Child Protective Services Handbook Revision October 2009
This revision of the Child Protective Services Handbook was published on October 1, 2009. Summaries of new or revised items are provided below. See:
Medical Assistance Only Auto-Eligibility
Adoption Assistance and Transfer of PMC
Medical Assistance Only Auto-Eligibility (PATS 2522)
The Medical Assistance Only policy provides Medicaid coverage to all children in DFPS conservatorship. The handbook is updated to provide instructions for foster care eligibility workers on how to incorporate the new policy with their current eligibility application and reviews.
This policy has been fully implemented, with the issuance to CPS staff of:
PSA 06-012 on 9/26/2005
PSA 06-036 on 12/14/2005
PSA 06-049 on 2/3/2006
PSA 07-031 on 11/9/2006
PSA 07-037 on 11/22/2006
PSA 07-044 on 12/6/2006
PSA 07-050 on 12/11/2006
PSA 07-057 on 12/20/2006
PSA 07-132 on 5/17/2007
PSA 07-140 on 6/28/2007
PSA 07-155 on 8/13/2007
PSA 08-053 on 1/10/2008
PSA 08-064 on 2/13/2008
PSA 08-068 on 2/28/2008
PSA 08-087 on 4/1/2008
See:
1541 Foster Care Assistance Application and Review Policies
1541.1 Unknown Family Income on the Foster Care Assistance Application
1541.2 Zero Family Income on the Foster Care Assistance Application
1541.3 Notifications to SSA and Use of the Wire Third Party Query (WTPY) System
1541.4 Obtaining Certified Birth Certificates or Screen-Printing Birth Records
1542.3 Additional Eligibility Requirements for MAO Foster Care
1542.31 Medical Coverage for Children in Foster Care
1542.32 Medical Assistance Only (MAO) Auto-Eligibility
1542.33 MAO Coverage for Children Placed in Kinship, Relative, or Own Home Placement
1542.34 MAO Coverage for Children in Adoptive Placements
1542.35 MAO Coverage for Children in Texas Juvenile Probation Commission (TJPC) or Texas Youth Commission (TYC) Placements
1544 Medicaid for Transitioning Foster Care Youth (MTFCY)
Appendix 1540-A: Procedures for Issuing HHSC Form 1027-A
Appendix 1541.3: Requesting Wire Third Party Query (WTPY) System Access
Appendix 1542.1: Acceptable U.S. Citizenship Verification Documents
Appendix 1542.3: MAO Auto-Eligibility
A cross-reference to a retitled item has been updated in:
1554.1 Eighteen-Year-Olds in Voluntary Foster Care: Signing over SSI and RSDI Benefits
Records Retention in IMPACT (PATS 2112)
The items below are revised to reflect records retention policies and their affect on the IMPACT case management system. See:
1473 Retaining Records for Cases That Are Closed After Investigation
1473.1 Retaining Records When Abuse and Neglect Are Ruled Out, No Risk Is Indicated, and No Service is Authorized
1473.2 Retaining Records When Abuse and Neglect Are Ruled Out, No-Risk Is Indicated, and Services Are Authorized
1473.3 Retaining Records When Abuse and Neglect Are Ruled Out and Risk is Indicated
1473.4 Retaining Records When the Disposition Is Reason to Believe, Unable to Determine, or Unable to Complete
1474 Retaining the Records for Cases That Do Not Involve Abuse, Neglect, or Conservatorship
1474.1 Retaining Records When the Intake Report Is Closed and the Case Is Not Assigned for Investigation
1474.2 Retaining Records When the Investigation Is Closed Administratively Without a Service Authorization
1474.3 Retaining Records When the Investigation Is Closed Administratively With a Service Authorization
1474.4 Retaining Records for Casework-Related Special Request
Adoption Assistance and Transfer of PMC (PATS 1762)
The items below are added or revised to clarify that the affect on a child's eligibility for adoption assistance must be considered when deciding whether to choose transfer of conservatorship as the child's permanency plan.
CPS staff were informed of this policy with the issuance of:
· PSA 07-045 on December 6, 2006, and
· PSA 06-086 on May 5, 2006.
See:
1564.4 When Regular Adoption Assistance Is Not Available (Transferring Permanent Managing Conservatorship)
6221.2 Issues to Consider When Selecting a Permanency Goal
6221.21 Assessing a Child's Needs When Selecting a Permanency Goal
6221.22 Listing Permanency Goals by Priority
6221.23 Considering Factors That Affect the Choice of Goals
6221.24 Determining the Appropriateness of a Goal
6221.25 Selecting the Permanency Goal
The item below is revised to include two additional types of cases that must be designated as sensitive:
· Cases involving a victim of family violence who is protected by the Office of the Attorney General's (OAG) Address Confidentiality Program (the case file for the victim lists an OAG telephone number in place of the victim's address)
· Cases involving minors who want or have had an abortion
See 2413 Other Definitions.