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1500 Eligibility for Child Protective Services

1510 Foster Care Assistance

CPS March 2021

Foster Care Assistance consists of daily care (such as food, clothes and shelter) and medical coverage provided through Title IV-E or Medical Assistance Only (MAO) foster care.

DFPS Rules, 40 TAC §700.315

1511 Applying for Foster Care Assistance

CPS March 2021

Role of the Child’s Caseworker

Within 10 calendar days after the child’s initial placement, the child’s caseworker must do all of the following:

  • Complete the Foster Care Assistance Application in IMPACT and submit it to the foster care eligibility specialist.
  • Send the following documentation to the foster care eligibility specialist:
    • A copy of the court order designating DFPS as the child’s managing conservator.
    • A copy of the affidavit and original petition that initiated the court action, with the date that the petition was filed indicated on the petition.
    • Documentation of the child’s birth, if obtained from the family. If not obtained at removal, the foster care eligibility specialist completes an inquiry in the DSHS system for children born in Texas, as stated in 1512 Determining Eligibility.
    • Documentation of the child’s citizenship or immigration status.

Foreign-born children may also have legal immigration standing in the United States or have dual citizenship status in the United States and another country. For a foreign-born child, the caseworker must request that the parent or caretaker provide proof of the child’s immigration status. If the caseworker has trouble doing so, he or she must consult with the designated regional immigration specialist.

If the Child Does Not Have a Social Security Number

If the child’s caseworker determines that the child has never had a Social Security number (SSN) issued by the Social Security Administration, the child’s caseworker must do the following:

The SSI coordinator or eligibility specialist must send the SSN to the caseworker when it is received.

1512 Determining Eligibility

CPS March 2021

Role of the Eligibility Specialist

Within seven calendar days after receiving the Foster Care Assistance Application and related documentation from the child’s caseworker, the foster care eligibility specialist must do all of the following:

  • Obtain birth verification for children born in Texas from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Vital Statistics TxEVER System, if the caseworker does not provide birth verification. The BVS Vital Statistics TxEVER record also serves as verification of the child’s U.S. citizenship status. Eligibility staff prints the child’s birth record from TxEVER and scans and emails a copy to the caseworker.
  • Verify the child’s Social Security number (SSN) and receipt of Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits through use of SSA’s Wire Third Party Query System (WTPY) system and include a copy in the child’s eligibility file. If the eligibility specialist determines that the child has never had an SSN issued by the Social Security Administration, the specialist must contact the child’s caseworker to complete the Social Security Administration’s Form SS-5 Application for a Social Security Card and to coordinate with the regional Supplemental Security Income (SSI) coordinator and other regional staff to process the request for an SSN.
  • Search the Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign Project (TIERS), the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) Child Support and the Data Broker systems to obtain the child and family’s income and resource information during the AFDC eligibility month, which is the month the court proceedings were initiated.
  • Determine the child’s eligibility by processing the Foster Care Assistance Application in IMPACT.
  • Record the child’s eligibility in IMPACT.
  • Place all documents related to the eligibility determination in the child’s eligibility file.
1512.1 Consistency With Income and Resources Information

CPS March 2021

When completing an eligibility determination, the eligibility specialist must always review the following documents to ensure consistency with the information recorded on the Foster Care Assistance Application:

  • Affidavit
  • Original petition
  • Initial removal order

If information affecting the child’s foster care eligibility is found to be inconsistent between any of these documents, or within the Foster Care Assistance Application itself, the eligibility specialist must do the following:

  • Contact the caseworker to get clarification on which information is correct.
  • Update the appropriate section on the Foster Care Assistance Application.

Examples of Inconsistent Documentation

  • Documentation states that the adult the child lived with at the time of removal was the grandparent, but in another place it states the adult was the child’s adoptive parent. The eligibility specialist must correctly assess the relationship of that adult to the child to determine whether the adult’s income should be counted for IV-E eligibility.
  • Documentation that the parent meets the underemployed parent criteria is not consistent. The eligibility specialist must resolve this conflict in order to correctly determine whether Parental Deprivation existed.
1512.2 Unknown Family Income on the Foster Care Assistance Application

CPS March 2021

The child’s and the family’s income information reported on the Foster Care Assistance Application in IMPACT is used to determine a child’s initial eligibility for Title IV-E foster care assistance. When the child’s and family’s income is unknown, staff must use the following procedures when completing the Foster Care Assistance Application.

Actions by the Child’s Caseworker

The child’s caseworker must record all known income information on the Foster Care Assistance Application before submitting it to the foster care eligibility specialist through IMPACT. If the child’s caseworker does not have specific income information, the caseworker must contact the family to learn how much they earn each month as well as any income they receive from another source.

Actions by the Eligibility Specialist

If the foster care eligibility specialist receives a Foster Care Assistance Application or other case documentation that indicates the parent worked or had income, but no specific amounts are listed on the affidavit, the eligibility specialist must do the following:

  • Contact the child’s caseworker to request specific information from the family about income or earnings included on the application, affidavit or case documentation.
  • Follow up with the child’s caseworker to obtain the requested information before the child’s foster care assistance certification is due.
  • Document all efforts to obtain information in the eligibility file.

Other Means to Address Income

The eligibility specialist uses the information available from the following sources to address the family’s income:

  • The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) Texas Integrated Eligibility Redesign Project (TIERS) system. The eligibility specialist must use the income information from TIERS only if the certification period of the HHSC case began in the same month of the initiation of the court proceedings that led to the child’s removal.
  • The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) child support system.
  • The Wire Third Party Query (WTPY) system (see 1515 Notifications to SSA and Use of the Wire Third Party Query System to obtain information about the child in DFPS conservatorship).
  • The Data Broker system, when applicable.
  • The caseworker’s affidavit.

The eligibility specialist must include in the child’s eligibility file printouts of the screens from the results from searches of any of the above systems.

1512.3 Zero Family Income on the Foster Care Assistance Application

CPS March 2021

The income information of the child and family reported on the Foster Care Assistance Application in IMPACT is used to determine a child’s initial eligibility for Title IV-E foster care assistance. When the family reports having no total income, the child’s caseworker who completes the Foster Care Assistance Application must provide an explanation of how the family’s monthly living expenses, including housing, food and clothing, are being met.

Explanations may include citing income or non-monetary assistance with living expenses received from the following sources:

  • Federal, state, or local government benefits
  • Part-time or odd jobs
  • Other people who live inside or outside the home

The caseworker must ask the parent for monthly income amounts received from these sources and must list these amounts as income on the Foster Care Assistance Application. If the parent says he or she earns money from working part-time or odd jobs, the caseworker must ask for an average monthly earnings amount.

Determining Subsistence

The foster care eligibility specialist must ensure that every Foster Care Assistance Application listing no family income addresses the family’s manner of subsistence. If an eligibility specialist receives an application with no family income listed and the manner of the subsistence is not addressed, the eligibility specialist must use information from the following sources to do so:

If family income is identified through inquiries in these systems, the eligibility specialist must update the Foster Care Assistance Application to show these income amounts and process the application.

Unable to Determine Family’s Subsistence

If the eligibility specialist cannot address the family’s manner of subsistence using the above databases, the eligibility specialist must do the following:

  • Contact the child’s caseworker to request additional needed information.
  • Use the information provided by the child’s caseworker to address the family’s manner of subsistence.
  • Certify the child for Title IV-E provided that all other IV-E requirements are met.

If the eligibility specialist initially determines a child is eligible for state-paid funds and the caseworker provides additional information, the eligibility specialist must re-evaluate the child for IV-E eligibility.

If there is documentation indicating that the parent(s) worked or they refused to provide income information or their income could not be verified through any means, the Foster Care Eligibility Specialists mark the check box on the FC application to deny Title IV-E eligibility.

1513 Data Broker

CPS March 2021

The HHSC Data Broker system is used to verify earnings of household members for Title IV-E eligibility purposes. Employers report the information to the Texas Workforce Commission quarterly. Foster Care eligibility specialists check the system, when applicable, six months after the child’s initial eligibility determination.

Appendix 1530-H: Data Broker Verification Procedures explains the circumstances under which eligibility staff must perform a Data Broker inquiry and the actions eligibility staff must take based on the inquiry results. If the child’s eligibility must be changed due to the Data Broker results, the eligibility specialist must do the following:

  • Process a new Foster Care Assistance Application to adjust the child’s eligibility.
  • Adjust the child’s eligibility back to the initial eligibility determination date.

The eligibility specialist must certify a child eligible for state-paid assistance if information in the Foster Care Assistance Application, case documentation, or affidavit indicates that the parent or parents did either of the following:

  • Worked.
  • Refused to provide income information, and the parent’s income could not be verified through any source, including Data Broker.

1514 Annual Review of Eligibility

CPS March 2021

Role of the Child’s Caseworker

DFPS must review the child’s eligibility for IV-E or Medicaid at least once every 12 months while the child is in foster care. The child’s caseworker receives an IMPACT Task To-Do when a foster care review is due for the child. To complete the review, the child’s caseworker must do the following:

  • Complete the Foster Care Review in IMPACT and submit it to the assigned foster care eligibility specialist.
  • Send the eligibility specialist copies of all child-specific court orders made since the previous review or initial determination.
  • Send the eligibility specialist documentation of the child’s citizenship or immigration status. The specialist takes this step if new documentation has been obtained since the previous foster care review or initial eligibility determination.

Role of the Eligibility Specialist

The foster care eligibility specialist must do the following:

  • Review all documentation sent by the caseworker.
  • Determine the child’s continued eligibility for IV-E, including the required judicial permanency findings, by processing the Foster Care Review in IMPACT.
  • Determine eligibility for Medicaid assistance for state-paid cases based on policy at 1535.1 Medicaid Eligibility Types due to changes to the child’s citizenship status. For example, DFPS might obtain a document verifying U.S. citizenship for a child who previously had a status of Undetermined.
  • Record the child’s eligibility in IMPACT.
  • Place all documents related to the eligibility redetermination in the child’s eligibility file.

1515 Notifications to SSA and Use of the Wire Third Party Query System

CPS March 2021

Notify SSA When a Child Who Receives Benefits Enters Conservatorship

DFPS must promptly notify the Social Security Administration (SSA) when a child who receives SSA benefits is placed in DFPS conservatorship. These benefits include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (RSDI). Prompt notification prevents benefit overpayment to ineligible payees.

The regional SSI coordinator must notify SSA when the coordinator learns or determines that a child in conservatorship receives SSA benefits.

Upon notification, SSA suspends the child’s benefits pending receipt of the application by DFPS to be representative payee for the benefits.

Access SSA’s Wire Third Party Query System for Benefits Information

WTPY does the following for DFPS staff:

  • Provides staff with access to SSI and RSDI benefit information from SSA.
  • Allows staff to determine if a child in DFPS conservatorship is a current or former recipient of federal benefits. This enables the SSI coordinator to promptly do either of the following:
    • Notify SSA that the child is now in DFPS custody and apply for DFPS to be named representative payee for his or her benefits.
    • Reapply with SSA to reinstate the child’s benefits with DFPS as representative payee.

Use of the WTPY system is based on the Agreement Between the Social Security Administration and the State of Texas. DFPS staff may use the system only to find information on children in DFPS conservatorship. The WTPY system is used to determine if a child is a current or former recipient of federal benefits. Copies of the WTPY inquiry results cannot be sent for storage with the eligibility file or uploaded into OneCase.

HHSC Benefit Searches Versus WTPY Queries

Foster care eligibility staff must complete a WTPY query on all children as part of the initial foster care assistance application process. The specialist must include a printout of a screenshot of the search in the child’s eligibility file to verify whether a child is receiving benefits.

If eligibility staff verifies through WTPY or other means that a child is receiving federal benefits, the specialist must notify the regional SSI coordinator by the close of business the day after the verification is received. The SSI coordinator files an application with SSA for DFPS to become the representative payee for the benefits.

For procedures on obtaining WTPY security from SSA or for lockouts and other system problems, see Appendix 1514: Requesting Wire Third Party Query (WTPY) System Access.

1516 Foster Care Eligibility Case Record

CPS March 2021

Staff must maintain a foster care eligibility case record if a child is certified for Title IV-E state-paid or Medical Assistance Only (MAO) foster care. Staff includes the following documents in the foster care eligibility record:

  • IMPACT Foster Care Assistance Application.
  • IMPACT Foster Care Reviews.
  • Original petition and affidavit of removal order.
  • All court orders, in chronological order, with most recent order on top.
  • Copies of child’s birth verification or birth certificate.
  • Copies of child’s SSN verification, or a copy of the child’s Social Security Card.
  • Miscellaneous items and internal and external correspondence.
  • Placement and Service Level List pages from IMPACT (needed only for audit file requests).
  • Eligibility Summary List pages from IMPACT (needed only for audit file requests)
  • Extended foster care documents, if child is older than 18 years of age.
  • Eligibility inquires, including screenshots of external databases.

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