Contact persons who could give us more information about noteworthy practice models:

Zan Schriver at 865-982-5225 or 981-3953

VI. Please share any strategies that you have used to successfully advocate for post-adoption services in your state.

The State is currently in negotiation with the National Resource Center for Adoption (NRCA) to assist with an evaluation of the Adoption Support and Preservation program. This evaluation will give insight to the program and provide suggestions for improvements in service provision and reporting mechanisms. Additionally, the agency is giving consideration to how the NRCA can provide other T/TA to the State to support other areas of its adoption program during the evaluation period.

TEXAS

RESPONDENT: Jillian Bonacquisti, Adoption Program Specialist Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

I. General Information (Background on State Service System)

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services oversees Texas’s post-adoption services program. Texas was one of the first states to establish a statewide post-adoption program, which resulted from a lawsuit by adoptive parents who were struggling with complicated children While the lawsuit was not successful, the resulting inquiries by the legislature (and their increased understanding of the issues many families adopting children from the child welfare system face) led to the funding of post-adoption services. That Texas can provide post-adopt services is included in statute.

 County-based vs. statewide system

In Texas, the Post-Adoption Services Program is contracted out; four agency providers serve families in the 11 regions of the state. All providers agree to provide the core services listed below, and contracts are normally rebid every four years.

 Uniformity of services across the state, etc.

All contractors must provide the following services: information and referral, casework and service planning, parent training, support groups, therapeutic counseling, respite care, assessing an adopted child’s need for residential care and applying for a level of care determination if residential is deemed necessary, and 24-hour crisis intervention.

 Children on subsidy as of August 2013

42,079 – a 7.7 percent increase from previous year.

 Are public child welfare adoption workers expected to provide post-adoption services?

Public child welfare workers refer adoptive families to the appropriate post-adoption provider. These providers are outlined on the following website:

https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Adoption_and_Foster_Care/About_Adoption/assist.asp#9

II. Post-Adoption Services Funded by the State for Adoptive Families

Texas developed a statewide program in 1990 by contracting with private agencies to serve the 11 regions of the state. This program serves only children who were in the custody of Texas at the time of their adoptions. Contracted agencies provide an array of core post-adoption services. The current providers that cover the 11 regions of the state include Centers for Children and Families, DePelchin Children’s Center, Lutheran Social Services of the South and Spaulding for Children.

There is a Regional Post-Adoption Liaison at DFPS who monitors and coordinates post-adoption services with families and the private providers. This person approves the service plan for each adoptive family and payment forms for served families, which are submitted by the contracted providers. There is a 12-month limit for these services, which may be extended by the Post-Adoption Liaison for a short amount of time; however each child is eligible for only one period of post-adoption services. The goal is to connect the family to community resources that can sustain them beyond the service period.

Texas

Information and Referral

When a child is placed for adoption, workers are expected to go over both the subsidy and the post- adoption program. When the placement agreement is signed, the worker again is to explain post-adoption services and provide a pamphlet (printed in both English and Spanish) describing the program. If a family contacts a public child welfare worker or a Regional Post-Adoption Liaison at DFPS for assistance, they would be referred to the appropriate post-adoption provider, who in turn would assess their situation, provide needed services, and link them with other services in their community.

Educational Programs or Materials

The post-adoption service agencies all provide parent training opportunities as a part of their contracted services, as well as linking families with other educational resources in their communities. They also maintain lending libraries of resources and training materials for adoptive families.

Support Programs

Contractors must assure that adoptive families (both parents and children) have access to support groups. They may run their own support groups, subcontract this function and/or refer clients to existing community support groups.

One of the largest adoptive family support programs in the state is provided by the Texas Council on Adoptable Children, which receives a small amount of funding from the state.

Therapeutic Interventions

Post-adoption contract agencies either provide counseling to address adjustment issues in adoptive families themselves or do so through subcontracting. They also facilitate needed diagnostic assessment, including developmental testing, psychological and psychiatric assessment. While the typical focus of counseling services is the adopted child and parents, siblings under 18 may also receive counseling if their need for it stems from the adopted child’s placement in the family.

The post-adoption providers use a range of therapeutic treatment approaches, and many clinicians have received training in Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI), which was developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross at the Texas Christian University Institute of Child Development. They are moving toward broad use of TBRI throughout the state.

Advocacy

Advocacy is an aspect of the basic post-adoption casework expected of providers, but is not specifically identified in the core service package. Post-adoption providers advocate on an individual family level access to needed services, and they may call the Regional Post-Adoption Liaison to assist in this effort when necessary. Also, the Council on Adoptable Children of Texas is actively involved in advocacy on behalf of all adoptive families. They currently are advocating within the state legislation for increased funding of post- adoption services.

Respite

Through the post-adoption service providers, parents may receive financial assistance to pay for short-term respite care for their children, which can extend for up to 60 days during the 12-month service period. In addition, providers may help to pay for camp experiences for adopted children.

Residential Treatment

 Does the state pay for residential treatment for children adopted from foster care? What is the process for obtaining this?

Texas

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the families. Either directly or through subcontractors, each post-adoption contractor must be able to accommodate children who qualify for residential care. Typically the program covers the first 60- 90 days of residential care, and if treatment is needed beyond this time, they look for alternate forms of payment. In rare situations, the state may take the child into custody and pay for care, but this is done only as a last resort and requires a judge’s permission.

 If yes, what is required to obtain this?

The child must be expected to return home within 12 months, must have a level of care determination of 5 or 6 (the top two levels of care) and must not be eligible for treatment in a state hospital or school. The child must participate in family treatment over the course of the placement, and every three months the child’s service plan must address progress toward reunification.

 Does the child have to re-enter state custody?

Not initially, but if the placement goes beyond three months, the child might re-enter state custody. Generally, there is a 12-month limit on post-adoption residential care. Exceptions can be made to allow the child to complete the school year, if this is possible within 90 days.

III. Qualifications for Post-Adoption Services

A. What are the eligibility criteria for receiving services?

Services are available to families who adopted through DFPS and families receiving Title IV-E and state-paid adoption subsidies from DFPS. The adopted child must be under 18 when services begin and services may continue until six months after the child’s 18th birthday.

B. Under what circumstances, if any, are these services provided to children who were not