Residential Child Care Regulation Standards FAQs

No. Rules 748.1101 and 749.1003 require that you ensure the child's right to confidential care and treatment. Confidential care and treatment includes refraining from identifying a foster child or child in residential care as such in any internet communications with others, including social networking sites. Pictures or information identifying a child as a foster child or child in residential care on the Internet, including social networking sites, violates the child's right to confidential care.

Some health care professionals will document the results as "positive" or "negative," while others may measure a person's reaction to the screening as "no induration" or in millimeters. Recently, more health care professionals have been documenting tuberculosis screening results based on the millimeters of the induration (palpable, raised, hardened area or swelling). Minimum standards do not require the results to be documented using specific terminology. You are only required to maintain documentation of the screening results, and to seek further medical treatment as required.

Choking must be reported to Texas Health and Human Services Child Care Licensing and the child's parent if the incident meets serious incident reporting requirements related to attempted suicide, critical injury, physical abuse or child-on-child physical abuse.

Minimum Standards do not allow spanking or hitting of children in any way. However, spankings are not reportable to CCL as serious incidents unless the child is hit in the head/face or other vital area OR unless the spanking leaves marks or results in an injury requiring medical attention. Otherwise, the incident would be addressed internally by the facility or child-placing agency by helping the caregiver learn and use appropriate discipline and guidance techniques.

Technical assistance may be documented with or without a citation of the minimum standard. In order to encourage future compliance with a standard, we may provide technical assistance regarding correction of a citation and document accordingly. Regardless of whether we provide and document technical assistance, the operation remains responsible for compliance with minimum standards.

If we do not cite a standard, we may still document a discussion regarding compliance with a standard that includes technical assistance. For example, there could be a discussion between Licensing staff and the permit holder or someone else at the operation during the inspection or investigation concerning compliance with a minimum standard in relation to a possible expansion of the operation or another change in the operation.

You are not in compliance if the form is not signed by any CPS personnel, or does not include the reason for placement and the estimated length of time in care. You are in compliance even if the CPS supervisor does not co-sign with the CPS caseworker.

Answer: There are two requirements in CCL Minimum Standards:

1. For facilities, children receiving emergency care services or treatment services are not permitted to use firearms, weapons, explosives, projectiles or toys that explode or shoot.All children in Residential Treatment Centers are considered to be receiving treatment services, so this requirement applies to all children residing in RTCs.
2. For all other children residing in facilities and foster homes, the operation must determine that it is appropriate for a specific child to use firearms, weapons, explosives, projectiles or toys that explode or shoot.

If a child is in the conservatorship of Child Protective Services, additional contractual requirements apply.

Before CPS approves the use of firearms for hunting:

• The child must be at least 12 years old.
• The child must complete the Texas Hunter Education course facilitated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
• The child must purchase a hunting license.
• The CPS caseworker, supervisor, and program director must grant permission for the activity.
• The adult accompanying the child must sign Form 1704, Acknowledgement of Hunting Supervision Responsibility for Youth in DFPS Conservatorship, which is a statement acknowledging his or her responsibility in supervising the child. Contact the CPS caseworker for form. The signed Form 1704 must be filed in the child’s record.

The CPS caseworker grants permission for the activity based on the child’s history and behaviors as well as the recommendations of the caregiver. The child’s biological parents are consulted, if parental rights have not been terminated and the parents can be located with reasonable efforts. Others may also be consulted, such as the child’s attorney ad litem or Court Appointed Special Advocate worker.

While using firearms, the youth must be accompanied and supervised at all times by a responsible adult who:

• Holds a hunting license
• Has gun safety knowledge
• Has experience handling guns
• Complies with the Texas Parks and Wildlife regulations

No. Supervision requirements include “auditory and/or visual awareness of each child’s ongoing activity as appropriate” and prohibits infants and toddlers from being “left unsupervised.” Each child must receive the level of supervision that is appropriate based on that child’s age, behaviors and any special needs. Infants and toddlers must never be left unsupervised, but this does not mean they must be in constant eyesight. It does mean that they should not be left outdoors or indoors without an adult. A sleeping infant or toddler is considered supervised if the caregiver is within eyesight or hearing range of the child and can intervene as needed, or if the caregiver uses a video camera or audio monitoring device to monitor the child and is close enough to the child to intervene as needed.

• Example: An infant, who was playing with pots and pans in a corner of the kitchen, crawls into the living room while the foster mother is cooking dinner. The living room is child proof and the foster mother can hear the infant. There are no other known hazards. She finishes chopping an onion and then goes to carry the infant back into the kitchen. This is appropriate supervision.
• Example: A toddler is napping. The foster father is in the next room paying bills. The foster father can clearly hear the toddler when he awakens and begins to make any noise. This is appropriate supervision.
• Example: A foster father is helping one toddler with toileting when another toddler wanders out of the bathroom into his foster sister’s bedroom. The foster sister is eight years old and plays with the toddler for 10 minutes while the foster father gets the other toddler ready for bed. This is appropriate supervision.

Licensing rules allow you to maintain a resident after they turn 18 years old if the resident is remaining in your care under one of the following circumstances (748.1931 or 749.1103):

(a)A young adult may remain in your care until his 23rd birthday in order to:

1. Transition to independence, including attending college or vocational or technical training.
2. Attend high school, a program leading to a high school diploma, or GED classes;.
3. Complete your program.
4. Stay with a minor sibling.

(b)A young adult who turns 18 in your care may remain in your care indefinitely if the person:

1. Continues to need the same level of care.
2. Is unlikely to physically and/or intellectually progress over time.

Licensing rules (748.1933 or 749.1105) allow you to admit a resident after they have turned 18 years old if the resident is being admitted into a transitional living program, is in the care of DFPS, or is coming from another licensed residential child care operation and is being admitted for the reasons noted above. Any young adult in the CPS Extended Care Program may be admitted or maintained in care under these licensing rules, as long as the young adult meets your admission criteria and can be appropriately cared for in your program/setting.

An adult in care at your operation does not affect the age range on your license or a foster home’s verification, as CCL does not regulate the care of adults. However, the care of these adults must comply with relevant minimum standards as outlined below.

General residential operations and residential treatment centers:

• Admission policies must address admission of adults into your program.
• Serious incidents for adult residents are not reported to CCL, but are documented and reported to law enforcement as required by minimum standards. Serious incidents are reported to parents as required by minimum standards if the adult resident is not capable of making decision about his/her own care.
• Child/caregiver ratio must include all residents in care, or caregivers must be assigned to work exclusively with the children or exclusively with the adults.
• All persons living at the facility, including adults, must be screened for tuberculosis; this applies regardless of whether or not the person is in care.
• You are not required to conduct a background check on adults in care.
• An adult in care can share a bedroom with a child in care if the conditions in 748.1937 are met; square footage requirements must be met as if the adult were a child in care.
• Square footage requirements for general living space must be met as if the adult were a child in care.

Child-placing agencies:

• Admission policies must address admission of adults into your program.
• Serious incidents for adult residents are not reported to CCL, but are documented and reported to law enforcement as required by minimum standards. Serious incidents are reported to parents as required by minimum standards if the adult resident is not capable of making decision about his/her own care.
• Child/caregiver ratio does NOT include adults in care, but adults in care are counted in the capacity of the home. Care and supervision provided to foster children must not be adversely impacted (see 749.103(10) regarding conflict of care) .
• Adults in care must be screened for tuberculosis, just as any other person living in the home.
• You are NOT required to conduct a background check on adults in care.

Both facilities and child-placing agencies can offer respite child-care.    For facilities, children in respite child-care must be physically separated from other children except those receiving emergency care services. Respite child-care is defined as care lasting longer than 72 hours. Therefore, shorter periods of care are not regulated as respite child-care. Please refer to the minimum standards for more detailed requirements regarding respite care.

If you have discussed your question with your CCL representative and still need additional information, you should contact the CCL representative's supervisor or send an email to the RCCL Standards mailbox. The email box is checked each business day and each email receives an individual response from the standards specialist in State Office.