Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process was pretty straightforward. It was an online interview, mostly with behavioral STAR questions. It wasn't too hard. You should be ready to talk about your strengths and how you solve problems when faced with different situations.

Interviewed with the supervisor and two others for an hour. Later that week, I got a call back for a second interview and was told it was between me and one other candidate. They said I'd hear from someone either way. They did reference checks before the second interview, which tipped off my current company that I was job hunting. The second interview was with the next level of management. Then, radio silence for two weeks. I reached out to the hiring manager by email and found out they were rethinking the position and reposting it.

I have 8 years of law enforcement experience with a B.S. in Criminal Justice and have worked many CPS cases. There were 4 of us waiting for the interview: 2 college graduates with BS in Social Work, and 1 corrections officer with 3 years experience. I interviewed, and before I left, I knew they weren't going to hire me, which was unusual because I've never not gotten a job before. They said I was "not qualified," even though 5+ years of law enforcement experience was required, and I had the most experience out of the 4. A few weeks later, they called me back asking if I wanted to re-interview because the person they hired backed out. I noticed I was the only white person in the office and the only one out of the 4 interviewees. I'm not saying racism played a part, but I was the most qualified and didn't get the first chance.

You apply online and then wait to hear back. If selected, you gotta send back a LOT of paperwork, some of which needs a notary, so it costs money just to interview. Send all that and transcripts back before the interview. The interview was on Teams with two women who weren't great interviewers. They just confirmed some stuff and then went straight into 'Tell me about a time' questions. That was pretty much it. They didn't seem to care about your background, degree, or passion for the job. It felt like you just needed to be a good liar with some impressive stories. Honesty didn't seem to get you anywhere. Then you get a super cold email saying you weren't selected. I'm baffled why anyone would want to do this kind of work for people who don't respect your time, skills, knowledge, or money! This has been my experience with these kinds of jobs. You're underpaid, work tons of overtime 'cause they're short-staffed, and they keep hiring people who aren't really ready for it, which explains why they're always understaffed. I knew all this going in from friends in the field. DFPS, good luck finding people who will actually stay in this line of work long-term.