When a child who is eligible for Title IV-E is placed in Texas from another state and the sending state continues to pay for the child’s foster care with Title IV-E funds and the following processes are true:

• DFPS provides the child’s Medicaid benefits.
• The sending state provides DFPS with information about the child’s eligibility to receive Medicaid benefits through Title IV-E.

DFPS Rules, 40 TAC §700.345External Link

Authorizing Medicaid Benefits

The foster care eligibility specialist records the child’s eligibility as Medical Assistance Only (MAO) in the IMPACT case management system. The effective date of the child’s Medicaid coverage is the earliest date that both of the following are true for the child:

• He or she is eligible for Title IV-E payments for foster care while placed in Texas.
• He or she is not receiving Medicaid from another state.

Every 12 months, the eligibility specialist confirms whether the child is still eligible for DFPS foster care Medicaid by verifying with the caseworker that the sending state continues to make Title IV-E foster care payments to the child’s caregiver.

If the child continues to be eligible, the foster care eligibility specialist records a new eligibility date for the child in IMPACT. An IMPACT review of the child’s foster care is not needed to recertify children for continued Medicaid eligibility.

For More Information

See 4520 Placing Children From Another State in Texas for more information about what to do when a public agency in another state requests that a child who is abused or neglected be placed into foster care in Texas.