As 2024 comes to a close, the Children’s Commission gathered a list of relevant child welfare related trainings and resources that are available to support high-quality legal and judicial practice in this area of law. Please see below for a compilation of resources created by or in partnership with the Children’s Commission.

The Children’s Commission produces regular online training content and obtains Texas Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) and Texas Board of Legal Specialization (TBLS) credit for child welfare law practitioners across the state. These webinars address current and emerging issues. All of the Commission’s web-based content is archived and available on the On-Demand Training and MCLE webpage at no cost.

The Children's Commission Texas Child Welfare Law Bench Book (Bench Book) outlines the state and federal statutory requirements for judges handling child welfare cases, as well as chapters on topics related to health, well-being, safety, system issues, and family connections. The Bench Cards provide high-level legal and topical information through at-a-glance, easy-to-use checklists that outline relevant laws and special issues to consider at the various stages of a child welfare case. While the Bench Book was originally designed for and is primarily used by judges, many attorneys and other child welfare stakeholders may also find it to be informative and helpful.

The Children's Commission also publishes Tool Kits for Attorneys Representing Parents and Children in Child Welfare Cases and Attorneys Representing Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) which outline the state and federal statutory requirements for attorneys handling child welfare cases and include practice topics relevant to each practice area.

The Children’s Commission’s Legal Representation Committee produced several resources to assist attorneys with explaining the child welfare system and an attorney’s duties to their client.

Materials for children, youth, and young adults include:

• a brochure explaining the role of the attorney for the child or youth in a child welfare case;
• Sam and the Search for Spots, a coloring book designed for children ages 6-12, available in English and Spanish; and
• a video series explaining the attorney-client relationship, created in collaboration with the Texas Network of Youth Services Young Adult Leadership Council. 

Materials for parents include:

• a brochure explaining the role of the attorney for the parent in a child welfare case;
• a Father’s Rights pamphlet;
• a poster highlighting the rights of incarcerated parents in a CPS case; and
• a series of handouts and videos created in collaboration with Texas CASA explaining the roles of the individuals involved in a child welfare case.

TexasBarCLE, in partnership with the State Bar of Texas Child Protection Law Section and other partners such as the Children’s Commission, produces MCLE courses on child welfare and related issues. The TexasBarCLE’s Online Classroom of child welfare-related courses is available at a reduced rate to court-appointed attorneys representing children and/or parents. For attorneys representing the State of Texas, TexasBarCLE provides scholarships based on financial need. Judges and their full-time staff attorneys can view these offerings for free. To view the list of MCLE courses offered through TexasBarCLE, please visit the TexasBarCLE Online Classroom and select Child Welfare Law as the search topic.

In collaboration with the Children’s Commission, TDCAA has created and maintains an online training course entitled Fundamentals of Child Welfare Law which covers the fundamentals of child welfare law for attorneys representing DFPS in a six-part video course. This course is currently available for free to attorneys representing DFPS in child welfare cases on the TDCAA online training webpage.

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For a complete list of Resource Letters, please visit the Children's Commission webpage. Information provided by the Children’s Commission should not be read as a commentary by the Supreme Court of Texas or any other court. The Children’s Commission website is not equipped to facilitate dialogue or conversation about matters related to the information in this communique. For more information about the Children’s Commission, please visit our website.

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