When a caseworker makes a referral for kinship services or for a kinship home assessment to another region, the caseworker must complete and send the following forms to the conservatorship (CVS) program administrator or designated mailbox for the receiving region:

• Form 2077 Universal Referral
• Form 6581 Request for Kinship Home Assessment or Services [sic, broken link]
• All required attachments outlined at the bottom of Form 6581

If a kinship caregiver home assessment is requested, the sending region mails all of the following to the potential kinship caregiver:

• Form 0398 Kinship Profile Questionnaire, so that the prospective caregiver can begin answering the questions that will be asked during the assessment.
• Kinship Manual  (formerly known as Form 0397 Important Information for All Potential Kinship Caregivers), so that the prospective caregiver has information about the home assessment process.
• Form 0399 Kinship Release of Information and Acknowledgment [sic, broken link]

The receiving region assigns a caseworker in that region to conduct the home assessment. The caseworker must bring all necessary forms to the home assessment visit for the potential kinship caregivers in case they did not receive them. This caseworker also must collect the signed Form 0399 Release of Information and Acknowledgement for the case file and upload to OneCase.

Placement Recommendations

The receiving region should not, and does not, make placement recommendations or decisions. The caseworker in the receiving region who is assigned to conduct the assessment is only responsible for listing the strengths and concerns of the potential kinship caregivers.

A supervisor or above in the placing (sending) region must make placement recommendations or decisions.

Referring Kinship Home Assessments and Services to a Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC)

The community area’s SSCC manages kinship assessments and services after the area has transitioned to Stage II of the Community Based Care (CBC) model.

DFPS caseworkers follow the procedures in the Services Across CBC Stage II Areas/Regions Resource Guide when requesting kinship assessments and services in a region that has already transitioned to Stage II of CBC.