Source: http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/handbooks/cps/files/CPS_pg_5600.asp
Timestamp: 2020-01-22 09:35:06
Document Index: 599546869

Matched Legal Cases: ['§263', '§263', '§1356', '§263', '§263', '§263', '§263', '§263', '§263', '§263', '§263']

5600 Extended Court Jurisdiction When a Youth Turns 18
This section of the CPS Handbook explains requirements related to matters involving young adults who were previously in DFPS conservatorship.
Specifically, the section covers extended jurisdiction under Chapter 263 of the Texas Family Code for young adults who:
• are in extended foster care;
• have left foster care and are on trial independence;
• are receiving transitional living services, or
• are waiting for the results of a referral to HHSC for guardianship.
See also 5500 From Status Hearing to the Final Hearing.
5610 When a Youth Turns 18 in DFPS Conservatorship
When a youth turns 18 in DFPS conservatorship; she or he becomes a young adult who may:
• remain in DFPS care through the Extended Foster Care Program;
• exit DFPS care into trial independence, which can last from 6 months to 12 months; or
• be referred to HHSC for guardianship.
All three circumstances involve the court’s extended jurisdiction. For an explanation of Extended Court Jurisdiction see the Extended Court Jurisdiction Resource Guide.
5611 Actions Required by the Caseworker for All Youth Aging Out of DFPS Conservatorship
5611.1 Requesting That the Court Approve a Trial Independence (TI) Period
For any youth who is aging out of DFPS conservatorship, regardless of placement, the youth’s caseworker must ask the court, at the review hearing held before the youth turns 18, to approve a 12-month trial period of independence beginning on the date that the youth leaves foster care after turning 18. Trial independence applies to all young adults who turn 18 while in DFPS conservatorship, including those on runaway status or living in a non-paid placement. Twelve months is the maximum period of trial independence (TI).
Requesting the maximum period:
• allows the young adult to request a court’s assistance for up to one year after leaving foster care, if the young adult experiences problems obtaining transitional living services; and
• allows the state to claim Title IV-E funding to cover the costs of a young adult’s extended foster care, if the young adult decides to re-enter extended foster care after turning 18.
Although a young adult can still choose to re-enter extended foster care after the trial independence period has ended, the state can no longer claim Title IV-E funding to cover any period of extended foster care that begins after trial independence has ended.
A young adult is not limited to a single trial independence period. A new period begins each time a young adult leaves extended foster care, up to the young adult’s 21st birthday.
5611.2 Notifying the Court About a Young Adult’s Status After Turning 18
As soon as possible after the young adult’s 18th birthday, but no later than 30 days following the young adult’s 18th birthday, the caseworker must send a notice to the attorney representing DFPS to:
• inform the attorney that the young adult is staying in extended foster care or has left care for trial independence; and
• ask the attorney to file the appropriate papers with the court.
Specifically, the caseworker must indicate that one or more of the following applies:
• The court’s jurisdiction is extended because the young adult is in extended foster care.
• The court’s jurisdiction is extended through the end of the trial independence period for a young adult who has left care. In this case, the caseworker must provide the court with the date that the young adult left care (or the young adult’s birthdate, if the young adult left care before turning 18) and the duration of the trial independence period.
• The young adult continues to receive transitional living services and does or does not wish to request an extension of the court’s jurisdiction beyond the expiration of trial independence. If the young adult wishes to request such an extension, the caseworker must ensure that an accompanying motion is filed.
• DFPS sends notice to the court that the court’s jurisdiction has ended because the probate court has appointed a guardian for the young adult, and the guardian does not want to request a voluntary extension of the family court’s jurisdiction to review any transitional living services that the young adult may be receiving.
5611.3 Documenting Court Orders
The caseworker must file in the case record a copy of any court order obtained.
The caseworker must document in IMPACT, following instructions in Form 2050 IMPACT Actions for Trial Independence and Extended Court Jurisdiction:
• an extension of a court’s jurisdiction;
• review hearings;
• trial independence periods; and
• the end of a court’s jurisdiction.
If the SUB stage in IMPACT has been closed, the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker must record the actions on the Contact Detail page in the open PAL stage.
5620 Extended Foster Care
When a young adult decides to participate in Extended Foster Care, the court must extend its jurisdiction over the young adult. A young adult is only considered to be in Extended Foster Care if the young adult is living in one of the following types of DFPS-paid placements:
• A licensed or verified foster home, foster group home, or general residential operation (such as a residential treatment center)
• A supervised independent living (SIL) setting provided by a contractor to young adults who have aged out of DFPS conservatorship (see 10460 Supervised Independent Living (SIL))
Texas Family Code §263.601
5621 Court Review Hearings for Extended Foster Care
Review hearings for young adults in extended foster care are similar to the placement review hearings conducted before a youth turns 18.
The caseworker must schedule a hearing with the court at least every six months to address:
• the progress made in extended foster care; and
• the extent to which transitional living services were provided and used.
Social Security Act, Title IV-E, Section 475(5)(B) and (C)
Texas Family Code §263.602(b)-(e)
The caseworker must be prepared to present information that addresses if:
• the young adult’s placement is safe, appropriate, and the least-restrictive necessary to meet the young adult’s needs;
• DFPS is making reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan in effect for the young adult;
• all of the following criteria are met, if the young adult’s permanency plan is independent living:
• the young adult participated in the plan’s development;
• the plan of service reflects the skills and services the young adult needs to achieve the goal of living independently by the projected date;
• the young adult is making reasonable progress in developing the skills needed to live independently;
• additional services that DFPS is authorized to provide are needed to meet the young adult’s needs.
Necessary Court Findings
For DFPS to receive Title IV-E funds to cover the costs of a young adult’s extended foster care, the court must find after each review hearing for extended foster care that DFPS has made reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency plan in effect for the young adult. Because the permanency goal for most if not all young adults in extended foster care is to live independently, the documentation in support of the court’s determination must address DFPS’s efforts to prepare the young adult for independence.
45 C.F.R. §1356.21(b)
Texas Family Code §263.602(b)(2)
The caseworker must consult with the young adult’s Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker before each hearing to ensure that the caseworker is well informed about any transitional living services that the young adult is receiving or attempting to receive.
5622 Actions Required by the Caseworker for Young Adults in Extended Foster Care
5622.1 Request a Review Hearing for Extended Foster Care
Once a court has extended its jurisdiction over a young adult in extended foster care, the caseworker must request a review hearing by the court every six months, as required by Texas Family Code §263.602. The court retains jurisdiction while the young adult remains in extended foster care.
The caseworker must follow regional and county protocols for scheduling and preparing for the review hearings, ensuring that the hearings are held at least every six months. A motion to set the hearing may be needed, if the hearing date has not previously been set.
Unless the court directs otherwise, the caseworker must submit the required court report using Form 2045 Extended Foster Care Review and Permanency Progress Report to the Court. The report contains the items required by statute for this type of hearing and helps the court understand the young adult’s circumstances so that it can make appropriate determinations regarding services.
5622.2 Provide Notice of the Review Hearing for Extended Foster Care
The caseworker must send notice of the review hearing for extended foster care to:
• the young adult;
• the foster parent or caregiver with whom the young adult is placed;
• the administrator of the child-placing agency (if applicable);
• the director of the residential child-care facility or other approved provider with whom the young adult is placed (if applicable);
• each parent of the young adult whose parental rights have not been terminated and who is still actively involved in the life of the young adult;
• the young adult’s legal guardian (if applicable);
• the young adult’s attorney ad litem (if the appointment has not been previously dismissed);
• the young adult’s guardian ad litem (if the appointment has not been previously dismissed); and
• the young adult’s court appointed special advocate (if the appointment has not been previously dismissed).
Texas Family Code §263.602(d)
5622.3 Submit Documents in Preparation for a Review Hearing for Extended Foster Care
Ten days before a review hearing for extended foster care, the caseworker must send a copy of the following to relevant parties:
• The report for the review hearing
• The young adult’s service plan
• The young adult’s transition plan
The caseworker must send the documents to:
• the attorney ad litem;
• the guardian ad litem; and
• the court appointed special advocate, if appointed under continued court jurisdiction.
5622.4 Request Approval of a 12-Month Trial Independence Period
At each review hearing for extended foster care, the caseworker must ask the court to order a 12-month trial independence period, beginning on the date the young adult leaves foster care, in case the young adult leaves extended foster care before the next scheduled review hearing.
5622.5 Record the Review Hearing for Extended Foster Care in IMPACT
After each review hearing, the caseworker must record the hearing as a Legal Action in IMPACT, according to the instructions on Form 2050 IMPACT Documentation of Trial Independence.
Hearings and Legal Proceedings Resource Guide, under Legal Statuses and Actions
5622.6 Send a Notice at the Start of the Young Adult’s Trial Independence Period
If a young adult leaves extended foster care at any point to begin a trial independence (TI) period, the caseworker must:
• notify the attorney representing DFPS that the young adult has left extended foster care and a period of trial independence has begun;
• provide the attorney with the date the trial independence period began (the date that the young adult left care) and the date that the trial period will end (assuming that the young adult does not return to care);
• reference the previous court order; and
5622.7 Record the Start or End of a Trial Independence Period in IMPACT
The caseworker must record information about the start or end of a young adult’s trial independence period on the Legal Actions page in IMPACT, according to the instructions on Form 2050 IMPACT Documentation of Trial Independence.
5622.8 When a Young Adult Turns 21
When a young adult turns 21, a court’s extended jurisdiction ends and no further hearings are required.
The caseworker must notify the attorney representing DFPS that the court’s jurisdiction has ended.
• notify the court that the young adult has turned 21; and
• file any documents required by the local court to ensure that the case is dismissed.
In addition, if the young adult is eligible for and continues to remain in extended foster care after turning 21, the caseworker must document all casework in the SUB C-RC stage in IMPACT.
The young adult is no longer eligible for foster care benefits covered by Title IV-E funding.
5630 Trial Independence
Trial Independence (TI) is when the young adult leaves foster care and tries to live independently. While no hearing is required during the TI period, the court may schedule a hearing during this time at the request of a young adult who is receiving transitional services, or for other reasons.
Texas Family Code §263.602(g)
5631 Required Actions During and After Trial Independence
5631.1 If a Hearing Is Held During Trial Independence
The caseworker must consult with the young adult’s Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker.
If the caseworker does not know where the young adult is living, or is lacking other information about the young adult, the court may accept a letter or statement explaining what the caseworker does know about the young adult. In such a case, the letter or statement must reference any services that the young adult requested or received from the Preparation for Adult Living program during this time.
5631.2 If a Young Adult Returns to Extended Foster Care Before Trial Independence Ends
If a young adult returns to extended foster care during his or her trial independence (TI) period, the caseworker must ask the attorney representing DFPS to file the appropriate papers with the court to:
• notify the court that the young adult has returned to extended foster care;
• extend the court’s jurisdiction; and
• establish the date of the next review hearing for extended foster care (ideally, as soon as possible after the young adult returns to extended foster care), if one has not been set.
Once the review hearings resume, the caseworker must follow the policy explained in 5621 Court Review Hearings for Extended Foster Care.
If the court’s jurisdiction is extended under these circumstances, the caseworker must record it as a Legal Action Event in IMPACT, according to the instructions on Form 2050 IMPACT Documentation of Trial Independence.
5631.3 If a Young Adult Returns to Extended Foster Care After Trial Independence Ends
Court’s Jurisdiction Voluntarily Extended
If a young adult returns to extended foster care after trial independence has ended, but the court’s jurisdiction was voluntarily extended at the request of the young adult who continues to receive transitional living services from DFPS, the caseworker must:
• ask the attorney representing DFPS to file papers with the court indicating that the young adult has returned to extended foster care and requires continued court jurisdiction;
• schedule a review hearing for extended foster care; and
• document all casework in the SUB C-RC stage of IMPACT.
Although the Texas Family Code requires that review hearings be held for a young adult who returns to extended foster care before the court’s jurisdiction ends, the young adult’s foster care maintenance payments are not funded by Title IV-E because the young adult returned to foster care after trial independence ended.
Court Case Has Already Been Dismissed
If a young adult returns to extended foster care after trial independence has ended and the court case has already been dismissed because the court did not voluntarily extend its jurisdiction at the end of the trial independence period:
• the court’s jurisdiction has ended and cannot be resumed;
• review hearings are no longer required; and
• the young adult’s foster care maintenance payments are not funded by Title IV-E because the young adult returned to foster care after trial independence ended.
The caseworker must document all casework in the SUB C-RC stage of IMPACT.
See 10500 Trial Independence and Return for Extended Foster Care
5640 Young Adults Who Continue to Receive Transitional Living Services After the Trial Independence Period
Young adults who are living independently and do not want to return to extended foster care can request that the court’s jurisdiction be voluntarily extended after their trial independence (TI) period has ended, if the young adult is receiving transitional living services. This is a voluntary extension of the court’s jurisdiction and must be requested before the young adult’s trial independence ends. This is important as when TI ends there is no legal provision that allows the case to be reopened.
Texas Family Code §263.6021
5641 Reviews for Transitional Living Services After Trial Independence
Periodic hearings are not required if a court voluntarily agrees to extend its jurisdiction for the purpose of overseeing whether a young adult receives transitional living services.
However, if the young adult requests a hearing, the court may schedule one to address any special issues that the young adult may be having in regard to the services. Such a hearing may also be requested during the young adult’s trial independence (TI) period.
A service review hearing is not the same as a review hearing for extended foster care.
Service review hearings discuss one or more of the following:
• The status of the young adult’s transitional living services plan
• The services the young adult is receiving or should be receiving under that plan
• The progress that the young adult is making toward achieving independence
Once the court’s jurisdiction has been extended and the young adult wants to request a service review hearing, the young adult may contact his or her:
• caseworker (if the SUB stage in IMPACT is still open);
• Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker;
• attorney ad litem or guardian ad litem, if still appointed; or
• court appointed special advocate (CASA), if still appointed.
5642 Caseworker Actions When the Young Adult Requests Jurisdiction for Transitional Living Services
5642.1 Obtain Extended Jurisdiction for a Case Involving Transitional Living Services
If contacted by the young adult or the court about extending the court’s jurisdiction, the caseworker or Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker must:
• arrange, according to county or regional procedures, for the young adult to complete Form 2524 Request for Continued Court Jurisdiction After Turning 18;
• submit a completed Form 2054, generated in IMPACT, to the attorney representing DFPS.
These tasks must be performed by:
• the caseworker, if the SUB stage is still open in IMPACT; or
• the PAL worker, if the SUB stage is closed.
Both workers receive assistance from the local attorneys, as needed, before going to court.
5642.2 File a Motion to Extend the Court’s Jurisdiction to Review Transitional Living Services
To request that the court continue to review the transitional living services that a young adult receives, the caseworker must arrange for a motion to be filed with the court before the end of the young adult’s trial independence (TI) period.
The motion must request that the court extend its jurisdiction either through the month in which the young adult turns 21 or through the month in which the young adult ultimately withdraws consent to the extension of jurisdiction, whichever comes first.
5642.3 Participate in Hearings Held for a Young Adult’s Case
The caseworker, or Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker if no caseworker continues to be assigned to the young adult, must participate in any hearings conducted during this type of voluntary extended jurisdiction.
5642.4 Complete a Report in Preparation for a Service Review Hearing
The caseworker, or Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker as appropriate, must complete Form 2043 Extended Jurisdiction Service Review Report in preparation for a service review hearing. The form helps the court understand the young adult’s circumstances and determine what, if any, services are needed.
5642.5 Young Adult Withdraws Consent to Allow a Court to Extend Its Jurisdiction
If a young adult wishes to withdraw his or her consent to the court’s voluntary extended jurisdiction, the caseworker, or Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) worker as appropriate, must notify the court either in writing or by appearing before the court.
5642.6 When a Court’s Jurisdiction Ends
Unless a young adult re-enters extended foster care before the end of the court’s extended jurisdiction, the court’s jurisdiction over the case for the young adult to receive transitional living services ends on whichever one of the following comes first:
• the young adult’s 21st birthday; or
• the date the young adult withdraws consent.
5650 Referral to HHSC Guardianship
The court may extend its jurisdiction over a young adult if the court believes that the young adult lacks the ability to consent and may need a guardian.
Referrals have three potential outcomes:
• a guardian is appointed and qualifies under the Texas Estates Code;
• the court with probate jurisdiction denies the application to appoint a guardian; or
• HHSC determines that guardianship is not appropriate under Chapter 161 of the Human Resources Code.
Texas Family Code §263.603
5651 Required Caseworker Actions
During the time the young adult in extended foster care has been referred to HHSC for guardianship, the caseworker must continue to request review hearings for extended foster care until the probate court reaches a resolution about guardianship.
The court’s jurisdiction ends and the case is closed when:
• a guardian is appointed;
• HHSC determines a guardianship is not appropriate; or
• the court with probate jurisdiction denies the application to appoint a guardian.
However, the court may choose to extend its jurisdiction, or the guardian may request that the court extend its jurisdiction:
• so the young adult can remain in extended foster care;
• so the young adult can transition to trial independence; or
• for purposes of reviews for transitional living services beyond the trial independence period.
Texas Family Code §263.603; §263.604
If the case closes, the caseworker must close the SUB REG stage in IMPACT.