A serious incident is a non-routine occurrence that has, or may have, dangerous or significant consequences to the child's care, supervision, or treatment. Some examples of serious incidents include, but are not limited to:

  •   a child's death;

  •   a child's critical injury or illness requiring treatment by a medical professional or hospitalization;

  •   allegations of abuse or neglect of a child;

  •   a child's sexual abuse of another child;

  •   a child's physical abuse of another child; or

  •   a child's arrest, charge, or indictment for a crime (excluding traffic tickets).

Foster parents must report any serious incident directly to the Statewide Intake Hotline, if the incident involves a child under the foster parent's care.

Once the FAD worker becomes aware of the serious incident, he or she must complete Form 3005Word Document Serious Incident Report and forward it, along with any required documentation, to the regional Licensing representative.

Minimum Standards for Child-Placing Agencies, 40 TAC §§794.501 – 749.515External Link