6/29/2026 7:53 PM
Summary
In 2007, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) completed a judicial workload assessment for the Texas district courts, resulting in the weighted caseload model that is currently used to analyze judicial workload and the need for judges in the district courts.
In 2007, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) completed a judicial workload assessment for the Texas district courts, resulting in the weighted caseload model that is currently used to analyze judicial workload and the need for judges in the district courts. At the time of the workload assessment, it was not possible to distinguish Child Protective Services (CPS) cases from other types of family law cases, such as child support, protective orders, and paternity. For this reason, a single case weight was created to cover all of these case types. Because CPS cases are very different in nature from the other types of cases included in the “Other Family Law” category, a separate case weight for CPS was identified as a need. In 2010, the Office of Court Administration (OCA) implemented a new reporting system that was capable of tracking CPS cases as a distinct category, making it possible to construct a separate case weight for CPS cases. Subsequently, OCA, with funding from The Supreme Court Children’s Commission, contracted with NCSC to comprehensively reexamine the judicial time needed to handle CPS cases.
Texas Child Protective Services Workload Assessment