PART 19. DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES
CHAPTER 700. CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
SUBCHAPTER M. SUBSTITUTE-CARE SERVICES
DIVISION 1. GENERAL
The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) adopts amendments to §700.1311 in Title 40, Texas Administrative Code (TAC), Chapter 700, Subchapter M, relating to Substitute-Care Services. The amendments are adopted with technical changes to the proposed text published in the May 29, 2020 issue of the Texas Register (45 TexReg 3614) to remove the term "foster group home" in three instances, but with no changes to the substance of the amendment regarding authority to approve certain types of placements. The three technical corrections do not reflect a substantive variation from the rule as proposed, and do not create any new duties or powers, nor affect new persons or entities, other than those given notice, so the rule will not be proposed again. The rule will be republished herein with both the substantive changes and non-substantive corrections reflected.
BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
The justification of the substantive rule amendment is to expand from one to four the number of individuals who may approve the placement of a child in DFPS conservatorship into a general residential operation (GRO) that the Child Care Licensing Department of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has placed on probation, if other criteria are met.
Pursuant to current rules, if a child cannot be placed with a relative or other person with whom the child has a long-standing and significant relationship, DFPS must seek to place the child in a foster or adoptive home that can meet the child's needs. If DFPS is unable to locate a foster home that can provide safe and appropriate care to the child, DFPS may consider placing the child in any of the settings described in TAC §700.1307, including a GRO, when criteria outlined in that rule are met.
In relation to placement in a GRO, Section 700.1311(c) currently requires the Assistant Commissioner for Child Protective Services to approve any placement of a child in DFPS conservatorship into a GRO that is on probation with HHSC Child Care Licensing unless the placement is ordered by a court.
The rule amendment would change the title of the specified Commissioner from Assistant Commissioner for Child Protective Services to the Associate Commissioner for Child Protective Services, and would add the titles of three additional individuals that would have authority to approve a placement into a GRO on probation to include the Deputy Associate Commissioner for CPS, the DFPS Deputy Commissioner, or the DFPS Commissioner.
The technical, non-substantive amendments remove the term "foster group home" from the rules in subsections 700.1311 (a)(2), (a)(3), and (c)(2). Pursuant to rules adopted by HHSC effective October 19, 2018, (26 TAC 749.2827), the Child Care Licensing Department of HHSC has not allowed a foster group home as an operation type since August 31, 2019.
COMMENTS
The 30-day comment period ended June 28, 2020. During this period, DFPS did not receive any comments regarding the proposed rules.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The rule is adopted under Human Resources Code (HRC) §40.027, which provides that the Department of Family and Protective Services commissioner shall adopt rules for the operation and provision of services by the department.
Except as described herein the adopted amendment affects no other code, article or statute.
§700.1311.What special considerations apply when selecting a placement other than a relative or other person with whom the child has a long-standing and significant relationship?
(a) If a child cannot be placed with a relative or other person with whom the child has a long-standing and significant relationship, DFPS will seek to place the child in a foster or adoptive home that can meet the child's needs. If DFPS is unable to locate a foster or adoptive home that can provide safe and appropriate care to the child, DFPS may place the child in any of the settings described in §700.1307 of this title (relating to In what kinds of settings may a child in DFPS conservatorship be placed?), when:
(1) the child needs treatment services or additional programmatic services, other than child care services, that are not available or cannot be provided to the child in a foster home;
(2) the child is placed with a sibling or parent who needs the services described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, and placement of the child with the sibling or parent in a general residential operation is deemed to be in the child's best interest;
(3) the child is placed temporarily in a general residential operation because of the proximity of the placement to the child's home or school of origin, and such placement is deemed to be in the child's best interest;
(4) there is no foster home immediately available for the child to be placed; or
(5) the placement is ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) A child receiving emergency care services from a general residential operation may not remain in such operation beyond the maximum lengths of stay set forth in the following chart unless the child's caseworker obtains supervisory approval to extend the placement and documents the reasons for extending the placement in the child's case record:
Figure: 40 TAC §700.1311(b) (No change.)
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, unless ordered by a court to do so, DFPS does not place a child in:
(1) a general residential operation that the Child Care Licensing Department of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has placed on probation unless the placement is approved by the Associate Commissioner or Deputy Associate Commissioner for Child Protective Services, the Deputy Commissioner for DFPS, or the Commissioner for DFPS; or
(2) a foster home whose verification has been placed on inactive status by the child-placing agency that verifies the home.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on October 15, 2020.
TRD-202004287
Tiffany Roper
General Counsel
Department of Family and Protective Services
Effective date: November 4, 2020
Proposal publication date: May 29, 2020
For further information, please call: (512) 438-3397