Workers must consider the following funding sources before all others when referring a client for direct services:

 •  Medicaid or CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program): If the client is eligible, Medicaid or CHIP must be used before any other funding is used. Workers must notify contractors of a client's Medicaid eligibility at the time of referral or as soon as possible after the initiation of services. The contractor is required to have a written procedure for routinely obtaining information from clients regarding Medicaid or CHIP status, the HMO in which the client is enrolled at the time of the initial visit, and at least monthly thereafter. Workers must document the information for monitoring purposes. Medicaid does not pay for foster and adoptive parent services. Title IV-B funds must be used for these services.

 •  Private Insurance: Workers must ask clients whether they have and are willing to use private insurance before other funding is used. (Since private insurance requires meeting an annual deductible and specified co-payments that DFPS cannot pay, neither DFPS nor the provider can require the client to use private insurance.)