Texas Administrative Code

(a) PRN orders for certain emergency behavior interventions are permitted under the following conditions: Attached Graphic (b) If you obtain a PRN order, you must provide the parent with a copy of the PRN order within 72 hours. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2107 The provisions …

(a) The use of emergency behavior intervention must be an appropriate response to the behavior demonstrated, and de-escalation must have failed. (b) The caregiver must act to protect the child's safety and consider the: (1) Characteristics of the immediate physical environment; (…

During any personal restraint, a caregiver qualified in emergency behavior intervention must: (1) Monitor the: (A) Personal restraint to make sure it is being performed appropriately; and (B) Child's breathing and other signs of physical distress; and (2) Take appropriate action …

Appropriate action includes responding prudently to a potentially life-threatening situation, for example, releasing a child when a child is unresponsive or indicates the child cannot breathe and immediately seeking medical assistance from a health-care professional. The caregive…

(a) The following personal restraint techniques are prohibited: (1) Restraints that impair the child's breathing by putting pressure on the child's torso, including restraints that obstruct the child's lungs from expanding such as leaning a child forward during a seated restraint…

(a) A caregiver may successively use emergency behavior interventions on a child only if: (1) Allowed by your policies; (2) Permitted by rules of this subchapter for both types of emergency behavior intervention; and (3) Written orders specifically allow the combination. (b) The …

The maximum length of time that certain emergency behavior interventions can be administered to a child is as follows: Attached Graphic Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2281 The provisions of this §749.2281 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be eff…

(a) The caregivers must take appropriate actions to help the child return to routine activities. The follow-up actions of the caregivers must include: (1) Providing the child with an appropriate transition and offering the child an opportunity to return to regular activities; (2)…

The caregiver must document the following after discussing with the child the use of the emergency behavior intervention: (1) The date and time the caregiver offered the discussion; (2) The child's reaction to the opportunity for discussion; (3) The date and time the discussion t…

(a) As soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours after the initiation of the intervention, the caregiver must document in the child's record the following information: (1) The child's name; (2) A description and assessment of the circumstances and specific behaviors that cause…

(a) As soon as possible, but no later than 72 hours after the initiation of the intervention, you must provide written notice to the parent that includes: (1) The child's name; (2) The specific emergency behavior intervention administered; (3) The length of time the child was res…

(a) The following circumstances trigger a review for certain emergency behavior interventions: Attached Graphic (b) You may exceed the number of restraints otherwise allowed in (2) Personal restraint of Figure: 40 TAC § 749.2331(a) for a child if a licensed psychiatrist or psycho…

(a) A triggered review must occur as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after the review is triggered. (b) The regularly scheduled review of the child's service plan can serve as the triggered review if it meets the requirements in § 749.2337 of Title 40 (relating to Wha…

(a) The service planning team must participate in the triggered review. (b) You must invite the child, as appropriate, and the parents to the review, so they may have the opportunity to participate and provide input into the content of the review. However, you are not required to…

(a) Except in cases in which the regularly scheduled review of the child's service plan also addresses the requirements of a triggered review in accordance with § 749.2333(b) of Title 40 (relating to When must a triggered review occur?), a triggered review is not a full review of…

If there are four triggered reviews within a 90-day period: (1) A licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, clinical social worker, professional counselor, or marriage and family therapist must examine the child; and (2) The licensed professional must make service plan recommendations…

(a) The overall agency evaluation is an annual review regarding: (1) The use and effectiveness of emergency behavior interventions at your agency; and (2) Your emergency behavior intervention policies and procedures, including the training policy and curriculum. (b) The objective…

(a) You may verify only one spouse if: (1) The spouse whom you verify will be the only one involved in the care of any foster child in the home; (2) The spouses have been living apart for at least two years; and (3) After interviewing the spouse living outside of the foster home …

Each caregiver in a home that you verify must be at least 21 years old. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2403 The provisions of this §749.2403 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective January 1, 2017, 41 TexReg 9944; transferred effective Ma…

Yes, you will have to re-verify that home in both spouse's names. Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2405 The provisions of this §749.2405 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 20…

(a) A home may not be verified to provide foster care services by more than one child-placing agency at one time. (b) A home may be simultaneously verified by one child-placing agency for foster care services only and approved by another child-placing agency(ies) for adoption onl…

(a) You must complete a foster home screening prior to verifying the foster home. (b) Your child placement management staff must review and approve each foster home screening. (c) The foster home screening must document: (1) Required information (see § 749.2447 of Title 40 (relat…

You must obtain, document, and assess the following information about a prospective foster home: Attached Graphic Notes 26 Tex. Admin. Code § 749.2447 The provisions of this §749.2447 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective March 1, 2008, …

(a) Interviews for a foster home screening must be documented and must include at least: (1) One individual interview with each prospective foster parent; (2) One individual interview with each child three years old or older living in the home either full- or part-time; (3) One i…

(a) You must document all interviews of persons you are required to interview for a foster home screening. (b) The documentation must include the date and method used to contact each required person, the date of each interview, who was present at each interview, their relationshi…

(a) You must update a foster home screening, as follows: (1) Under the circumstances described in § 749.307(a) of Title 40 (relating to What happens to the foster homes supervised by a branch office when the branch office closes?); (2) When there is a major life change in the fos…

(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…