MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CHILD-PLACING AGENCIES

(a) You must take the following steps to verify a foster family home: (1) Complete and document the requirements for § 749.2447 of this subchapter (relating to What information must I obtain for the foster home screening?); (2) Complete and document the required interviews as spe…

Yes, before you may verify a kinship home, you must obtain and review the kinship home assessment that was completed. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2472 The provisions of this §749.2472 adopted to be effective December 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 9058; transferred effective March 9, 201…

(a) When a home has previously been verified by another agency, you must conduct and complete an entirely new home screening and comply with all of the requirements in § 749.2471 of this title (relating to What must I do to verify a foster home?). (b) If the foster home is transf…

(a) If background information is requested by a child-placing agency conducting a foster home screening, pre-adoptive home screening, or post placement adoptive report, then you must release background information regarding the current or previous foster home. (b) Background info…

No. Before you can verify a foster home, child placement management staff must: (1) Review and approve the verification, including the documented foster home screening, home study, and other requirements; and (2) Sign and date the document. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2477 Th…

No, you cannot place children in a foster home before completing the foster home screening and verification. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2479 The provisions of this §749.2479 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as publ…

(a) You must give the home a verification certificate after: (1) Verifying the home; and (2) Making any change that affects the verification certificate. (b) The home must post the current verification certificate or have it immediately available upon request. Notes 26 Tex. Admin…

No, they do not have to own or rent the home they live in for it to be considered their primary residence. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2483 The provisions of this §749.2483 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as publis…

(a) You must verify the home in the name of one foster family for whom the home is the primary residence. You may only verify the home in the name of one foster family. (b) A home is considered a primary residence if the person lives there on a routine basis and: (1) It is the pl…

(a) You must sign a written agreement with each agency foster home at the time that you verify the home. You and the foster home must each have copies of the signed agreement. You must file a copy of the signed agreement in the agency home record. (b) The agreement must specify t…

(a) You must provide foster parents with a written copy of the following statement that lists the rights and responsibilities of foster parents and the child-placing agency: (1) Foster parents have the right to be treated with dignity, respect, and consideration as a member of th…

You must submit information to us within two working days of: (1) Verifying a new foster home; (2) Temporarily verifying a foster home and when the verification is no longer temporary; (3) Putting a foster home on inactive status or taking a foster home off of inactive status; (4…

(a) You may verify a foster home to provide different services as long as a child placement staff completes an assessment of the home that includes a review of the following: (1) The number, ages, and needs of children to be placed in the home; (2) The foster home's capacity to p…

A foster family home may provide day care in addition to foster care under the following conditions: (1) The number and ages of children in both types of care must meet all relevant laws and rules, including the requirements listed in § 745.375 of this title (relating to May I of…

Only temporary, time-limited, and provisional verifications have expiration dates. All other verifications are non-expiring. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2495 The provisions of this §749.2495 adopted to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10283; transferred effective Marc…

(a) You must have either a transfer summary or closing summary when a foster home transfers to another child-placing agency or closes. This includes when you do not issue a non-expiring verification to a foster home with a time-limited verification, temporary verification, or pro…

The purpose of a temporary verification is to permit continued care of foster children in a verified foster home when a foster family moves from one residence to another and there is a short-term delay in ensuring the foster home will continue to meet all minimum standards in the…

(a) You may only issue a temporary verification after: (1) You inspect the new location; (2) You determine that the home meets the minimum standards, including all health and safety, environment, and space and equipment standards; and (3) The child placement management staff revi…

(a) You may issue a temporary verification for up to six months. (b) A temporary verification is valid for no longer than six months from the date the verification is issued. You may not renew the temporary verification. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2523 The provisions of this…

Yes, children who were in the care of the foster family at the time of the move may continue to live in the foster home while the temporary verification is in effect. However, you may not make new placements of children into a home that is temporarily verified. Notes 26 Tex. Admi…

The purpose of a time-limited verification is to permit you to limit the length of time a home will be verified by assigning the verification a pre-determined end date, after which the home will no longer be verified to provide foster care. Foster homes with time-limited verifica…

You must issue a time-limited verification according to the same rules and procedures as a non-expiring verification. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2527 The provisions of this §749.2527 adopted to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10283; transferred effective March 9, 20…

You may issue a time-limited verification for any length of time you determine to be appropriate. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2529 The provisions of this §749.2529 adopted to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10283; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in …

Yes. To extend a time-limited verification or change the verification from time-limited to non-expiring, you must comply with the requirements in Subchapter N of this chapter (relating to Foster Homes: Management and Evaluation). Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2531 The provision…

The purpose of a provisional verification is to permit continued care of foster children in a foster home that is transferring from one child-placing agency to another, whether in the current residence or a new residence. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2533 Adopted by Texas Regi…

(a) You may only issue a provisional verification if the foster home will continue to care for foster children that the previous agency placed in the home. (b) You may only issue a provisional verification after: (1) You request and receive the background information from the fos…

(a) A provisional verification is valid: (1) For six months from the date it is issued; or (2) Until the foster home is issued a non-expiring verification or closed. (b) You may not renew the provisional verification. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2537 Adopted by Texas Register…

Children who are in the care of a foster family that is transferring from one child-placing agency to another may continue to live in the foster home while the provisional verification is in effect. However, you may not make new placements of children into a home that is provisio…

"Children with primary medical needs requiring total care" means children receiving treatment services for primary medical needs who are completely or primarily dependent upon the foster parents for their activities of daily living, such as eating/feeding, bathing, grooming, dres…

(a) A one-parent foster family home with one additional full-time, live-in caregiver or a two-parent foster family home may care for up to six children, except as noted in the chart below: Attached Graphic (b) A one-parent foster family home with one additional full-time, live-in…

Capacity of the home is based on the: (1) Number of caregivers, and the age of the children in the home and in placement; (2) Services being provided and the needs of the children in care; (3) Amount of space available for children; and (4) Bathroom accommodations in the home. No…

(a) The number of children in a foster home, including the biological and adopted children of the caregivers who live in the foster home, any children receiving foster or respite child-care, and children for whom the family provides day care, must not exceed the total capacity st…

(a) Your child placement management staff must ensure that supervision of children in care adequately accounts for the following: (1) Specific needs of the children in care in each home; (2) Non-routine events taking place in the lives of individual children, the foster parents, …

(a) The caregiver is responsible for: (1) Knowing which children they are responsible for; (2) Being aware of and accountable for each child's on-going activity; (3) Providing the level of supervision necessary to ensure each child's safety and well being, including auditory and/…

(a) Video cameras may be used to supervise infants and toddlers. (b) Video cameras may not be used to supervise children, other than infants and toddlers, unless the: (1) Parent, or other person legally authorized to consent, consents to the use of the video camera; and (2) Child…

Caregivers counted in the child/caregiver ratio and responsible for supervising children in a transitional living program must: (1) Reside within close physical proximity of the child's living quarters; (2) Be physically available to the children at all times; (3) Be capable of r…

A child who is 16 years old or older, including a foster child, may serve as a babysitter for children under the age of 13 as long as: (1) The child placement management staff approves the child to babysit and establishes limits with duration and frequency; (2) The child acts as …

Normalcy is the ability of a child in care to live as normal a life as possible, including: (1) Engaging in childhood activities that are suitable for children of the same age, level of maturity, and developmental level as determined by a reasonable and prudent parent standard; a…

(a) Children in care must participate in childhood activities, including unsupervised childhood activities, as much as possible. (b) Service planning meetings, and any decision making regarding the child's need for supervision, must include discussions on how normalcy for the chi…

(a) The reasonable and prudent parent standard is the standard of care that a parent of reasonable judgment, skill, and caution would use to maintain the health, safety, and best interest of the child and encourage the emotional and social growth and development of the child. (b)…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, a foster parent makes decisions regarding a child's participation in childhood activities. (b) When making decisions regarding a foster child's participation in childhood activities, the foster parent must follow…

(a) Respite child-care services are a planned alternative 24-hour care that has the purpose of providing relief to the child's primary caregiver. (b) For the purposes of this chapter, respite child-care placement is a placement that lasts more than 72 hours. The placement of a ch…

Before placing the child in respite child-care services, you must: (1) Notify the child's parent; and (2) Inform the child of the plan for respite child-care services, including the intended time of stay. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2623 The provisions of this §749.2623 adopt…

Before a babysitter, overnight care provider or respite care provider may provide care to a child, you must share the following information with the provider to ensure continuity of care: (1) Specific needs of a child, including: (A) All psychological, psychiatric or medical trea…

(a) You must approve each occurrence of respite child-care services in your homes. Respite child-care services must not be provided if it could be detrimental to the child. (b) Your child placement management staff must determine that the respite placement will not cause a confli…

You and the foster home providing respite child-care must meet all requirements of the applicable rules of this chapter for all children in care, including children admitted for respite child-care services. This includes compliance with capacity and child/caregiver ratios and sup…

(a) With the exception of subsection (b) of this section, a child may be in respite child-care services for 14 consecutive days or 40 days each year. (b) A respite child-care placement that is made because a child's foster home is under investigation for abuse or neglect does not…

(a) The home may not provide respite child-care services for more than: (1) 14 consecutive days; or (2) 60 days annually. (b) A respite child-care placement that is made because a child's foster home is under investigation for abuse or neglect does not count toward nor is it limi…

Yes, you may place a child in a home that Licensing does not regulate for babysitting, overnight care, or respite care, if the provider: (1) Is not subject to regulation by Licensing; and (2) Meets the policy requirements your agency developed according to § 749.127 of Title 40 (…

(a) Foster homes may accept adults into the home for care if the adult: (1) Is related to the foster family; (2) Is a client in the Department of Aging and Disability Services, Community Based Services Program; or (3) Meets one of the requirements of § 749.1105 of Title 40 (relat…