8521.2 Foster and Adoptive Home Study Services
CPS November 2006
A worker may authorize home study services for prospective foster and adoptive families to assess a parent's or potential caregiver's past and present levels of functioning to determine his or her ability to foster or adopt.
8521.21 Types of Services
CPS November 2006
Allowable foster and adoptive home studies include:
• Foster Home Study — Child-specific;
• Foster/Adoptive Home Study — Child-specific;
• Adoptive Home Study — Child-specific;
• Foster Home Study — Non Child-specific;
• Foster/Adoptive Home Study — Non Child-specific; and
• Adoptive Home Study — Non Child-specific.
8521.22 Determining Eligibility
CPS November 2006
Eligible clients are prospective foster and/or adoptive parents who:
• Are enrolled in the pre-service training known as Parents' Resource for Information, Development, and Education (PRIDE); or
• Have completed PRIDE training within the last year and have since been referred for home services by CPS workers or PRIDE trainers.
8521.23 Identifying Available Services
CPS November 2006
The Foster and Adoptive Home Study Services available through the contract must include:
• Understanding the assessment tools that CPS uses to train and select foster and adoptive parents, especially the procedures and criteria for mutual assessment and selection by staff and applicants;
• Establishing contact with the referred individual or family;
• Collecting documents for verification purposes;
• Interviewing all members of the household being studied;
• Contacting references and collateral sources;
• Attending training for foster and adoptive parents to observe the prospective parents and discuss their participation with the trainers before completing the study (this requirement may vary for each contract);
• Completing the risk assessment tool;
• Reporting findings, including the results of the risk assessment tool, using the format specified by the court or other authorizing party.
• Meeting with CPS workers to interpret the findings;
• Appearing in court to provide testimony when needed, or
• Helping the prospective foster or adoptive parents, if required by the contract, to:
• Understand and accept the decision to deny their application, or
• Withdraw from PRIDE training.
Note: If the prospective foster or adoptive parents withdraw from training, a written report must still be submitted to CPS, if required by the contract.
For additional information, see:
7500 Home and Family Assessment
8521.24 Referring Clients
CPS November 2006
Child-Specific
To refer for home study a family that has selected a child for foster care or adoption, see 8521.25 Support Services — Authorizing, Extending, or Terminating.
Non Child-Specific
To refer for a home study a family that has not yet selected a child for foster care or adoption, a worker must:
• complete a manual (paper) Form 2054, Service Authorization.
• Include the same information and adhere to the same timeframes as the forms generated in the IMPACT case management system.
• See 8164 Manual Authorization — Submitting a Paper Form for complete instructions
8521.25 Working in IMPACT
CPS November 2006
To authorize a study, workers must enter the following details into the IMPACT case management system:
IMPACT Field: |
IMPACT Entry: |
|---|---|
Stage |
SUB, ADO |
Category |
Foster Care |
Service |
Fos/Adopt HS — Client Specific |
Unit of Service |
Study/Hour |
Service Code |
88Y |
IMPACT Field: |
IMPACT Entry: |
|---|---|
Stage |
SUB, ADO |
Category |
Foster Care |
Service |
Fos/Adopt HS — Client Spec |
Unit of Service |
Study/Hour |
Service Code |
88B |
IMPACT Field: |
IMPACT Entry: |
|---|---|
Stage |
SUB, ADO |
Category |
Adoption Services |
Service |
Adoptive Home Study |
Unit of Service |
Study/Hour |
Service Code |
88E |
IMPACT Field: |
IMPACT Entry: |
|---|---|
Stage |
ADM |
Category |
Contract Management |
Service |
Fos/Adopt HS — Non Clnt Sp |
Unit of Service |
Study/Hour |
Service Code |
88Z |
IMPACT Field: |
IMPACT Entry: |
|---|---|
Stage |
ADM |
Category |
Contract Management |
Service |
Fos/Adopt HS — Non Clnt Sp |
Unit of Service |
Study/Hour |
Service Code |
88C |
IMPACT Field: |
IMPACT Entry: |
|---|---|
Stage |
ADM |
Category |
Non-Client Specific |
Service |
Adoptive Home Study |
Unit of Service |
Study/Hour |
Service Code |
56W |
8521.26 When IMPACT is Unavailable
CPS November 2006
If the IMPACT system is not functioning or the worker is otherwise unable to access it, the worker may authorize home study by submitting a paper copy of Form 2054, Service Authorization.
For complete instructions, see:
8164 Manual Authorization — Submitting a Paper Form
8521.27 Adding, Extending, Reauthorizing, or Terminating Studies
CPS November 2006
To authorize additional units of service, or extend or reauthorize the services, see:
8162 Support Services — Authorizing, Extending, or Terminating
If the home study services are being terminated before the end date on Form 2054, Service Authorization, see:
8162 Support Services — Authorizing, Extending, or Terminating
8521.3 Relative, OTI, or Court-Ordered Home Study Services
CPS November 2006
Any individual or family is eligible for relative, OTI or court-ordered home study services if they are referred by:
• Regional CPS workers;
• CPS workers in another region; or
• A Texas court that wants information on an open CPS case.
See: 8521.2 Foster and Adoptive Home Study Services
8521.31 Identifying Required Services
CPS November 2006
A contract for Relative, OTI or Court-Ordered Home Study Services must include:
• Establishing contact with the referred individual or family;
• Collecting documents for verification purposes;
• Interviewing all members of the household being studied;
• Contacting references and collateral sources;
• Preparing a report of findings, including the Risk Assessment tool, which either:
• Follows the outline in:
40 TAC, Chapter 749, Subchapter S, or
• Follows in a format specified by the region, the court or other authorizing party; and
• Performing criminal history checks and IMPACT history check;
• Meeting with CPS staff to interpret the findings, if requested; and
• Appearing in court to provide testimony when needed.
8521.32 Referring Clients
CPS November 2006
For complete instructions on how to refer clients for Relative, OTI or Court-Ordered Home Study Services, see:
8162 Support Services — Authorizing, Extending, or Terminating
8521.33 Working in IMPACT
CPS November 2006
To authorize services, workers must enter the following details into the IMPACT system:
IMPACT Field: |
IMPACT Entry: |
|---|---|
Stage |
INV, FPR, SUB, FSU, FRE, ADO |
Category |
Legal |
Service |
Social Studies |
Unit of Service |
Study/Hour |
Service Code |
81A |
When IMPACT is Unavailable
If the IMPACT system is not functioning or the worker is otherwise unable to access it, the worker may authorize relative, OTI, or court-ordered home study by submitting a paper copy of Form 2054, Service Authorization.
For complete instructions, see:
8164 Manual Authorization — Submitting a Paper Form
8521.34 Handling Additional Duties
CPS November 2006
The CPS worker is responsible for obtaining the appropriate approval signatures on the study after it is received from the contractor.
8521.35 Adding, Changing, Reauthorizing, or Terminating Services
CPS November 2006
To authorize additional units of relative, court-ordered or OTI home study services, to extend or reauthorize service, or to terminate service before the end date on Form 2054, see:
8162 Support Services — Authorizing, Extending, or Terminating