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The Bell County District Courts' standing order of rules and procedures for suits brought by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services under Subtitle E of the Family Code, referring CPS cases to the Centex Child Protection Courts and governing hearings, emergency removal orders, notice, and removal following placement.
Applies to child-protective-services suits brought by TDFPS in the Bell County District Courts and referred to the Centex Child Protection Courts. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
Standing Order for Rules and Procedures for Child Protective Services Cases in Bell County, tailored to suits under Subtitle E of the Texas Family Code, taking into account the best interests of the children, the rights of the parents, the disclosure routinely made through statutorily required court reports and review hearings, the publicly funded nature of the litigation, and the detrimental effect of exposing the children to a multitude of interviews. RULE 1 — REFERRAL TO ASSOCIATE JUDGE: pursuant to the Orders Appointing the Associate Judges signed by the Presiding Judge for the Third Administrative Judicial Region and the Orders of Referral signed by the Presiding District Judges for Bell County, all pending substitute-care and child-protective-service cases under Subtitle E, together with ancillary matters, are referred and assigned to the Associate Judges of the Centex Child Protection Courts; cases may be filed in either Centex Child Protection Court #1 or #2, with no limitation on which Associate Judge may preside. RULE 2 — HEARING SCHEDULE: hearings are held at times and locations determined by the Associate Judges (in-person hearings when possible at 104 S. Main, Fourth Floor of the Sheriff's Building, Belton), scheduled by the Associate Judges or the Court Coordinator. RULE 3 — EMERGENCY ORDERS FOR REMOVAL: an emergency ex parte order authorizing TDFPS possession, attachment, and/or appointment as temporary managing conservator may be obtained from either Associate Judge of the Centex Child Protection Court, a Presiding Judge, or any other Bell County District Judge; the 14-day adversary and subsequent hearings are conducted by the Associate Judges, and TDFPS must notify all parties (including the attorney ad litem and guardian ad litem) of the adversary hearing by the second business day after the order. RULE 4 — NOTICES OF HEARINGS: TDFPS ensures timely service of citation; after the 14-day adversary hearing the Court Coordinator is responsible for written notice, served per Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21a. RULE 5 — REMOVAL FOLLOWING ATTEMPTED PLACEMENT: if TDFPS as managing conservator determines a court-ordered placement is no longer safe, it may immediately remove the children without first obtaining an order, but must file a motion to modify supported by affidavit no later than the 3rd working day following removal.
Standing Order for Rules and Procedures for Child Protective Services Cases in Bell County, tailored to suits under Subtitle E of the Texas Family Code, taking into account the best interests of the children, the rights of the parents, the disclosure routinely made through statutorily required court reports and review hearings, the publicly funded nature of the litigation, and the detrimental effe
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-06 from the TOPICs custody scan (text layer read in full, 22,449 chars). County-wide Bell County District Court CPS standing order; bound to Bell County.
A standing order of the 97th Judicial District Court sealing the files in cases in which Child Protective Services or the Department of Family and Protective Services appears as petitioner, in the counties comprising the 97th Judicial District.
Dallas County Standing Order Regarding Children, Pets, Property and Conduct of the Parties (Family District Courts General Orders, current edition F2026/05, revised Jan. 31, 2026 — a re-adoption of the same operative text by the current bench: Hon. Kim Brown (254th), Vonda Bailey (255th), Sandre Streete (256th), Ashley Wysocki (301st), Sandra Jackson (302nd), LaDeitra Adkins (303rd), and Andrea D. Plumlee (330th)), as registered in the statewide TOPICs local-rules registry (posted 01/11/2023). The order "applies in every divorce suit and every suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed in Dallas County" automatically, without request: child-disruption prohibitions, pet protection, party-conduct restraints, divorce-case property/records/insurance freezes with specific authorizations, mandatory petition attachment, and its TRO-to-temporary-injunction lifecycle.