| (a) Caregivers meeting the eligibility requirements
specified in §700.1003 of this title (relating to What are the
eligibility requirements for caregiver assistance?) are eligible only
if:
(1) the household income of the caregiver does not
exceed 300% of poverty, as determined by federal poverty guidelines;
(2) the caregiver continues to comply with the signed
caregiver assistance agreement; and
(3) the children were placed in the caregiver’s
home by DFPS.
(b) The monthly cash payment must be distributed to
a caregiver on behalf of a child in the managing conservatorship of
DFPS in the same manner as to a foster parent receiving foster care
reimbursement.
(c) The monthly cash payment may not exceed 50% of
the DFPS daily Basic Foster Care Rate paid to a foster home in accordance
with §355.7103 of Title 1 (relating to Rate-Setting Methodology
for 24-Hour Residential Child-Care Reimbursements). The amount of
the monthly cash payment will be published on the DFPS website, and
is paid per child in the managing conservatorship of DFPS who is placed
in the home of the eligible caregiver.
(d) The monthly cash payment is provided to the caregiver
for 12 months, except that DFPS may extend the monthly cash payment
for an additional 6 months if DFPS determines good cause exists for
the extension. "Good cause" refers to circumstances in which it is
in the child’s best interest to remain in the home of a caregiver
who is receiving monthly cash payments and is generally comprised
of actions and steps necessary in order to achieve positive permanency
for the child. Good cause may include:
(1) the identification, release, or location of a previously
absent parent of the child;
(2) awaiting the expiration of the timeline for an
appeal of an order in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship;
(3) the provision of additional time for the caregiver
to complete the approval process for adoption of the child;
(4) awaiting the approval of a child’s placement
from another state pursuant the Interstate Compact on the Placement
of Children, as provided in Subchapter B, Chapter 162, Texas Family
Code;
(5) a delayed determination of the child’s Indian
Child status, or awaiting the approval of the Indian Child’s
Tribe, pursuant the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. §1901,
et seq.; and
(6) any other circumstance surrounding the child or
the caregiver that DFPS deems to necessitate the extension.
(e) Any one-time integration payment received by a
caregiver who qualified for the payment between June 1, 2017, and
September 1, 2017, under rules in existence at that time, must be
offset against monthly cash payments for which the caregiver qualifies
on or after September 1, 2017.
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