The Minimum Standards for Child-Placing Agencies contain annual training requirements for foster parents. See the Texas Administrative Code, Title 26, Division 7 Annual Training and Division 8 Topics and Curriculum Components for Annual Training.

The Foster and Adoptive Home Development (FAD) caseworker makes sure foster parents complete all required annual training at the following times:

• Within 12 months after the date they become verified as foster parents.
• During each subsequent 12-month period after the date they became verified.

Costs

Foster parents are responsible for paying the following costs (if applicable):

• Training fees or tuition.
• Travel expenses to attend training.
• Child care costs associated with training.

Required Hours and Topics

The foster parents in each foster home must complete a combined total of 20 training hours annually. (A foster parent in a one-parent foster home must complete 10 training hours annually.)

These required hours must include training on the following topics:

• Emergency behavior interventions. (Each foster parent completes four hours.)
• Trauma-informed care. (Each caregiver completes two hours.)
• Prevention, recognition, and reporting of child abuse and neglect, including recognition and reporting of sexual abuse. (Each foster parent completes one hour.) See 7330 Training in Recognizing and Reporting Sexual Abuse.
• Normalcy. (Each foster parent completes one hour.) See 7612.2 Supervisory Visits: Normalcy.

26 TAC §749.2605

Texas Family Code §264.125

Extra Training Hours

Before Verification

Training that a person is required to complete before becoming verified as a foster parent does not count toward the annual training requirements.

However, if a prospective foster parent completes more training hours than are required, those extra hours count toward the annual training requirements during that person’s first year as a verified foster parent.

After Verification

If a verified foster parent completes more training hours than are required in a particular year, up to five extra hours can carry over to the next year.

Self-Instructed Training

In self-instructed training, the participant goes through a training program or course without an instructor.

26 TAC §749.931

26 TAC §749.935

Self-instructed training can count for no more than 10 of the 20 required annual training hours for two-parent homes, or five of the 10 required annual training hours for one-parent homes. Self-study training can count for no more than three of those 10 hours.

Psychotropic Medication Training

Foster parents who accept or care for children who take psychotropic medication must also complete annual training about those medications.

Documentation

The FAD caseworker maintains documentation that each foster parent has completed the annual training requirements.

The following types of documentation are acceptable:

• Certificate.
• Transcript from an accredited college or university.
• Written statement (such as a letter or email) of successful completion of the training, signed and dated by the participant or instructor.

Documentation (other than college or university transcripts) must include the following information:

• Participant’s name.
• Date of training.
• Title or subject of training.
• Instructor’s name and qualifications or the source of training materials for self-instructed training.
• Number of hours of training (actual hours, not college credit hours).