Texas Strengthens Foster Parent Screening & Oversight Rules

On April 4, 2014, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Council approved new rules to ensure that the state’s foster child-placing agencies (CPAs) conduct thorough screenings of potential foster parents and other caregivers in the home, and monitor existing foster homes more closely. Following a public comment period, the rules are expected to go into effect on September 1, 2014. This represents the first significant change to CPA foster home screening and supervision standards since 2007. These rule changes do not affect CPAs that only provide adoption services.

The new rules augment existing requirements that . . .