Relative Interest Form

Relative Interest Form

I, [relative’s name] understand that [Child(ren)’s Name(s)] has beenhave beenwill be placed in the legal custody of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), and may be in need of a temporary or permanent caregiver.

Please Return this form ASAP, but no later than 30 days from receipt to the name and address at the bottom of this form.

Please check the boxes that apply:

I am interested in having this child(ren) placed with me in my home (for up to 12 – 18 months)

I am interested in becoming a kinship caregiver and learning more about supportive services

I am interested in becoming a foster parent for this child and learning more about supportive services

If the parent’s rights are terminated, I am interested in adopting this child

I am interested in learning about Adoption Assistance Payments

If the parent’s rights are not termination, but the child is not reunified, I am interested in becoming this child’s legal and permanent conservator

I am interested in learning more about the Permanency Care Assistance Program

I cannot serve as a placement for the child(ren) at this time, but am interested in supporting the child(ren) in one or more ways.

If you do not return this form or contact the caseworker, DFPS will assume that you are currently unable to provide a family connection or a home for the child/ren to live. If you are unsure of the assistance you can provide and would like to discuss the child/ren’s needs and options available to you, please contact

(Caseworker) at (phone number).

______/____/____

SIGNATURE DATE

(_____) ______

HOME PHONE NUMBER EMAIL ADDRESS

(_____) ______

CELL PHONE NUMBER

Please return this page to:

Worker's Name:

Worker's Address:

Street Address:

City, State, Zip

RELATIVE SEARCH INFORMATION

DFPS is currently attempting to identify and/or locate all parents, grand-parents, great-grand parents, aunts, uncles, and adult siblings of the child. To assist us in this effort, please provide any known information regarding the names or whereabouts of these relatives. Additionally, please list the contact information of other family members or persons who have a longstanding and significant relationship to the child that you are aware of that we may contact.

Name of Person Completing Form ______

Child/ren’s Name(s) ______

Relationship to Child:______Maternal Paternal
Name ______
Street ______
City ______State ______Zip ______
Home Phone (______) ______Cell/Work Phone (______) ______
Email Address ______
Relationship to Child:______Maternal Paternal
Name ______
Street ______
City ______State ______Zip ______
Home Phone (______) ______Cell/Work Phone (______) ______
Email Address ______
Relationship to Child:______Maternal Paternal
Name ______
Street ______
City ______State ______Zip ______
Home Phone (______) ______Cell/Work Phone (______) ______
Email Address ______

Please use the back of this form or a separate sheet to add additional relatives.

Descriptive Information

Kinship Care

What is Kinship Care?

For generations, extended families have played significant roles in the rearing of children when parents are having a difficult time. Referred to as kinship care – or relative care – in CPS, these caregivers provide children the benefit of more stability of care when they can’t live with their birth parents. Kinship caregivers can serve as either verified foster parents or as assessed unverified caregivers.

What are the benefits of Kinship Care?

·  Provides love and care in a familiar setting;

·  Provides parents with a sense of hope that children will remain connected to their birth families;

·  Enables children to live with people they know and trust;

·  Reinforces a child’s sense of cultural identity and positive self-esteem;

·  Helps a child make and sustain extended family connections;

·  Continues lifelong family traditions and memories;

·  Supports the child in building healthy relationships within the family;

·  Support the child’s needs for safety and well-being; and

·  Creates a sense of stability in the life of a child.

What needs to happen before a child can live with a kinship caregiver?

The kinship care placement must be in the child’s best interest, and be court ordered. In order to do this, the child’s CPS worker or contract worker must complete a written assessment of the home that addresses the caregiver’s ability to safely care for the child and report back to the court. This assessment will include criminal history and abuse/neglect history checks on all household members 14 years of age and older.

What is expected of kinship caregivers?

·  Make a commitment to provide a safe and loving home for the child;

·  Meet the needs of the children placed in the home, with DFPS staff support;

·  Communicate with DFPS on an ongoing basis so you can support the stability of the child’s placement;

·  Work closely with DFPS staff to plan a permanent living arrangement for the child; and

·  Request information about the child from the caseworker that will help you provide care for the child.

·  If serving as a verified foster home, continue to meet the minimum standards requirements for foster homes.

What assistance and financial resources does DFPS have to offer assessed unverified kinship caregivers?

·  Kinship Care Adult Support/Education groups;

·  Case management services while DFPS has legal responsibility for the child;

·  Information and referral services;

·  Child care to eligible children and kinship families;

·  Supportive family counseling services;

·  Referral to and assistance in applying for public assistance benefits;

·  Limited financial assistance through integration payments and annual reimbursement for eligible caregivers, as funding is available; and

·  As funding is available, limited financial assistance through annual reimbursement for three years or until the child turns 18 (whichever one comes first) after obtaining permanent custody of the child.

What assistance and financial resources does DFPS have to offer kinship caregivers who become verified foster parents?

·  Kinship Care Adult Support/Education groups;

·  Case management services while DFPS has legal responsibility for the child;

·  Information and referral services;

·  Child care to eligible children and kinship families;

·  Supportive family counseling services;

·  Monthly foster care reimbursement checks

·  After being verified as a kinship foster home, if children cannot be reunified with their parents and if parental rights have been terminated, the kinship family may be eligible to sign an adoption assistance agreement with DFPS and may qualify for monthly financial assistance until the child turns 18 or, in some circumstances, 21.

·  Kinship caregivers who become verified foster parents may be eligible for Permanency Care Assistance, described below, if they assume permanent custody of the child in their care

What is Permanency Care Assistance?

After serving as a kinship foster home for six months, if children cannot be reunified with their parents and if adoption has been ruled out, the kinship family may be eligible to obtain permanent legal custody (permanent managing conservatorship) and receive Permanency Care Assistance, which helps to cover the costs of obtaining legal custody and provides monthly financial assistance and continued medical coverage on behalf of the child until the child turns 18 or, in some circumstances, 21.

Can Kinship Caregivers adopt a child for whom they have provided care?

YES! If children cannot be reunified with parents and parental rights are terminated, kinship caregivers may be eligible to adopt the child and receive Adoption Assistance", which helps to cover the costs of the adoption and provides monthly financial assistance and continued medical coverage on behalf of the child until the child turns 18, or in some circumstances, 21.

Foster/Adopt Families

Basic Requirements

The prospective foster/adoptive parents may be single or married and must:

·  be at least 21 years of age, financially stable, and responsible mature adults,

·  complete an application (staff will assist, if desired),

·  share information regarding their background and lifestyle,

·  provide references from relatives and non-relatives,

·  show proof of marriage and/or divorce (if applicable),

·  have a high school diploma or a G. E. D. high school equivalency, or adequately complete a competency screening including basic reading, writing and math skills,

·  agree to a home screening which includes interviews with all members of the family in and out of the home,

·  complete and meet requirements related to a criminal history and a child abuse/neglect history check on all people in the household age 14 and older,

·  complete and meet requirements related to a fingerprint-based FBI criminal history check for all adults, 18 years and older, in the household, and

·  attend a 25 to 35 hour training to learn about issues of abused and neglected children.

Prospective foster/adoptive parents generally train together. There is no charge for the training, however there are some fees associated with the verification process. The training lets family and DFPS assess whether foster care or adoption is best for the family. The family may withdraw from the training and verification process at any time.

In addition to the basic requirements, foster parents must:

·  have adequate sleeping space,

·  allow no more than 6 children in the home including the family’s own children and children for whom the family provides day care,

·  agree to a nonphysical discipline policy,

·  permit fire, health, and safety inspections of the home,

·  vaccinate all pets,

·  obtain and maintain CPR/First Aid Certification,

·  obtain TB testing for household members, and

·  attend 20 hours or more of training each year.

Responsibilities of Foster and Adoptive Families

Foster Parents:

·  provide daily care and nurturing of children in foster care,

·  provide for children’s emotional, mental, physical, social, educational, and cultural needs, according to each child’s developmental age and growth,

·  advocate for children in their schools and communities,

·  inform the children's caseworkers about adjustments to the home, school, and community, as well as any problems that may arise, including any serious illnesses, accidents, or serious occurrences involving the foster children or their own families,

·  make efforts as team members with children's caseworkers towards reunifying children with their birth families,

·  provide a positive role model to birth families, and

·  help children learn life skills.

Adoptive Parents:

·  provide permanent homes and a lifelong commitment to children into adulthood,

·  provide for the short-term and long-term needs of children,

·  provide for children's emotional, mental, physical, social, educational, and cultural needs, according to each child's developmental age and growth, and

·  may become verified as a foster family and accept children who are not legally free for adoption, but whose permanency plan is adoption.

Can foster families adopt?

Yes! Many families are interested in both fostering and adopting. They agree with the agency that the children's needs come first. In most cases, this means helping prepare children for going back to their birth family, mentoring the birth parents, or working toward a relative or kinship placement.

When a court determines that terminating parental rights is in the children's best interest and adoption is their plan, foster parents who have cared for the children may be able to adopt them. Dual verification of parents to both foster and adopt speeds up the placement process, reduces the number of moves a child makes, and allows relationships to evolve with the initial placement process. Nearly half the adoptions of children in DFPS foster care are by their foster families.

Can adoptive families provide foster care?

Yes! Adoptive families who are willing to accept placement of children who are not yet legally free for adoption but have a plan for adoption can also become foster families (something called “verified foster families”). This dual verification increases the opportunities for successful adoptions. In some parts of the state, experienced foster families help new foster parents through something called a "mentoring" program. Through this program, experienced foster families who understand the challenges and rewards of foster parenting share experiences with new families and give support.

Permanency Care Assistance

What is Permanency Care Assistance?

The Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) program was created to help children and youth who could not be reunited with their parents or adopted. It will give an extra permanent option for children and youth who might otherwise grow up in foster care. This program requires that relatives and close family friends become the child's verified foster parents for at least 6 months, along with other requirements (see below) before they sign a PCA agreement and the court grants them Permanent Managing Conservatorship. The benefits include monthly financial assistance and health care assistance to help raise the child to adulthood.

Older Youth and Permanency Care Assistance

For youth who are between the ages of 16 and 18 when Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) agreements are signed, the relative or fictive kin who then take legal custody of these youth can continue to receive PCA support until the youth turns 21 years of age, so long as certain educational and/or employment eligibility requirements are met by the youth. Youth in this category can also apply for educational training vouchers (ETVs) for vocational or college pursuits, by contacting regional PAL staff.

College Tuition Waiver

Children and youth who leave DFPS care on or after September 1, 2009 when someone other than the parents are given legal custody of them are eligible for college tuition waivers at a state supported higher education institution. Requests and questions should be routed to the regional PAL staff.

What are the eligibility requirements for Permanency Care Assistance?

To be eligible to sign a Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) agreement with DFPS and receive PCA benefits, kinship families must first become verified as foster families and serve as such for the subject child for at least six consecutive months prior to the transfer of PMC.

In addition:

Ø DFPS must determine that reunification and adoption are not appropriate permanency options for the child.

Ø The child must demonstrate a strong attachment to the kinship caregiver.

Ø The kinship caregiver must have a strong commitment to caring permanently for the child.

Ø Older youth must be consulted about the PCA plan.

Ø The caregiver must negotiate, sign, and abide by a PCA agreement, which takes effect on the date that PMC is transferred.