6322 Placing a Child With Relatives and Other Kinship Caregivers
6322.1 Definitions Related to Kinship Care
6322.11 Definition of Kinship Care
CPS September 2010
Kinship care is the umbrella term used to describe substitute care that is provided to a child in DFPS conservatorship by relatives or fictive kin who live outside of the child’s home.
See:
6322.12 Definition of a KinshipCaregiver (Verified and Unverified)
6322.13 Definition of a Fictive Kin or Other Designated Caregiver
6322.12 Definition of a Kinship Caregiver (Verified and Unverified)
CPS September 2010
A kinship caregiver is a relative or fictive kin who provides care to a child. (See 6322.13 Definition of a Fictive Kin or Other Designated Caregiver.)
Unverified Kinship Caregiver
An unverified kinship caregiver:
• has not been verified as a foster parent, or otherwise licensed to provide 24-hour residential child care; but
• has been formally approved by DFPS, in accordance with 6322.1 Definitions Related to Kinship Care and its subitems.
Formal approval makes the unverified kinship caregiver potentially eligible for assistance under the DFPS Relative and Other Designated Caregiver Program. See 6322.44 Explaining the Federal Financial Assistance Available to an Unverified Kinship Caregiver.
Verified Kinship Caregiver (Foster Parent)
A verified kinship caregiver is licensed or verified as a foster parent to provide 24-hour residential care for a child, in accordance with Chapter 42 of the Human Resources Code and related regulations.
Verification as a foster parent is offered by either:
• DFPS through the CPS Foster and Adoptive Home Development program (FAD); or
• a private child-placing agency.
See:
7271 Foster Home Verification
DFPS Rules, 40 TAC §700.1501
A verified kinship caregiver may be eligible for permanency care assistance, if the caregiver assumes permanent managing conservatorship of a child in DFPS conservatorship and meets the program’s eligibility requirements.
6322.13 Definition of a Fictive Kin or Other Designated Caregiver
CPS September 2010
The terms fictive kin and other designated caregiver are synonymous.
Fictive Kin or Other Designated Caregiver – As it Applies to the Relative and Other Designated Caregiver Program
A fictive kin or other designated caregiver:
• has a longstanding and significant relationship with a child in DFPS conservatorship, or with the child’s family; and
• is approved by DFPS to provide substitute care for the child, but is not verified, licensed, or certified to operate a foster home, a foster group home, a foster home operated by a child-placing agency, or a foster group home operated by a child-placing agency; or
• is subsequently ordered by the court to be the permanent managing conservator of the child after having provided the care described in Texas Family Code §264.751(1B, 3B).
Examples include a godparent or someone considered to be an aunt or uncle, even though the person is not related to the child.
Texas Family Code §264.751
Texas Human Resources Code Chapter 42
Fictive Kin or Other Designated Caregiver – As it Applies to Permanency Care Assistance Eligibility
A person is considered a fictive kin or other designated caregiver if the person had a longstanding and significant relationship with a child in DFPS conservatorship before DFPS placed the child in the caregiver’s home.
Texas Family Code, §264.851
6322.14 Definition of the DFPS Relative and Other Designated Caregiver Program
CPS September 2010
The DFPS Relative and Other Designated Caregiver Program offers financial assistance and other support to eligible kinship caregivers who have not been verified as foster parents. See 6322.4 Services for Unverified Kinship Caregivers.
6322.15 Definition of a Kinship Development Worker
CPS September 2010
Kinship development workers (KDW) provide support and resources to unverified kinship caregivers.
Kinship development workers are available in all DFPS regions, but they may not be available in all communities or assigned to all unverified kinship caregivers.
For further explanation of the roles and responsibilities of kinship development workers, see 6322.43 The Duties of a Kinship Development Worker.
6322.16 Definition of Kinship Foster Care
CPS September 2010
Kinship foster care is substitute care provided outside the child’s home by relatives or fictive kin who have been verified by DFPS as foster parents.
6322.17 Definition of a Relative
CPS September 2010
DFPS uses the TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) definition of a relative:
A relative is related to a child by:
• blood or adoption (consanguinity); or
• marriage (affinity).
Texas Government Code §§573.022, 573.024
Exception
The DFPS definition of relative excludes the child’s:
• legal parent;
• birth parent; or
• adoptive parent (including noncustodial parents).
6322.18 Definition of Permanency Care Assistance
CPS September 2010
Permanency Care Assistance program (PCA) allows verified kinship caregivers to receive financial and healthcare benefits on behalf of a child, upon meeting eligibility requirements.
Eligibility requirements include:
• serving as a verified foster parent to the child for a minimum of six months; and
• entering into an agreement for permanency care assistance before becoming the child’s permanent managing conservator.
For a list and definition of terms related to the permanency care assistance, see DFPS Rules, 40 TAC §700.1027.
Also see:
1580 Permanency Care Assistance and its subitems
6322.7 Obtaining Permanency Care Assistance
6322.19 Definition of a Prospective Permanent Managing Conservator
CPS September 2010
A prospective permanent managing conservator is a verified kinship caregiver (that is, a foster parent) who:
• has demonstrated a strong commitment to caring permanently for a child in DFPS conservatorship; and
• has applied for or has entered into an agreement with DFPS for permanency care assistance, but has not yet been named the permanent managing conservator of the child (also referred to as a prospective permanent custodian).
DFPS Rules, 40 TAC §700.1027