Covenant Kids
P.O. Box 173038
Arlington, TX 76003
Phone: (817) 516-9100
TollFree: (866) 516-9100
Fax: (817) 516-9102
info@covenantkids.org
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1. What is foster care? Covenant Kids is licensed through the state to provide foster homes for children or adolescents whose family cannot care for them at home. The ultimate goal of foster care is to provide the child with a safe and nurturing environment and the services needed to place the child back with the family or make another permanent placement arrangement. It is the purpose of the Covenant Kids foster care program is to provide quality care in a family setting for children and adolescents who cannot remain with their families because of a crisis in the family. Our primary mission in our foster care program is to support children and their families or origin in their efforts to be reunited when at all possible. Foster parents must work with children to heal their relationships with their birth parents, siblings, other family members, peers, and others. Generally, foster care is a temporary out-of-home placement for a child experiencing a family crisis. Allegations of abuse or neglect of a child or children in a family usually precede this crisis. Covenant Kids works closely with the child and custody holder, CPS, toward a plan for reuniting the family. When adoption is the plan for the child, Covenant Kids works with the custody holder toward a successful adoptive placement. Situations exist in which a child may need long-term
foster care because the child is unable to return to his/her family
and adoption is not an appropriate option. Long-term foster care
is considered for this child only when the foster family is prepared
to make a permanent commitment to the child. 2. What is unique about your agency in contrast to others? CK is dedicated to providing excellent service to our families. We partner with our families and work diligently to help them succeed. In addition, Covenant Kids strives to serve God by ministering to children. Our employees feel that God has placed them with this agency to do His work. We strive to face every situation from a Christian perspective.Back to top 3. What support services do you provide for foster parents? Covenant Kids as a whole provides prayer support for all of our families and children. Each family also has the continual support of a dedicated Case Manager, who has regular phone contact and face-to-face visits with the family. In addition, the entire Treatment Team is involved in consultation. This team includes CK staff, therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, school personnel, and CPS workers. CK offers Foster Parent Support Group get-togethers, agency-wide outings and free on-going training on a variety of pertinent topics. New families also have the opportunity to partner with a mentor family who is experienced in foster care.Back to top 4. Are you a faith-based agency? Do I have to be a member of a specific denomination? Covenant Kids is a Christian, faith-based agency. We are not affiliated with a specific denomination or church. We seek out families who have been involved in a church for at least 6 months because we feel that faith in God and the support of a church family can enhance a family's ability to care for abused and neglected children.Back to top 5. Who can be a foster/adoptive parent and what are their responsibilities? Foster and adoptive parent(s) need to be mature couples or singles over 21 years old who:
Foster/Adoptive Parent Responsibilities: 1. Toward Their Foster/Adoptive Child(ren)
2. Toward the Foster/Adoptive Child's Biological Family and Siblings
• Cooperate with the visitation plan, as outlined by CPS. • Be aware that the child will inherently love his/her biological family and there should never be an attempt to discourage this love. • Do not criticize the biological family, especially in front of the children. • Be sociable when in the presence of the biological family members. • Be aware that children must have sibling visits when a sibling group is not placed in the same home. • Be realistic – recognize that the biological family's problems may be a result of their life's circumstances and choices but that they are responsible for changing them. 3. Toward Covenant Kids, Inc.
• Adhere to all regulatory Standards and Covenant Kids, Inc. policies. • Work within the appropriate CK staff structure. • Cooperate with the supervision of Covenant Kids, Inc., as the agency bears ultimate responsibility for the child. • Maintain daily/weekly notes addressing the child's status regarding the following areas: medications, behavior, emotions, social and recreational participation, education, and family contact. • Provide timely feedback to Covenant Kids, Inc. regarding problems and needs of children in the home. • Contribute to case planning conferences, such as ISP, PPT, and school conferences. • Carry out the responsibilities listed in each Individual Service Plan for children in the home. • Maintain training hours on schedule. Attend in-service training seminars sponsored by Covenant Kids, Inc. and be aware of other in-service opportunities. • Recognize that confidentiality extends to the team…there should be no secrets from Covenant Kids. • Be open to training by means of trainer in the home or by visiting an experienced foster home to observe effective parenting with therapeutic foster children 4. Toward Their Own Family
• Recognize that your own children will have many sacrifices to make with this new, troubled individual joining the family. It is, therefore, important that they have the opportunity to participate in the decision to foster or adopt, and to make a personal commitment to be a foster/adoptive sister or brother. • Spouses need time together away from all children, including the biological children. The nuclear family needs time away from the foster children. Respite preserves families. • Be prepared for many incidents of behavior by the foster/adoptive child who tends to play one parent against the other. Take special time to reinforce cooperative parenting outside the hearing of the child so that a united front can be maintained. 6. Where do the children placed with Covenant Kids come from? Children
come to Covenant Kids through Child Protective Services (CPS). CPS
is the agency through the Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services that receives and investigates referrals of abuse and/or
neglect from the public. If it is determined from an investigation
that a child has been abused and/or neglected, and the parents or
guardians of the child have been determined as unable to provide
a safe environment for the child, CPS may remove the child from
his/her birth home. The State of Texas , through CPS, then becomes
the legal guardian of the child. CPS then seeks a foster home as
a temporary placement for the child. 7. How long does it take to become a foster/adoptive parent? The length of time needed to become a foster/adoptive
parent largely depends on the prospective parents' ability to meet
the requirements and criteria. It is the prospective parent's responsibility
to complete the Application, and provide Covenant Kids with copies
of documents needed. A list of these documents is included in your
foster/adoptive information packet. In addition, prospective parents
must participate in and successfully complete all components of
the mandatory pre-service training. Once documentation, reference
information, and pre-service training is complete, Covenant Kids
will conduct home study interviews, and render a decision. The verification
procedure usually ranges from two to three months, depending upon
the efforts put forth by the prospective parents, and the scheduling
of necessary training. 8. What is the Covenant Kids' Case Manager's role? The Covenant Kids' Case Manager will help parents secure medical/dental services, educational services, recreational activities and other services needed for the child. The case manager is able to help the parents in establishing and implementing a behavior management system within the home aimed at improving the child's behavior based on effective rewards and consequences. Through consulting with other team members, the case manager is able to provide insight into a child's behavior and emotional responses. The case manager will ensure that the parents are completing the necessary documentation required on each child in the home, and will monitor the home's compliance with Minimum Standards, YFT standards, Covenant Kids' policies and procedures, and the parents' training and certification requirements. The case manager typically visits the home twice every month. Additional responsibilities of the Covenant Kids Case Manager include:
• maintain and provide to CPS monthly documentation of the child's progress • participate in permanency planning team meetings at CPS • maintain regular contact with and provide support to the child and family • monitor and implement interventions outlined in the ISP to meet the child's ISP goals • facilitate Covenant Kids staffings for the child by scheduling and writing the ISP and distributing to the treatment team members Back
to top Covenant Kids families are responsible for purchasing
the children's clothes. The money foster parents receive from Covenant
Kids is considered a "reimbursement" for the care that
the parents provide to the child. This care includes: food, clothing,
shelter, as well as other incidentals such as allowances, school
pictures, yearbooks, etc. In some cases, families will receive a
small clothing allowance when it is determined that the child's
clothing inventory at the time of placement is inadequate. Children in foster care are assigned a Level of Care (LOC) or Service Level after being assessed by Youth For Tomorrow. There for four Levels: Basic, Moderate, Specialized, and Intensive. The lower the child's level, the less severe his/her needs are, and thus fewer services the child will need. Moderate and Specialized children are considered “Therapeutic” and may only be placed in verified therapeutic foster homes. All Covenant Kids families are verified as Therapeutic Homes; however, we do accept and place Basic children, as well. "Basic Care" children generally require
typical parenting related to a safe home environment, food, clothing
and shelter. They usually do not need therapy, psychotropic medications,
or a structured behavioral management system. “Moderate Care” children
demonstrate more aggressive behavior. They require more supervision
and often benefit from therapy, psychotropic medications and a structured
setting. “Specialized Care” children display more severe behavioral
problems and emotional needs. They require a high level of supervision
and any combination of more intensive therapeutic intervention (therapy,
psychotropic medication, structured behavioral management and recreational
programs in the home, and special educational services in the school,
etc.). “Intensive Care” children usually require a more restrictive
environment than a foster home can provide and are generally placed
in residential treatment centers or psychiatric hospitals. 11. How much supervision is necessary for the children, especially when they enter teenage years? Children placed in therapeutic care have unique
behavioral and emotional needs that require a higher degree of supervision,
as stated in their LOC. Age cannot be the sole determining factor
in judging the amount of supervision required for a child in care.
Any privileges of unsupervised time must be outlined in the child's
Individual Service Plan and approved by the Covenant Kids treatment
team and CPS caseworker. Covenant Kids' policy and the state's Minimum Standards both state that physical punishment or discipline, including spanking, swatting, and smacking, are not permitted under any circumstances. Parents must agree not to use physical discipline with their biological children, as well. Covenant Kids feels that consistent and equal discipline for all children in the home provides the most effective home environment. Prior to and following verification, Covenant Kids provides extensive training on alternative methods of discipline that can be effective for foster/adoptive children and for biological children in the home. For children that have been abused or neglected,
physical discipline is ineffective, and can be terribly damaging.
They may have become accustomed to severe physical and emotional
abuse or neglect to the point they no longer "feel" the
pain. Further, they may find pleasure or relief in the spanking
or swatting believing it is the only way they can get attention.
These children may try to push the new foster family into showing
them attention the only way they understand. Using alternative discipline
methods has two main benefits: it minimizes the risk of additional
injury to a child and it helps to break the intergenerational cycle
of physical abuse. 13. How much contact do foster parents have with the biological parents of the foster children? Many families are required to transport their
foster children to biological family visits. The visits are typically
arranged at the CPS office or in a neutral location to prevent the
foster parents from having to interact with the biological parents. Respite care is an excellent ministry for families who have a heart to bless children but who are not able to do foster care full time. Respite care providers are people qualified and trained to provide temporary supervision and care to foster children. Since therapeutic children sometimes have extreme behaviors and emotional needs, foster parents must secure certified respite care for these children, and may not use a babysitter (such as a family member or a friend). Because parenting a therapeutic foster child
24 hours a day, 7 days a week is physically and emotionally challenging,
there must be a time to rest and renew yourself and to be with your
own biological family. Covenant Kids encourages its families to
take advantage of respite care services on a regular basis. Specialized
training is required for all respite providers. 15. Would I be expected to take the full financial burden of caring for my foster children? Foster parents are reimbursed through Covenant
Kids for caring for each foster child based on a daily rate dependent
upon the child's "Level of Care." Children requiring the
most time, supervision, services and care are assessed at the highest
level, and therefore the daily reimbursement rate for these children
is larger. Reimbursement for foster care is provided on the 15th
of each month. 16. What kind of paperwork would I expect to have when I become a foster/adoptive parent? Documentation is the primary means of determining
a foster child's progress towards accomplishing goals outlined and
detailed in the Individual Service Plan. Such goals may include
decreasing particular, targeted negative behaviors and increasing
positive behaviors, as well as healing emotional issues from the
past. Foster parents are required to complete comprehensive paperwork
on each child. Each form has its own time frame for completion and
filing. Documentation maintained by the foster parents includes:
Weekly Foster Parent Logs, Medication Logs, Medical Exam reports,
Dental Exam Reports, Recreational Logs, and Overnight Logs. Case
managers are required to review this documentation and are available
to answer any questions and explain documentation procedures to
parents. Accurate documentation is a vital part of maintaining or
adjusting a child's level of care, and it is imperative that all
documentation be turned into the Case Manager in a timely manner
for review by the appropriate parties. Documentation for adoptive
children is less extensive. 17. What kind of continuing training and education is required once I become a foster/adoptive parent? Once you become verified as a foster/adoptive
parent, you are required to have a minimum of 50 hours annually
per single parent and 30 hours annually for each person in a married
couple. When parents complete training in excess of the minimum
requirements in a given year, they may carry some of those hours
over into the next year. Covenant Kids offers many training opportunities
throughout the year to enable parents to meet their training requirements.
Many training classes are held at Covenant Kids throughout the year,
and families may also earn hours by attending other accredited courses,
taking courses online, or by reading a pre-approved book on a relevant
topic. Covenant Kids offers a resource library containing books
and videos, as well. 18. What is the role and function of Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TDFPS), Child Protective Services (CPS), Youth for Tomorrow (YFT) and Covenant Kids (CK)? Child Protective Services is the division of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services that investigates allegations of abuse and neglect of children and determines whether the home environment is safe for that child. CPS becomes the Managing Conservator (legal guardian) once a child is removed from the biological home. Each child is assigned a CPS caseworker who continues to monitor the child while in a private agency home. The CPS caseworker is responsible for the legal portion of the child's case and for working with the biological family of the child. When a child requires a “Basic” level of care, CPS may choose to place that child in a CPS-verified foster home. When a child requires a “therapeutic” foster home, however, CPS utilizes foster homes through a private agency, such as Covenant Kids. Covenant Kids is licensed through the state as a private agency. We are responsible for maintaining and monitoring our foster and adoptive homes to the standards of the state. Covenant Kids is also responsible for ensuring that the children's needs are met in an appropriate home setting. The CK case manager acts as a liaison between the foster family, the child and the CPS case worker, providing documentation of the child' progress, maintaining regular contact with the CPS case worker, and participating in staffings at CPS which pertain to the child. Youth for Tomorrow is an agency
that provides assessment of children to determine the type of care
they need based on an assessment of their emotional, medical, behavioral,
and educational needs and level of supervision requirements. Based
on their assessment, YFT assigns each child a Level of Care (LOC).
Their LOC is used to determine the least restrictive and most appropriate
type of placement for a child (basic care foster home, therapeutic
foster home, psychiatric facility/hospital, or residential treatment
center) and what services need to be provided while in care. 19. Do foster parents ever adopt? In recent years, a high rate of foster parent
adoptions has become the norm. Foster families are often the adoptive
placement of choice for children in their homes. Some families know
before becoming verified as foster parents, that they want to eventually
adopt a child. These families will usually opt to become verified
to both foster and adopt. They may accept foster children into their
home who are free for adoption, or they may accept foster children
into their home who are not legally free for adoption, but whose
permanency plan is adoption. This dual verification increases the
opportunities for the family to successfully adopt. Children come
into the child protection system for protection against abuse and
neglect. Some of these children exhibit behavioral and emotional
problems. Foster parents who have parented and cared for these children
that decide to adopt have gained valuable training and experience
during the fostering time which will enhance their ability to successfully
parent these children and provide a permanent home for them. 20. Will I continue to receive LOC reimbursements after I adopt a foster child? You do not continue to receive a LOC reimbursement
from Covenant Kids once you have signed the adoption agreement.
Adoption means that you agree to take on the financial responsibility
of the child(ren), just as you would for your own biological child(ren).
When the adoption has been approved by TDFPS, the family may begin
to complete the application for an adoption subsidy. The subsidy
application will be reviewed by the subsidy committee. 21. What fees are involved in adopting a foster child? Covenant Kids does not charge families to complete
an adoption. However, the family is responsible for the attorney
and court fees associated with finalizing the adoption (typically
between $500 and $1,000). Covenant Kids will assist the family in
locating pro bono attorneys, when possible. If the child qualifies
for an adoption subsidy through the state and/or federal government,
the attorney and court fees can be reimbursed as part of the subsidy. 22. Are there any support services available to me after I adopt a foster child? Post adoption services are available to any family
who has legally finalized the adoption of a child under 18 who was
in the custody of TDFPS. Post adoption services may include the
following: Information and referral, Casework and service planning,
Parent education and support groups, Counseling, Respite care, Day
treatment, Residential placement services, 24-hour crisis intervention,
and Therapeutic camps. 23. Do you consider people who have a criminal history? CK looks at criminal records on a case-by-case basis. Criminal background checks are required for all families interested in foster care and adoption. Please notify CK of all prior offenses. We are not able to accept those with an open criminal history.Back to top 24. How many children can I have in my home? The number of children permitted in each home
is based on several factors: the evaluation and recommendations
of Covenant Kids staff, the foster parents' preferences, the perceived
capabilities of the foster parents, square footage of the home,
and the required parent-to-child ratio for supervision. Most homes
can provide care for 1-6 children, including any biological children.
With special approval, some homes are verified as Group Homes, allowing
them to care for more than 6 children. Additional minimum standards
apply for these home. 25. Do I have to take every child referred for my home, or do I have a say in which children I am willing to accept? Covenant Kids requests that every family voice
their preferences for the types of children the family feels they
can handle. Because Covenant Kids wants every placement to be a
"good match", the family is provided with all the available
information about a child. This information can include the child's
history, current needs, behaviors, and emotional status. This information
is provided prior to the placement. The family has the right to
reject a possible placement without fear of retaliation of any sort
from Covenant Kids. Families are encouraged to voice their concerns
about a placement before it occurs to help reduce the risk of any
additional disruptions in the child's life. 26. How long would a foster child be living in my home? The length of time a child lives in the home
is dependent on the child's case and permanency plan. The initial
plan for most children coming into foster care is reunification
with their biological family once progress has been made to ensure
a safe home environment for the child. If this is not possible,
every effort is made to locate a relative willing and able to take
the child. For children whose families are unable to provide a safe
environment, CPS will ask the court to terminate the rights of the
parents, thus freeing the child for adoption. These children remain
in foster care until a suitable adoptive home can be found for them.
In some cases, children may stay in long-term foster care until
the age of emancipation (age 18) or until graduation from high school.
At the time of placement, foster parents are informed of the child's
permanency plan, when possible, in an effort to provide the estimated
length of time the child will need foster care placement.
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