Title IV-E of the Social Security Act provides federal funding to child welfare agencies and eligible Indian tribes to help provide foster care, transitional living programs, adoption assistance, and guardianship assistance.

See:

• 42 U.S.C. 671
• 42 U.SC. 673

Title IV-E also provides federal funds for “guardianship assistance.” However, because Texas courts award “conservatorship” instead of “guardianship” in child welfare cases, DFPS uses Title IV-E funds earmarked for “guardianship assistance” to fund its Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) program.

Each child welfare agency, including DFPS, that receives Title IV-E funds for foster care, transitional living programs, adoption assistance, and guardianship assistance, must draft and follow a state plan. The plan includes all applicable state statutory, regulatory, or policy references and citations for each requirement, as well as supporting documentation. Additionally, the plan must be updated when there are significant changes to state programs or in response to changes in federal law.

The Title IV-E Foster Care program helps states and Indian tribes provide safe and stable out-of-home care for children until one of the following happens:

• They are returned to their homes.
• They are permanently placed with adoptive families.
• They are placed in other permanent arrangements by a child welfare agency.

The program provides federal funds for foster care maintenance payments to eligible children in state custody. Children must meet eligibility requirements under Title IV-E, as well as state eligibility requirements, to qualify for benefits under the Foster Care program.

In Texas, the Texas Administrative Code sets the criteria to receive foster care maintenance payments. See 40 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 700, Subchapter C, Eligibility for Child Protective Services.

The Adoption Assistance Program provides federal funds to facilitate the timely placement of children whose special needs or circumstances would otherwise make it difficult to place them with adoptive families. Eligible children receive Medicaid and a monthly stipend to help adoptive parents meet the child’s needs. Adoptive parents are also eligible for a capped reimbursement of nonrecurring expenses to help offset the cost of adoption.

The Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) program provides financial support to relative or fictive kin caregivers who take permanent legal responsibility for a child who meets the following criteria:

• The caregivers previously fostered the child.
• The child cannot be reunited with his or her parents.
• Adoption is not an appropriate permanency option for the child.

In some instances, Title IV-E funds may also be used to support siblings of eligible children.

See:

• 40 Texas Administrative Code, Chapter 700, Subchapter J, Division 2, Permanency Care Assistance Program.
• 1540 Foster Care Assistance Eligibility Requirements for Young Adults Formerly in DFPS Conservatorship