8000 Purchased Child Protective Services
CPS November 2006
Purchased services are services provided by local businesses and other outside entities under contract with DFPS. DFPS purchases services to:
• provide clients with protective services that would not be available otherwise; and
• support and expand DFPS's capacity to serve the community.
Staff must perform specific tasks and observe standards of ethical conduct when providing purchased services.
The Purchased Client Services (PCS) staff must:
• receive a regional or state office determination, as applicable, that:
• the service needs to be provided by contract, and
• sufficient funds exist to contract for the service;
• establish a written contract for providing the services in the client's location, unless otherwise specified in the description of the service;
• work with DFPS staff specifically authorized to approve contracts for child protective services, before negotiating with or committing to a contractor; and
• refuse any form of compensation, gifts, or benefits from a contractor, as required by law.
Texas Government Code, §572.051, Standards of Conduct
To authorize the purchase of services for children in another region, see:
8165 Interregional Service — Authorization
8100 General Information
8110 Definitions
CPS November 2006
Clients (active cases and post-adoption)
Direct services (active cases and post adoption)
Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS)
Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC)
Purchased child protective services
State office contract services
Clients fall into two broad categories:
• In an active case the client may be a member of the child's family or a child who:
• lives at home, or
• is in foster care,
• is in an adoptive placement.
Relatives who are caregivers may be eligible for services at the region's discretion when services are necessary to maintain or preserve a placement.
• In post-adoption cases the client is a child formerly in CPS conservatorship whose adoption has been consummated. Adoptive parents may be eligible for post-adoption services when necessary to preserve the adoption.
Contractors are external parties who contract with DFPS to provide services.
Direct services are provided directly to clients in two broad categories:
• Active case services, from intake on, including children placed in foster and adoptive homes.
• Post adoption services (consummated adoptions). See:
8400 Post Adoptive Services (Consummated Adoptions)
Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) are time-limited services designed to promote the health and well-being of children and the stability and strengths of their families. The goal is to achieve permanency for children when their safety can be assured in their own homes. See 3000 Family-Based Safety Services.
Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) is an agreement among U.S. states and territories that regulates the placement of children across state lines. The compact ensures that children placed outside of their home state receive adequate protection and services. In Texas, the state office for ICPC provides guidance to the ICPC liaison in each region.
Purchased child protective services are services provided by outside entities under contract with DFPS. All purchased child protective services are subject to the policies published in this handbook.
Relatives are unlicensed caregivers approved for a child's placement because they:
• are related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption; or
• have a significant, long-standing relationship with the child's family.
Rules are adopted by the DFPS Council and once adopted function as law. Rules are published in the Texas Administrative Code and may not be waived unless requirements for a waiver are specified in the rule.
Staffings are consultations between professionals to decide on a course of action regarding an operation or other regulation activities. Staffings can include DFPS workers, supervisors, attorneys, or other professionals.
State office contract services are generally statewide contracts managed by DFPS's state office in Austin.
The contracts may provide for:
• direct services to clients;
• support services;
• special demonstration projects; and
• contracts, agreements, and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with other state agencies.
Support services improve the effectiveness of the CPS program. Some support services are provided to specific CPS clients; other support services are provided to organizations that offer indirect services to CPS clients, such as foster parent associations or volunteer groups.
8120 Types of Purchased Services
8121 Direct Services
8121.1 Direct Services for Active Cases (Standard and ICPC)
CPS November 2006
DFPS purchases the following direct services for clients in active cases:
Type of Service: |
See: |
|---|---|
Direct Services for Active Cases: |
|
Assessment Services |
|
Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) |
|
Caregiver Services — Parents, Relatives and Foster Parents: |
|
• Homemaker Services |
|
• Parent and Caregiver Training |
|
• Concrete Services |
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• Hospital Sitting Services |
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• Child Day-Care Services |
|
• Supervised Visitation Services |
|
Evaluation and Treatment Services: |
|
• Evaluation |
|
• Treatment |
|
• Substance Abuse Services |
|
Court-Related Services — Preparation for Judicial Determination |
|
Adoption Services (Pre-Consummated Adoptions) |
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• HSEGH Reports (Health, Social, Educational, Genetic) |
|
• Adoptive Placement Services (including Legal Risk Placements) |
|
• Post-Placement Adoptive Services (Pre-consummated) |
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• Subsequent Adoptive Placement Services |
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Youth Camping Services — Day and 24-Hour |
|
Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) Services |
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ICPC Services for Out-of-State Children Placed in Texas: |
|
• ICPC Home Study Services |
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• ICPC Placement and Courtesy Supervision Services |
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• ICPC Evaluation and Treatment Services |
Purchasing Interpreter Services
Purchasing interpreter services to enable a client to understand court proceedings is a court responsibility.
Interpreter services for CPS workers are not a client service and are not purchased under these guidelines. Contact the regional business office to purchase interpreter services for CPS workers.
8121.2 Post Adoptive Cases (Consummated Adoptions)
CPS November 2006
DFPS contracts with local businesses to offer post-adoptive services, which are services for clients who were in CPS conservatorship and have been legally adopted.
For the specific types of services offered under the contract, see 8410 Post Adoptive Services.
8122 Support Services
CPS November 2006
DFPS purchases the following types of support services:
Types of Service: |
See: |
|---|---|
Support Services |
|
Client Support Services: |
|
• Foster Parent Services, Intermittent Alternate Care (IAC) |
|
• Funeral and Burial Services for Children in DFPS Conservatorship |
|
• Medical, Dental, or Sexual Abuse Examinations |
|
• Diagnostic Consultation — Case-Specific |
|
Program Support Services (Regional): |
|
• Home Study Services |
|
• Programmatic Consultation |
|
• Community and Parent Group Services |
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• Training Services |
|
• Title IV-E University Pass-Through Services |
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• County Contracts |
|
State Office Contracts With Program Consultants |
8123 State Office (Statewide) Contracts
CPS November 2006
The associate commissioner of CPS has the authority to negotiate for and purchase the following categories of services through a state office contract (a statewide contract managed by DFPS's state office in Austin):
• Residential treatment
• Residential substance abuse treatment (see 8243 Treatment)
• Statewide training through the Protective Services Training Institute (PSTI)
• Memoranda of understanding with other state agencies
• Evaluation services
• Service level system
• Conferences
• Child day-care (see 8235 Child Day-Care Services)
• Other state agency contracts
• Statewide support groups
• Special demonstration projects
• Legislatively required projects (see 8530 State Office Contracts for Programmatic Consultation and 8130 Policy Waivers or New Service Requests)