Judicial Conferences

The 18th Annual Child Welfare Judges Conference will be held on October 27-29, 2025. This conference is hosted by the Children’s Commission in partnership with the Texas Center for the Judiciary. Designed for judges who devote a minimum of 15% of their docket to hearing civil child welfare cases, this conference attracts judges from across the state who handle child welfare cases, including Child Protection Court judges; district, county court-at-law, and associate judges; and appellate judges. The curriculum is expected to provide approximately 13-15 hours of Continuing Judicial Education, a minimum of 4 hours of Family Violence Credits, and ethics hours. Speakers will include members of the judiciary, DFPS leadership, OCA leadership, SSCC leadership, and persons with lived experience in the child welfare system.

Please return to this page for updates.

2024 Child Welfare Judges Conference

The Children’s Commission, in partnership with the Texas Center for the Judiciary (TCJ) hosted the 17th annual Child Welfare Judges Conference (CWJC) on October 21-23, 2024. A pre-conference training hosted by the Office of Court Administration was held on the opening day of the conference for Child Protection Court Judges and Child Protection Court Coordinators, and was followed by the full conference. Registration was limited to judges who handle civil child welfare cases.  

The full conference curriculum provided 14 Continuing Judicial Education hours, 2.0 ethics hours, and 9 Family Violence hours. Presentations included a Keynote Address from Vivek Sankaran, Clinical Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School; Director, Child Advocacy Law Clinic and Child Welfare Appellate Clinic, entitled “Improving the Child Welfare System One Family at a Time:  Research-Based Strategies to Strengthen Judicial Practice. Presentations which followed were titled: How to Attract and Keep High Quality Legal Representation on Your Court Appointment Wheel; The Importance of Engaging Fathers in Child Welfare Cases; Office of Court Administration Update; Dealing with Death, Grief, and Loss on the Bench; The Science of Resiliency; The REALLY Panel:  Redefining Engagement, Advocacy, and Listening to Lived Experience Youth; The Future of Foster Care in Texas: Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C) System; DFPS Leadership and Statewide Data Updates; Community Based Care Panel; Housing Options, Challenges, and Solutions for Transition Age Youth and Young Adults; IV-E Meets IV-D: Child Support Matters in Child Welfare Cases; and Recognizing Judicial Leadership and Innovation. Speakers included members of the judiciary, DFPS leadership, OCA leadership, SSCC leadership, and youth with lived experience in the child welfare system. Additionally, Regional Breakouts were convened with DFPS and Single Source Continuum Contractors (SSCC) staff, including RDIs, CPS RDs, RSIs, and SSCC representatives from regions in Community-Based Care.

Child Protection Courts, also known as CPCs, were created to specialize in managing child abuse and neglect dockets. Like the child support court associate judges, these associate judges are appointed by their regional presiding judges and are OCA employees. CPC judges hear child welfare cases exclusively. The goal for CPC dockets is to help children and families achieve safety, permanency, and well-being in a timely manner. The Children’s Commission provides funding for the Child Protection Court Management System (CPCMS), as well as training and other support for CPC judges and court coordinators to conduct hearings and manage cases. There are currently 30 CPCs and these courts hear child welfare cases in 148 Texas counties.

The biennial Child Protection Court Convening is held in partnership with the Office of Court Administration.

The 2025 Child Protection Court Convening will be held virtually on July 18, 2025. The agenda is complete, and Commission staff are in the process of confirming speakers and setting up speaker preparation meetings. A registration announcement for the training was shared via email with the CPC judges and court coordinators. This year’s conference will include 5 plenary presentations for the judges and court coordinators, as well as two breakout sessions for each audience, one of which will be a moderated discussion of current issues. Panel presentations will include legislative updates, data and reporting requirements, best practices for courtroom management, issues specific to rural jurisdictions, and a moderated discussion with regional presiding judges. The curriculum will provide Continuing Judicial Education, TBLS, and ethics hours. Speakers will include members of the judiciary, TIDC staff, and OCA staff. Please return to this page for updates.

The 2023 CPC Convening was held on July 27-28, 2023. The curriculum provided 9.25 CJE, .5 ethics hours, and 9.25 FV hours. The conference featured a Keynote Address from Jenny Gomez, LPC-S, KoonsFuller Family Law, on Strategies for Managing Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Trauma, and Self-Care. Additional presentations were a “state of the state” update from the Office of Court Administration; a legislative update; a case law update; a presentation on immigration and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) issues in child welfare law; updates on three pilots in CPC Courts (Early Intervention Court Liaisons, Texas Family First Pilots, and the Dual Status Pilots); a presentation on how to access available STAR Health therapeutic services for children; a panel of presiding judges; and moderated discussion groups for the CPC judges and for the CPC Court Coordinators. Additionally, the Convening featured a conversation with Casey Family Program Speakers Judge Ernestine Gray and Judge Robin Sage on judicial ethics and reducing the number of children in care.