FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

No. Foster/Adoptive parents pay for their background checks, First Aid/CPR, TB tests, fire inspections, and health inspections. If a family successfully completes the verification process, they are reimbursed for these expenses. In the case of Adoption, CPS assumes the majority of the court-related costs in most of the adoption cases. It is not prohibitively expensive to adopt a child in CPS custody in the State of Texas.

Children’s Hope staff will be in your home at least one time per month for every month you are verified as a foster parent. Many of these visits will be scheduled with you, but several each year will be on an unannounced basis. You are required to cooperate with these home visits in order to remain verified and in good standing with Children’s Hope Residential Services, Inc.

Children’s Hope CPA solely serves children in the conservatorship/custody of the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services. These children are in care due to having been abused and/or neglected in some way by their biological families or original caregivers. Many of these children have behavioral and/or development issues related to the trauma they suffered at the hands of their families of origin. Children’s Hope CPA does not typically serve seriously violent, dangerous, or self-injurious children. However, a child’s behavior can change with little notice, so Children’s Hope foster parents are trained to watch for signs of trauma-related behaviors in the children they care for.

Applicant families control the length of time it takes to get verified with Children’s Hope CPA. Much of the verification process requires the applicant families to complete paperwork, provide documentation, participate in trainings and interviews, etc. If families are motivated to become verified, it is possible to complete this process in as little as sixty (60) days.

Children’s Hope recruiters will discuss your childhood, your marriage(s), your child(ren), and other personal matters as part of the verification process. Many of these questions are required by the State of Texas. All applicants with Children’s Hope CPA must answer these questions openly and honestly in order to be verified as foster parents.

Foster parents are required to complete foster parent notes, medication logs, incident reports, and provide medical/dental visit documentation to their Foster Care Specialists each month. These documents are mandatory and all applicant foster families should be prepared to cooperate with this process.

Absolutely. All Children’s Hope CPA offices accept referrals from CPS to work with relative/kinship families in order to help these families become licensed foster and/or adoptive parents. Children’s Hope CPA is committed to helping the children placed in relative/kinship homes find permanency and a forever home. If you are a current CPS relative/kinship family who wishes to become licensed, please speak with your CPS Kinship worker about a possible referral to Children’s Hope.