Take action
Attend a free information meeting
DFPS’s first step for prospective foster and adoptive families. Meetings, local contacts and events are listed by area.
Find a meeting →Choose DFPS or a partner agency
You can work with DFPS directly or with a private agency that partners with DFPS. Meet more than one and ask about training and support.
DFPS: Get Started →Review the requirements
DFPS keeps the official list of requirements for foster and adoptive families.
Requirements →Verified against dfps.texas.gov on Oct 4, 2026. We link to DFPS’s requirements instead of copying them, because requirements change.
Way to help
Foster
Open your home for as long as a child needs it, and support their way home whenever it’s safe.
Way to help
Support a kinship family
Grandparents and relatives often take children in overnight. Meals, car seats, clothes and rides make a real difference.
Way to help
Give respite
Licensed respite care and babysitting give foster families a night off and keep placements stable.
Way to help
Mentor a teen
Young people aging out need a consistent adult for the leases, jobs and holidays ahead.
Way to help
Prevent harm
Share safe-sleep and water-safety basics. Prevention is the part of child welfare anyone can do.
Way to help
Share the data
Post a stat card, embed a chart, or send a county page to someone who’s been thinking about fostering.
Local numbers make the decision real. Every Texas county and Louisiana parish is mapped.
Tone: Hopeful.InspirationLouisiana
At its 27th annual Adoption Celebration, DCFS honored 508 families. Fifty of the children were teenagers, up from 36 the year before.
Tone: Hopeful.InspirationTexas
Of 9,876 exits from DFPS custody in FY 2025, nearly three in four ended with a parent or a relative.
Tone: Hopeful.InspirationLouisiana
In four years, the number of newly certified foster homes more than doubled. The need is still bigger, but the trend is real.