When it comes to understanding the different alternatives for providing care to children in foster care in the State of Texas, the various terms and requirements can sometimes be hard to keep straight. In order to provide a clear understanding of these alternatives we have prepared the following brief overview.

Alternatives Requiring Certification

Each of the following ways to care for children in foster care requires you to obtain a foster care and/or adoption certification. Singles and married couples are eligible and the basic requirements to obtain a foster care and/or adoption certification are:

• Over age of 21
• Complete background check and fingerprints
• Legal U.S. resident
• Complete application process
• Complete required training
• Acceptable home study recommendation (including home safety inspection)
• Moral character and sound judgment deemed appropriate for parenting

Foster Care – involves the temporary care of a child (or children) who has been removed from his home due to abuse, neglect or abandonment and is now in state custody.  A child remains in foster care until such time as he is able to return home safely, be placed with relatives or is placed in an adoptive family.  You can choose to foster an individual child or a sibling group, a child with or without special needs, and a child within an age range of your choosing.

Foster to Adopt – involves foster care for a child (or children) where the foster parents have indicated a desire to adopt the child when and if that is possible.  Foster to Adopt parents understand that a child they are fostering may or may not become eligible for adoption by them.

Legal Risk – involves foster care for a child (or children) primarily with the plan to adopt the child once her parental rights have been terminated.  A placement that is classified as “legal risk” typically implies a higher likelihood (when compared to Foster to Adopt) that the foster parents will be able to adopt the child being fostered, although that outcome is not certain.

Adoption from Foster Care (also referred to as Foster Adoption) – involves the adoption of a child (or children) in state custody whose parental rights have been terminated.  You can choose to adopt a child from foster care without the commitment to foster.  Children waiting for adoptive families are typically five years old or older, part of a sibling group and/or have some special needs.

Respite Care – involves caring for a child (or children) in foster care for a short period of time (generally anywhere from three days to a couple of weeks) while the child’s foster parent(s) take a break or a vacation.  Respite care parents go through the same training and home study process as foster parents.

Alternative Not Requiring Certification

Relief Care – involves caring for a child (or children) in foster care for a period of less than 72 hours. Relief care is a great way to provide loving care to a foster child while providing a much needed short break for foster parents. Relief care does not require a foster care certification, but does require the following:

• Age 18 or older
• Complete the Relief Care Training Workshop (consisting of a brief training program covering the basic information you will need to provide quality relief care)
• Complete background check
• Complete CPR/First Aid training
• Negative TB test (within the last 12 months)
• Signed confidentiality and discipline policies
• Signed environmental and safety acknowledgement
• Recommendation letters

You can download the Relief Care Provider Application, which contains a complete list of the requirements to become an approved relief care provider.

Tapestry is part of a multi-church, multi-agency relief care network that is designed to provide a ready pool of relief care parents to support foster families in our community. For more information about relief care or the DFW Church Relief Care Network, click here or contact Amy Monroe at tapestry@irvingbible.org.

Also Found In: Getting Started, Serving Children in Foster Care