Source: http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/handbooks/CPS/Files/CPS_pg_1520.asp
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 05:55:59+00:00

Document:
The CPS foster care eligibility specialists have access to the Department of State Health State Service’s (DSHS) BVS system, which allows them to verify birth information and order certified birth certificates for children in DFPS conservatorship who were born in Texas.
A child’s worker always attempts to obtain a birth certificate from the child’s parents, relatives, or guardian instead of requesting a copy of the birth certificate through the BVS system. If a child’s worker obtains a copy of the birth certificate, he or she submits it to the eligibility specialist to serve as documentation of a child’s birth and citizenship or alien status when submitting the documentation for the Foster Care Assistance Application.
If the child’s worker cannot obtain a copy of the birth certificate, the worker requests a screen print of the birth record from the BVS system from the eligibility specialist. The eligibility specialist uses the screen print birth record as verification of the child’s birth and citizenship or alien status for the Foster Care Assistance Application and sends a copy of the screen print to the child’s worker.
In other circumstances requiring birth information, but not requiring a certified copy of a birth certificate, the child’s worker uses a screen print of the birth record from the BVS system. It is no longer necessary to obtain a certified birth certificate when registering a child for school and the child’s worker can use a screen print of the birth record from the BVS system for this purpose.
• other situations in which the recipient requires a certified copy.
See 1521 Requesting Certified Birth Certificates for procedures for requesting certified birth certificates for children born in Texas, out-of-state or internationally.
The CPS worker may request a certified birth certificate for a child in DPFS conservatorship born in Texas under the circumstances stated in section 1520 Obtaining Certified Birth Certificates and Screen-printing Birth Records. Except when a birth certificate is needed for adoption purposes, the worker completes and submits Form 1745 - Birth Certificate Request to the foster care eligibility specialist. The eligibility specialist orders the birth certificate through the Bureau of Vital Statistics (BVS) system and sends it to the worker when received.
When parental rights have been terminated CPS may order a birth certificate through the Department of State Health Service's (DSHS) Bureau of Vital Statistics (BVS) unit in order to facilitate the child’s adoption. A mailbox has been set up in Outlook called “DFPS BVS/Adoption Requests” to which designated regional staff submit requests to state office. State office orders the birth certificate from the BVS unit.
• The child’s name and PID number in the subject line.
• The template below with the child’s information for each birth certificate request. If certificates are needed for siblings a separate template must be completed for each child but they can be on the same e-mail.
• A copy of the child’s Termination orders as an attachment. The orders must state that the parental rights have been terminated for both parents and the managing conservatorship of the child is with DFPS. If siblings have the same mother but different fathers, then a copy of each order terminating a father’s rights must be included. Please underline the language that states that parental rights have been terminated.
If the designee does not receive a confirmation from state office that the request was received and processed within three business days the designee should send a follow up e-mail (with the original request attached) to the “DFPS BVS/Adoption Requests” state office mailbox.
CPS caseworkers initiate the ordering of certified copies of out-of-state birth certificates for children in DFPS conservatorship by following the steps describes below. Each region has designated eligibility specialists who are able to order birth certificates through an online process with Vitalchek.
Step 1: Complete Form 1745 – Birth Certificate Request for Children Born Out of the State of Texas and In DFPS Conservatorship. All requested information on the form is required and must be completed. The form will be returned to the requestor if incomplete.
Step 2: Create a .TIF file format of the signed court order stating DFPS has temporary or permanent managing conservatorship of the child. A .TIF file format can be created by faxing the document to your assigned fax number. The electronic copy of the faxed document is in a .TIF file format. Copies of signed court orders are acceptable as long as they have not been altered or written on by anyone other than the court. .PDF files are not accepted by VitalChek.com.
Step 3: Submit the completed Form 1745 and .TIF file court orders to the regional e-mail box for out-of-state birth certificate requests (example: DFPS Region 01 Out of State Birth Certificates). If the orders are not attached to the e-mail, the request cannot be processed and will be returned to the requestor.
• sends the requestor a confirmation email that the request has been received and processed.
• sends the requestor an e-mail indicating that the birth certificate has being sent.
Regional foster care eligibility specialists cannot order certified birth certificates for international births. CPS caseworkers order international birth certificates for children in DFPS conservatorship who were born in other countries by following the instructions below.
Caseworkers send a formal request for an official birth certificate to the country of the child’s birth through the nearest Foreign Consulate in the United States. Workers utilize the Search Foreign Consular Offices list on the U.S. Department of State website to determine which office to contact. Note that some Foreign Consular offices may not be located in Texas.
Caseworkers contact their region’s border liaison who will coordinate with the respective foreign consulate to formally request the international birth certificate.
While the preferred method for obtaining a birth certificate is through the regional eligibility specialist, a CPS worker may have a need to use personal funds to purchase a certified birth certificate from the Department of State Health Services or from an out-of-state agency.
• submits the completed form and receipt to the CPS budget analyst at state office mail code E-669.
Forms may not be e-mailed to budget analysts. If a staff person is not housed with the supervisor, he or she may fax the form to the supervisor for his or her signature. A staff person may submit more than one family per voucher as long as he or she differentiates between families and dates of purchase.
Every child who is eligible for Title IV-E or state-paid foster care assistance must meet the requirements in 40 TAC §700.316, described below. Each requirement must be verified by the eligibility specialist.
• MAO children must meet the requirements of 1535.1 Medicaid Eligibility Types.
• the child lives with his minor parent, and the minor parent is in DFPS’s conservatorship, so long as the minor parent and the child reside in the same foster home or child care institution.
• the child lives with a parent who is receiving extended foster care assistance, except that in some instances the parent may be required to apply for Medicaid on the child’s behalf under §700.346 of this title.
• Any other reasonable basis to indicate that the child meets applicable age requirements.
See the Evaluative Conclusion section 1532.2 Citizenship or Qualified Alien Status for further instruction.
• is approved by DFPS.
If the child is in foster family care and the foster family moves out-of-state with the agreement of DFPS, the child’s eligibility for foster care assistance is reviewed every 90 days for continued DFPS approval and to determine continued eligibility.
If eligible, the child must have, or must have applied for, a Social Security number. See 1511 Applying for Foster Care Assistance for guidance on obtaining a Social Security number for a child who has never been issued a number by the Social Security Administration. Social Security numbers are obtained for all children except undocumented children. Once undocumented children receive their Legal Permanent Residency, a Social Security number is obtained for them.
A young adult who was previously in DFPS’s conservatorship the day before turning 18 and who is under guardianship of the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS) on or after turning 18 is eligible for continued foster care maintenance payments subject to the provisions at 40 TAC §700.316(c).
• Responsibility for Placement and Care – The child or youth must be under the placement and care responsibility of DFPS, as described above.
• Age – The child or youth must be under the age of 18, using the verification methods described above.
In addition to the general requirements above, children in DFPS conservatorship who are eligible for MAO foster care must also meet the requirements in 1535.1 Medicaid Eligibility Types.
Besides the general eligibility requirements specified in 40 TAC §700.316(c) (relating to general eligibility requirements for foster care assistance), a child must meet the requirements below to qualify for Title IV-E foster care.
• placement in foster care would be in the best interest of the child.
• reasonable efforts were not required because of aggravated circumstances, as defined in the Texas Family Code, §262.2015, or because a parent has previously had parental rights involuntarily terminated with respect to a sibling.
Title IV-E eligibility starts on the first day of placement in the month in which a court order finds that remaining in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child and that DFPS made reasonable efforts to prevent removal.
A child is removed from the home on October 30. On November 1, the court finds that remaining in the home is contrary to the welfare of the child and that DFPS made reasonable efforts to prevent the child’s removal from the home. Title IV-E eligibility begins on November 1. The child’s is not Title IV-E eligible for October 30–31 and must be assigned state-paid eligible for those days.
Additional judicial determinations must be made regarding permanency planning. At least once during every 12-month period that the child remains in foster care, beginning with the date of the court-ordered removal, there must be a judicial determination that the agency has made reasonable efforts to finalize the child’s permanency plan.
If the court does not find that DFPS has made reasonable efforts to finalize the child’s permanency plan every 12 months while the child is in care, the child’s Title IV-E eligibility ends on the last day of the month in which the finding is due.
The child will not regain Title IV-E eligibility until the court finds subsequently that DFPS has made reasonable efforts to finalize a permanency plan for the child. In this case the child’s Title IV-E eligibility resumes on the first day of the month in which the finding is made.
All required judicial determinations must be explicitly documented and must be made on a case-by-case basis as stated in the court order. It is not acceptable for a court order to merely reference state law in support of a required judicial determination.
Affidavits and Nunc pro tunc orders cannot be used as documentation to verify that the required judicial determinations were made (nunc pro tunc refers to a ruling that retroactively corrects an earlier court ruling). Nunc pro tunc orders may only be used to make technical corrections that are unrelated to the judicial determination requirements. The only acceptable alternative documentation of judicial determinations, absent language in a court order, is a transcript of the court proceedings.
In order to receive Title IV-E payments (foster care maintenance or adoption assistance) the child must be a citizen of the United States or a qualified alien as defined in 8 U.S.C. §1641. If a child does not meet the U.S. citizenship or qualified alien status requirement in the month of the removal, the child cannot subsequently become IV-E eligible if they later obtain U.S. citizenship or a qualifying alien immigration status. In addition the Title IV-E state plan requires states to have procedures to verify the citizenship or immigration status of foster care children.
The eligibility specialist must review the foster care application and supporting documentation to verify the child’s U.S. Citizenship or qualified alien status.
• For children born in Texas the Texas Department of State Health Services Bureau of Vital Statics (BVS) birth record printout.
Note: If a child is born out of state, staff submits a request to have the birth certificate ordered through the VitalChek website.
When a birth certificate or the child’s birth record cannot be located in the BVS data base, staff use the documents listed in Appendix 1000-2: Additional Acceptable U.S. Citizenship Verification Documents in descending order to confirm citizenship.
• Permanent Resident Card (I-551).
• Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Document, which is issued when the child is granted asylum. The Form I-94 should have a stamp showing that asylum was granted under Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
• Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Document for refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
• Form I-94 Arrival/departure card with a stamp showing parole at any time as a Cuban/Haitian Entrant.
If the child possesses other U.S. immigration documentation besides the above documents, staff contacts the Federal/State Support Unit or their regional Immigration Specialist for a determination as to the child’s immigration status.
• a credible person with knowledge of the family’s history who states that the child was born in the U.S.
If an Evaluative Conclusion is used for U.S. citizenship, the eligibility specialist certifies the child’s foster care assistance for six months. When recording the child’s initial eligibility determination in IMPACT, the eligibility specialist sets the review date to six months from the eligibility start date. At the six-month review, the eligibility specialist must verify that the agency has obtained a U.S. birth certificate or other documentation of U.S. citizenship.
• If there is documentation verifying the child’s U.S. citizenship status, the child’s citizenship and eligibility status remain unchanged.
• notifies the caseworker of the citizenship status change.
If eligible, the child must have, or must have applied for, a Social Security number. See 1511 Applying for Foster Care Assistance for guidance on obtaining a Social Security number for a child who has never been issued a number by the Social Security Administration.
The child would be a needy child under the AFDC state plan as in effect on July 16, 1996 in the home the child was judicially removed from in the month in which the court proceeding for removal was initiated. See Appendix 1530-F: Categorical Requirements for AFDC.
When a child is in a trial home visit or monitored return, the child is not eligible to receive either IV-E or state-paid foster maintenance payments as the child is now living with the person who is responsible for the child’s financial support. If the reunification fails and DFPS retains responsibility for care and placement of the child, that is, the original removal order is still in effect, the child can be reinstated for IV-E foster care payments without a new foster care application.
A trial visit or monitored return can only last for six months unless the court has extended the trial home placement beyond the six months by court order. If DFPS conservatorship has been dismissed or the child stayed in the placement longer than six months without the court continuing the placement then a new foster care application must be processed based on the current circumstances in the home.
1. If the child returns to foster care prior to the end of DFPS’s placement and care responsibility, the eligibility specialist reinstates the child’s previous foster care eligibility.
• send the specialist the court order that moves or transfers the child into a different placement.
When a child returns to a paid foster care placement from a non-paid placement the child retains Title IV-E eligibility as long as the original court order pertaining to the child’s removal is still in effect. The foster care eligibility specialist reinstates the child’s Title IV-E foster care eligibility without completing a foster care application or review.
• medical or psychiatric hospitals.
The exceptions are for children returning to foster care from a monitored return as described in the previous section and youth in Extended Foster Care as described in 10424 Temporary Absences From Extended Foster Care.
Besides the requirements in 1530 Eligibility Requirements for Children and Youth Who Are in DFPS Conservatorship, a child must meet the following criteria to be eligible for state-paid foster care.
• a child for whom DFPS has the duty of care, control, and custody after taking possession of the child in an emergency.
General revenue funds are used for children who are not U.S. citizens or qualified aliens as defined by federal law.
• young adults in the Extended Foster Care Program.
Any child who is in the managing conservatorship of DFPS is certified as having at least Medical Assistance Only (MAO). The certification is effective until the legal responsibility of DFPS is terminated. This includes children who are absent from their placements without authorization, or who are in unauthorized placements.
Situations may arise in which it would be in the best interest of the child to discontinue foster care Medicaid in order to provide a child in DFPS conservatorship with another type of Medicaid coverage. This might be needed to facilitate a placement or to provide the child access to other medical services. In these situations it would be necessary to obtain approval from the CPS state office division administrator of the Federal/State Support Division before terminating the Medicaid of any child in the conservatorship of DFPS.
Children and young adults who receive aid and assistance under the Title IV-E of the state plan are categorically eligible for federally funded Medicaid. On the Eligibility Summary page in IMPACT, the eligibility specialist chooses Regular as the Medicaid Eligibility Type for all children with an Actual Eligibility type of Title IV-E.
• under age 21 and in the Extended Foster Care Program and in a supervised independent living (SIL) setting.
For all other children and young adults the eligibility specialists selects State-paid as the Medicaid Eligibility Type.
Medical Assistance Only (MAO) Auto-Eligibility establishes an MAO-type of Medicaid in TIERS, an HHSC eligibility determination system, before DFPS determines the actual foster care assistance eligibility.
• a caseworker enters a child’s placement in IMPACT.
• return to their own home, relatives, or kinship placement.
• a foster care eligibility specialist determines MAO eligibility.
The application and determination are required regardless of whether the relative or kinship caregiver is applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or kinship care payment. The relative or kinship caregiver may apply for TANF payments even if an MAO-type Medicaid is active for the child.
If a child in DFPS conservatorship is placed directly with a relative or kinship caregiver, the foster care eligibility specialist determines MAO eligibility using the Foster Care Assistance Application submitted by the child's assigned CPS worker. This MAO eligibility remains open until a court terminates DFPS responsibility as conservator. The foster care eligibility specialist follows the same procedures for determining eligibility that are set out for all children in DFPS conservatorship.
Children in adoptive placements may or may not qualify for adoption assistance, which includes Medicaid.
For children in adoptive placements and in the managing conservatorship of DFPS who do not qualify for adoption assistance, DFPS must continue to provide Medical Assistance Only (MAO) coverage until the child qualifies for adoption assistance or until DFPS legal responsibility for the child ends.
• The adoption assistance eligibility specialist opens the child's Medical Assistance Only (MAO) eligibility in the child's adoption stage.
When a child is placed in TJJD or a juvenile detention facility administered by the county juvenile probation department, the foster care eligibility specialist must end the child’s MAO eligibility in IMPACT. This is required because these placements are considered to be secured settings.
The child’s eligibility may be reinstated when he or she is released from the TJJD detention facility and placed back into CPS foster care or a kinship placement, provided DFPS continues as managing conservator.
• DFPS plans to place the child outside the home in a residential child-care facility or relative placement as soon as the child leaves the medical facility.
DFPS must proceed with the planned placement unless there is a change in the court order or some other event occurs that clearly precludes making the placement.
The child's eligibility for foster care assistance commences on the date DFPS takes possession of the child as stated in Chapter 262, Texas Family Code.
2. the child returns to the same foster care provider at the end of the temporary absence.
The caseworker’s supervisor notifies the foster care eligibility specialist when an approved temporary absence situation exceeds 14 days. The eligibility specialist monitors the situation until the end of the temporary absence and updates the child’s Title IV-E eligibility status as described below.
1. If the temporary absence period was 14 days or less and the child returned to the same foster care provider, the specialist continues the child’s eligibility as Title IV-E through the entire month.
• changes the child’s selected eligibility back to Title IV-E, effective the date when the child is placed back with the same foster care provider.
• changes the child’s selected eligibility back to Title IV-E effective the date of placement with the subsequent paid foster care placement.
See 4270 Temporary Absence From Placement and 4276 When a Child Is Absent 14 Days.
• the sending state provides DFPS with information about the child's eligibility to receive Medicaid benefits through Title IV-E.
• Complete Form ICPC 100-B Interstate Compact Placement Status Report, that shows the date that the child was placed in Texas.
• Complete Form ICPC 103 Interstate Compact Financial/Medical Plan, which verifies that the child receives foster care funding through Title IV-E.
• Provide the last date that the child had Medicaid coverage in the sending state.
• Provide the name of any third-party resource the child may have for medical care.
• Provide the child’s Social Security number.
• Return the completed forms and information to the DFPS caseworker within the time frame requested.
After receiving the forms and other eligibility details from the sending state, the DFPS caseworker forwards them to the foster care eligibility specialist.
• was not receiving Medicaid from another state.
Every 12 months, the eligibility specialist confirms whether the child is still eligible for DFPS foster care Medicaid by verifying with the caseworker that the sending state continues to make Title IV-E foster care payments to the child's caregiver.
See 4520 Placing Children From Another State in Texas for more information about what to do when a public agency in another state requests that a child who is abused or neglected be placed into foster care in Texas.
• DFPS provides the receiving state with information about the child's eligibility to receive Medicaid through Title IV-E.
1. The caseworker completes the Interstate Compact Placement Status Report (Form ICPC 100-B) in the IMPACT case management system no later than seven business days after the child is placed.
2. The caseworker submits Form 100-B to his or her supervisor for approval.
3. After the supervisor approves Form 100-B, it is assigned through IMPACT to the regional ICPC coordinator and then to the Texas Interstate Compact Office (TICO).
4. TICO prints out Form ICPC 100-B from IMPACT and sends it to the receiving state.
5. The caseworker notifies the foster care eligibility specialist that the child has been placed and that the receiving state will be providing Medicaid coverage.
6. The eligibility specialist changes the child’s Medicaid type to None in IMPACT, which allows DFPS to continue making Title IV-E payments to the child's caregiver, but ends the child's DFPS foster care Medicaid.
When Title IV-E payments will not be made while a child in DFPS conservatorship is placed out-of-state, DFPS continues to provide both Medicaid benefits and foster care payments, as applicable.
If DFPS is paying for the foster care of a child who is state-paid eligible, the foster care eligibility specialist records the child’s selected eligibility as State-Paid in IMPACT.
If DFPS is not making foster care payments, the foster care eligibility specialist changes the child’s selected eligibility to Medical Assistance Only (MAO)in IMPACT. This applies to children who are both Title IV-E and state-paid eligible.
• the legal responsibility of DFPS is terminated.
See 4510 Placing Children Outside of Texas.

References: §700
 §700
 §700
 §700
 §262
 §1641