Resource Letter:
For Judges and Attorneys Handling Child Protective Services Cases
November 2, 2018
Information Regarding Children and Families Separated at the Border and State Courts
The Children’s Commission has received multiple inquiries about children who arrived at the southern border of the United States with a parent or legal guardian, and who were separated from their caregiver by U.S. immigration officials, and their potential involvement with or entry into the state child welfare system. The Children’s Commission is sharing a FAQ document linked herein in an effort to respond to those inquiries.

The ABA Center on Children and the Law recently released a document entitled Frequently Asked Questions about Separated Children and the Child Welfare System . As the FAQ indicates, it is very unlikely that a child would enter a state’s child welfare system after being separated from family at the border. The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), a federal immigration agency, is responsible for the care and custody of the children separated at the border, not state child welfare agencies. Also, in the event that an allegation of abuse or neglect arises under state law, the state law and procedure are the same as any other abuse or neglect case; detention and deportation of parents alone are not grounds for termination of parental rights.
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For a complete list of  Jurist in Residence Letters  and  Attorney Resource Letters , please visit the Children's Commission website. Information provided by the Children’s Commission should not be read as a commentary by the Supreme Court of Texas or any other court. For more information about the Children’s Commission, please visit our  website .
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