SERVICES
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents, and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities, along with affiliation, from the biological parent or parents.
Adoptive Parents provide permanent homes and a lifelong commitment to children into adulthood. They provide for the short-term and long-term needs of children as well as provide for children's emotional, mental, physical, social, educational, and cultural needs, according to each child's developmental age and growth. Foster -to- adopt Parents may become certified as a foster family and accept children who are not legally free for adoption, but whose permanency plan is adoption.
Foster-to-Adopt
The majority of children in care are ultimately adopted by their foster parents. Most states give top priority to relatives and current foster parents when a child becomes legally freed for adoption, and a growing number of states are requiring that families be willing to foster if they want to adopt from foster care.
Fostering first has the advantage of reducing the number of moves the child who may be placed in your home and allowing the child to live with the family before an adoption is finalized. It also enables a potential adoptive family to make connections with birth parents or other relatives that can be maintained in the future.
According to recent data from the Children’s Bureau, 86 percent of children adopted from foster care are adopted by relatives or foster parents.
Foster Care
Foster care is a temporary living situation for children whose parents cannot take care of them and whose need for care has come to the attention of child welfare agency staff. While in foster care, children may live with relatives, with foster families or in group facilities. Over half of children who enter foster care return to their families.
How long children stay in foster care depends on their family situation and what options are available in their communities. For some children, their stay in foster care is brief; for others foster care lasts one to three years or, in some cases, longer.
The State, via the family court and child protection agency, stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor.
Foster Parents provide temporary home, daily care and nurturing of children in foster care. They advocate for children in their care in different situation that effect them, including the kid’s schools and communities. They are charged with the duty of informing the children's caseworkers and case managers about adjustments to the home, school, and community, as well as any problems that may arise, including any serious illnesses, accidents, or serious occurrences involving the foster children or their own families. Foster Parents provide a positive role model to birth families and
help children learn life skills.
Kinship
When children have been abused or neglected, DFPS may remove them from their homes to ensure their immediate safety. The courts are required to consider a temporary placement with a relative and ask the parents to tell DFPS how to contact relatives who may be able to care for their children at least temporarily.
When placing children, the court considers their needs as most important. Often a Family Group Decision Making conference is held and everyone involved recommends a particular family member or friend is the best place for the child. The placement may be court ordered, usually after DFPS completes a home assessment to make sure it's safe and appropriate for the child. CPS also takes the parents' desires into account whenever possible. If placement with a kin caregiver not available or appropriate, the child may be placed in foster care.
Once you are named permanent managing conservator of the child in your care, the Department of Family Protective Services is dismissed from the case. You now become responsible for day to day care, of the child. Your rights will include:
-
Physically possess the child.
-
Choose moral and religious training.
-
Provide clothing, food, shelter, and education.
-
Provide and consent to medical, psychiatric,
Training
Adoptive families will receive training in the areas mentioned:
-
Orientation
-
Foster Care & Adoption 101
-
Foster Care & Adoption 201
-
Child Development
-
Trauma Informed Care
-
Emergency Behavior Intervention
-
Medication Management
-
Normalcy
-
Cultural Competency
-
Communicable Diseases
-
CPR/ First Aid
-
Texas Health Steps
-
Water Safety
-
Psychotropic Medication (DFPS Online)
-
Medical Consenter (DFPS Online)
-
Abuse & Neglect Prevention and Reporting (DFPS Online)
-
Trauma informed care overview (DFPS Online)
-
Transportation (Online)
ONLINE TRAINING (Courses are FREE)
DFPS Medical consent Online Training
DFPS Psychotropic Medication Online Training
DFPS Trauma Informed Care Online Training
DFPS Reporting Suspected Abuse or Neglect of a Child Online Training
Additional Training Requirements
The state minimum standards require that prospective foster families also complete the following trainings or certifications, which are not part of the PRIDE curriculum:
-
Universal precautions training
-
Psychotropic medication training
-
Certification in both First Aid and infant/child/adult CPR
State minimum standards also require that verified foster homes receive annual in-service training. Depending on the number of foster parents and the needs of the children in a foster home, the annual training requirements range from 20 hours per family to 30 hours per foster parent.