Office of Consumer Affairs

The Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) handles complaints about specific cases relating to DFPS program policy. We are here to help you, and you can trust us to fairly review your complaints. The DFPS programs include:

• Adult Protective Services
• Child Protective Investigations
• Child Protective Services
• Child Care Investigations
• Texas Abuse Hotline

The OCA takes complaints from the public including foster youth ages 18 years old and older, and former foster youth.

The OCA can address general, non-specific inquiries and questions about a DFPS case as well as the case process.

The OCA conducts formal reviews of a Child Protective investigation when the investigation concludes a person abused or neglected a child. This is handled through the OCA review process (formerly called the OCR review process).

We also refer people to other agencies and programs that may be able to assist them.

What Don't We Do?

• Assist foster youth ages 17 years old or younger - contact the Foster Care Ombudsman.
• Take reports of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. This includes reports of abuse, neglect, or a violation of standards by a child care facility - contact the Texas Abuse Hotline.
• Handle complaints or inquiries related to the Adult Protective Services - Provider Investigations program or inspections or minimum standards investigations by the Child Care Licensing – contact the Health and Human Services Consumer Rights and Services.
• Change the findings of a case other than Child Protective investigation findings through the OCA review process (formerly called the OCR review process).
• Review the actions or orders of the courts or law enforcement agencies.

How Do You Contact Us?

You can contact the OCA by telephone, online form, email, fax, or by standard mail.

• Telephone: Call (800) 720-7777, Monday-Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
• Online Form: Send your questions or complaints online with our Case-Specific Question and Complaint Form.
  • English
  • Spanish

  What We Need From You

  We need certain information to review your complaint, such as:

  • The name of the child or adult victim.
  • The city and county where these people live.
  • The names of others involved in the case and their relationship to the victim
  • The names of DFPS employees involved in the case.
  • Your contact information.
  • Specific details of your complaint/concerns.

  We understand you may not have all of this information - but the more you give us, the better we can serve you.

  When We Receive Your Complaint

  • We always acknowledge that we received your complaint.
  • If appropriate for our office to review, we will review your complaint and tell you what we find – within the limits of confidentiality laws. We can also recommend ways to correct issues when warranted.
  • If the information you provide is not an issue that the OCA can review, we will either share your information with the appropriate agency or refer you to an agency that may be able to assist you.

  To find out more information about the Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) and our complaint process you may review our policies.