This chapter establishes minimum operating standards for child-placing agencies in Texas, governing the verification, monitoring, and supervisory requirements for foster homes. Permit holders must conduct regular compliance evaluations of foster homes (at least every two years and upon major life changes or verification changes), perform quarterly supervisory visits including at least two unannounced visits annually, and maintain documentation of deficiencies and corrective action plans. The chapter also addresses procedures for placing foster homes on inactive status, reactivating them, and ensuring background check and training requirements are met.
View official source§749.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? The purpose of this chapter is to set forth the rules that apply to child-placing agencies. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.1 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.3 Who is responsible for complying with the rules of this chapter? The permit holder must ensure compliance with all rules of this chapter at all times, with the exception of those rules identified for specific types of services that your agency does not offer. For example, if we grant you a permit to offer adoption services only, you do not have to comply with rules that apply to foster care services; however, you must comply with all other rules of this chapter. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.3 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2801 When must I evaluate a foster home for compliance with Licensing rules? (a) You must evaluate a foster home for compliance with the relevant Licensing rules affecting the need for the evaluation, whenever: (1) You receive an allegation of deficiency; (2) There is a major life change in the foster family; (3) A change occurs that affects the conditions of the verification; or (4) You receive a family violence report from DFPS. (b) You must evaluate a foster home for compliance with all rules that apply to that home: (1) Every two years; (2) When you plan to extend a foster home's time-limited verification; and (3) When you plan to change a foster home's verification from time-limited to non-expiring. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2801 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10283; amended to be effective December 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 9058; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2803 What changes affect a foster home's verification? (a) Changes that affect a foster home's verification include a: (1) Marriage, divorce, separation, death, birth, or any other change in household composition; (2) Change in the foster home's address and/or location; (3) Change in the foster home's capacity, as determined by the capacity requirements in §749.2557 of this title (relating to May a foster agency home exceed its verified capacity?); (4) Changes in the ages and gender(s) of children for which the home is authorized to provide care; or (5) Changes in the types of services the foster home will provide. (b) You must issue a new or temporary verification certificate to a foster home to: (1) Change the home's verification, including the home's address or location; (2) Extend the expiration date of the home's time-limited verification; or (3) Change a foster home's verification from time-limited to non-expiring. (c) A verification certificate becomes invalid at the point of: (1) The occurrence of any changes that affect a foster home's verification, including the home's address and/or location; or (2) The foster home's limited verification expires. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2803 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10283; amended to be effective January 1, 2017, 41 TexReg 9944; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2805 What is a "major life change in the foster family"? A major life change in the foster family includes: (1) Marriage, divorce, separation, death, birth, or any other change in household composition; (2) A serious health problem or significant change in work schedule that affects the ability of the foster parent to care for children; or (3) Extended absences by one parent, such as military service or out-of-town job assignments. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2805 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective January 1, 2017, 41 TexReg 9944; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2807 How do I evaluate a foster home's compliance with the relevant Licensing rules affecting the need for the evaluation? You are responsible for the home's ongoing compliance with our rules. You must evaluate the home as follows: (1) When there is an allegation of a deficiency, you must evaluate the rule and any rules related to the deficiency; (2) When a change in the conditions of the verification or a major life change occurs, you must evaluate the rules related to the conditions or change; (3) When an unplanned change in housing or employment occurs, you must evaluate the rules related to the change; (4) You must document the rules that were evaluated and the determination of the evaluation; (5) During any contact with the foster family, including routine supervisory contacts and investigations, you must cite and address any deficiencies noted; (6) Your documentation of deficiencies must include plans for achieving compliance; and (7) You must also document a plan for follow-up to ensure compliance was achieved. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2807 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective September 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 7522; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2809 What must a plan for achieving compliance include? The plan for achieving compliance must include: (1) Specific actions or changes needed for the foster home to achieve compliance; (2) Time frames for corrections and consequences for failure to achieve compliance; (3) A determination of whether children can remain in the foster home before the home achieves compliance; and (4) A determination whether you will make new placements in the home before the home achieves compliance. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2809 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2811 How do I follow-up to ensure compliance? You must: (1) Re-inspect the foster home or receive documentation from the home showing that all deficiencies have been corrected; and (2) Document that the foster home has corrected all deficiencies in the foster home's record. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2811 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2813 How do I evaluate Licensing rules for each home every two years? You may either: (1) Perform a rule-by-rule evaluation of the home once every two years; or (2) Evaluate different parts of the rules at different times during the two-year period. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2813 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2814 How do I evaluate a foster home prior to extending its time-limited verification or changing its verification from time-limited to non-expiring? You must evaluate the foster home for compliance with each applicable rule of this chapter prior to extending the foster home's time-limited verification or changing the foster home's verification from time-limited to non-expiring. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2814 adopted to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10283; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2815 How often must I have supervisory visits with the foster home and what must be evaluated during a supervisory visit? (a) Child placement staff must conduct supervisory visits: (1) In the foster home at least quarterly; (2) With both foster parents, if applicable, at least once every six months; and (3) With all household members at least once every year. (b) At least two supervisory visits per year must be unannounced. (c) At least once every quarter, your supervisory visit must evaluate and document the following: (1) Any change to household members, frequent visitors, or persons who will provide support as a caregiver during an unexpected event or crisis situation; (2) Any major life change in the foster family as described in §749.2805 of this title (relating to What is a "major life change in the foster family"?); (3) Any change to the foster home disaster and emergency plans as described in §749.2907 of this title (relating to What disaster and emergency plans much each foster home have?); and (4) Any challenging behaviors of the current children in the home, the level of stress the foster family is currently experiencing (including any significant change in finances), and any methods for responding to each child's challenging behavior and/or alleviating any significant stress the foster family is experiencing. (d) You must document each visit in the home's record. The documentation must include the names of all household members present during the visit, specific issues identified and any rules evaluated, results of the evaluation, deficiencies found, plans for achieving compliance, plans for follow-up to ensure compliance was achieved, and any changes to the information in the foster home screening since the last supervisory visit, including the reasons for any change in the home's verification. (e) For each supervisory visit, documentation of the visit must be signed by each foster parent present for the visit and the child-placement staff conducting the visit. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2815 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective September 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 7522; amended to be effective September 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 622; amended to be effective January 1, 2017, 41 TexReg 99449; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2817 Must I monitor and have supervisory visits with a foster home where no children are placed? (a) You must maintain all monitoring and supervisory requirements if the home is available for placements. (b) If you place the home on inactive status, you do not have to monitor the home or have supervisory visits. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2817 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2819 When may I place a foster home on inactive status? (a) You may place a foster home on inactive status if: (1) There are no foster children in the home; (2) You and the foster parents agree that the home will be on inactive status; (3) You document in the home's record that the home is on inactive status and will not accept a child for placement; and (4) For a foster home with a time-limited verification, the home's verification has not expired. (b) You may not place a home that you should close on inactive status. A home that you should close includes a home: (1) Whose repeated noncompliance with rules endangers the health or safety of children; (2) That repeatedly fails to comply with agency policies or corrective action plans; (3) That refuses to comply with the rules of this chapter or agency policies; or (4) That refuses to allow you or our staff to inspect the home. (c) When you place a home on inactive status or remove a home from inactive status, you must inform us by submitting an agency home report form. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2819 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; amended to be effective December 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 10283; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2821 How do the foster parents meet their training requirements while their home is on inactive status? (a) Foster parents may prorate their annual training requirement for the period of time that the home was on inactive status. (b) If the home remains on inactive status for more than a year, the foster parents must complete at least eight hours of pre-service retraining before you may place children in the home. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2821 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2823 Are background checks required on homes that are on inactive status? Background checks are not required for homes that are on inactive status. If the home is taken off of inactive status and it has been more than two years since the last background check for any person(s) at the home for whom a check is required, the background check(s) must be requested before a child or children can be placed in the home. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2823 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909. §749.2825 How do I take a foster home off inactive status? When the home is ready to become active and accept children, you must: (1) Make a supervisory contact in the home prior to placing a child in the home; (2) Document that the home is complying with all applicable rules of this chapter; and (3) Ensure that the home is in compliance with all background check requirements. Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2825 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7469; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909.