Texas HB 4 (2017): Payments for Relative and Kin Caregivers

This bill is law. It took effect September 1, 2017.

The official bill history says HB 4 would take effect September 1, 2017, but only if the Legislature set aside money for it in that session's budget. The House Research Organization's end-of-session report lists HB 4 as effective September 1, 2017.

The short answer

HB 4 changed how DFPS helps pay relatives and other "designated caregivers" (often called kin) who take in a child in DFPS conservatorship. A caregiver whose family income is at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level can get money of up to 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate, generally for up to one year. This page describes the bill as it passed in 2017. Later laws may have changed these rules.

What it changes

Who counts as kin. A relative caregiver is related to the child by blood or marriage. A "fictive kin" caregiver is someone with a longstanding and significant relationship with the child or the child's family. These explanations come from the House Research Organization's report.

A caregiver assistance agreement. DFPS must, subject to available funds, sign a caregiver assistance agreement with each relative or other designated caregiver. The agreement provides money and support services.

Who can get money, and how much.

• The money goes to caregivers whose family income is at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level.
• Caregivers above that income level are not eligible for the money.
• The money may not be more than 50 percent of DFPS's daily basic foster care rate for the child.
• DFPS pays it the same way it pays foster parents.
• DFPS must check the caregiver's family income.

How long it lasts. DFPS may not pay the money after one year from the first payment. For good cause, DFPS may extend it for six more months.

Other support. Support services can include family counseling that Medicaid does not cover, for up to two years from when the child was first placed. Eligible caregivers can also be reimbursed for child-care costs while the child is under 13 (or under 18 with a developmental disability) and DFPS is the child's managing conservator.

After permanent custody. If an eligible caregiver becomes the child's "permanent managing conservator" (the person a court names to have long-term legal custody), the caregiver may get up to $500 a year for other expenses. This lasts until the third anniversary of that court appointment or the child's 18th birthday, whichever comes first.

Fraud penalties. It is a crime to knowingly lie, to cheat or deceive DFPS, in order to get a caregiver assistance agreement. The level of the crime depends on how long the person was paid. It ranges from a Class C misdemeanor up to a state jail felony for 91 days or more of payments. The person also owes a $1,000 civil penalty.

A yearly report. DFPS must publish a report every year on the relative and designated caregiver program. It includes data on placements that break down and how long caregivers take to get permanent custody.

According to the Senate Research Center's analysis, the purpose was that children placed with relatives or designated caregivers have more stability and better outcomes than children in non-relative foster care.

Which laws it affects

• Family Code §264.755: caregiver assistance agreements and monetary assistance (amended).
• Family Code §264.7551: fraudulent agreements, criminal offense and civil penalty (new).
• Family Code §264.762: annual report on the relative and designated caregiver program (new).

None of these sections is in this site's law library yet, so they are named here in plain text.

Related

• Texas HB 3390 (2019): Finding Relatives and Family Friends to Care for a Child: the 2019 law on finding relatives and other caregivers
• Texas HB 7 (2017): CPS Court Case Reforms: the 2017 court bill that made judges review relative placements
• Texas SB 11 (2017): Community-Based Care and CPS Changes: the 2017 community-based care law
• The Texas CPS Investigation Process, Step by Step (Family Code §§261.301–261.302)
• Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) in Texas: What Families Should Know