Tex. Fam. Code § 261.309 (2026)

Review Of Department Investigations

✓ current as of May 2026
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Sec. 261.309. REVIEW OF DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATIONS. (a) The executive commissioner shall by rule establish policies and procedures to resolve complaints relating to and conduct reviews of child abuse or neglect investigations conducted by the department.

(b) If a person under investigation for allegedly abusing or neglecting a child requests clarification of the status of the person's case or files a complaint relating to the conduct of the department's staff or to department policy, the department shall conduct an informal review to clarify the person's status or resolve the complaint. The division of the department responsible for investigating complaints shall conduct the informal review as soon as possible but not later than the 14th day after the date the request or complaint is received.

(c) If, after the department's investigation, the person who is alleged to have abused or neglected a child disputes the department's determination of whether child abuse or neglect occurred, the person may request an administrative review of the findings. A department employee in administration who was not involved in or did not directly supervise the investigation shall conduct the review. The review must sustain, alter, or reverse the department's original findings in the investigation.

(d) The department employee shall conduct the review prescribed by Subsection (c) as soon as possible but not later than the 45th day after the date the department receives the request, unless the department has good cause for extending the deadline. If a civil or criminal court proceeding or an ongoing criminal investigation relating to the alleged abuse or neglect investigated by the department is pending, the department may postpone the review until the court proceeding is completed.

(e) A person is not required to exhaust the remedies provided by this section before pursuing a judicial remedy provided by law.

(f) This section does not provide for a review of an order rendered by a court.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 20, Sec. 1, eff. April 20, 1995.

Amended by:

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 1.138, eff. April 2, 2015.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 944 (S.B. 206), Sec. 21, eff. September 1, 2015.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 2003–2009 · leading case: Gates v. Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs., 252 S.W.3d 90 (Tex. App. 2008).
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Gates v. Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs., 252 S.W.3d 90 (Tex. App. 2008). · cites it 5× “” Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 261.309 (e). The Department does not dispute this, but instead urges that its purported “waiver” of the pending ARIF in favor of a SOAH contested-case proceeding somehow confers exclusive jurisdiction on itself, through SOAH, to adjudicate Gates’s claims.”
Dep't of Prot. & Regulatory Servs. v. Schutz, 101 S.W.3d 512 (Tex. App. 2003). “Tex. Fam.Code Ann. § 261.001(5)(A) (Vernon 2002).”
Melissa Gates v. Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs. (Tex. App. 2008). · cites it 5× “" Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 261.309 (a) (West 2002).”
Melissa Gates v. Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs. (Tex. App. 2008). · cites it 4× “” Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 261.309 (a) (West 2002).”
Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs. v. Jennifer Barlow (Tex. App. 2007). “Barlow requested an administrative review of this determination, see Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 261.309 (c) (West 2002), which sustained the original findings.”
Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs. v. E.R. & J.R. (Tex. App. 2009). “See Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 261.309 (Vernon 2008).”
— Tex. Fam. Code § 261.309(a) — 1 case
Gates v. Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs., 252 S.W.3d 90 (Tex. App. 2008). “” Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 261.309 (e). The Department does not dispute this, but instead urges that its purported “waiver” of the pending ARIF in favor of a SOAH contested-case proceeding somehow confers exclusive jurisdiction on itself, through SOAH, to adjudicate Gates’s claims.”
— Tex. Fam. Code § 261.309(d) — 1 case
Gates v. Texas Dep't of Fam. & Prot. Servs., 252 S.W.3d 90 (Tex. App. 2008). “” Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 261.309 (e). The Department does not dispute this, but instead urges that its purported “waiver” of the pending ARIF in favor of a SOAH contested-case proceeding somehow confers exclusive jurisdiction on itself, through SOAH, to adjudicate Gates’s claims.”
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