Kinship Care Requirements in Texas: Background Checks, Home Study, and Benefits

To take in a relative’s child through the Texas foster system, you have to meet the kinship care requirements in Texas set by the Department of Family and Protective Services: qualify as a relative or close family connection, pass criminal and abuse-history checks for every household member age 14 or older, meet home safety standards, and complete a home study. A separate licensing track is available if you want the higher monthly payments and long-term benefits that come with being a verified foster home.

Who Can Be a Kinship Caregiver

Texas Family Code Section 264.751 defines a relative as someone related to the child by consanguinity — a blood relationship such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or adult sibling.¹ Relatives by marriage also count, and so do people who had a longstanding, significant relationship with the child before DFPS got involved — sometimes called fictive kin, which can include close family friends, godparents, or trusted neighbors.²

You generally need to be at least 18 and legally able to enter into agreements with the state. Immigration status is where many families get wrong information. Texas law does not require proof of citizenship or documented status for a relative to take placement of a child. But if you want to become a licensed kinship foster parent, DFPS policy requires that you be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or other qualified alien.³

Two Tracks: Informal Kinship Care and Licensed Kinship Foster Care

Before you start the paperwork, decide which path you’re on, because the requirements and the money both change. An informal kinship caregiver takes placement of a child in DFPS conservatorship but has not gone through the full foster home licensing process. A licensed kinship foster caregiver completes the verification process through a child-placing agency, which adds training hours, more detailed home inspections, and ongoing oversight.

Both paths require background checks and a home assessment. The financial gap is where they split:

An unlicensed kinship caregiver who meets income rules can receive about $23.45 per day per child (roughly $700 per month) in short-term assistance, then up to $500 per year per child for up to three years after that.⁴
A licensed kinship foster parent receives about $27.07 per day per child (roughly $812 per month) plus case management, and after six months of placement can qualify for Permanency Care Assistance paying roughly $400 per month per child with healthcare coverage until the child reaches adulthood.⁴

One boundary to know: if a child is placed with you informally through a safety plan or a parental child safety placement rather than through DFPS conservatorship, financial assistance generally isn’t available through either track.

Background Check Requirements

Every person age 14 or older living in the home has to go through background screening. That is lower than the “18 and older” threshold some sources describe.⁵ Screening includes an FBI fingerprint-based criminal history check, a Texas Department of Public Safety criminal records search, and a check of the Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry.⁶

FBI fingerprint checks also apply to frequent visitors who have lived outside Texas within the past five years, and to any babysitter age 16 or older who will have unsupervised access to the child.⁶

Offenses That Bar Placement

DFPS sorts criminal offenses by risk level. Certain serious offenses carry an “absolute bar,” meaning placement will not be approved unless a Regional Director grants an exception after a Kinship Safety Evaluation. Absolute-bar offenses include:

Homicide offenses: murder, capital murder, manslaughter, and criminally negligent homicide
Sexual offenses: sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, indecency with a child, and continuous sexual abuse of a young child or disabled individual
Offenses against children: injury to a child, abandoning or endangering a child, and sale or purchase of a child
Trafficking and kidnapping: aggravated kidnapping, trafficking of persons, and continuous trafficking
Family violence: continuous violence against the family and repeated violation of protective orders⁷

Low-Risk Offenses and the Right to Appeal

Not every conviction disqualifies you. Texas Family Code Section 264.754 recognizes a category of “low-risk criminal offenses” — nonviolent offenses, including fraud-based crimes, that DFPS determines pose a low risk to the child’s safety or placement stability.⁸ If you’re denied placement solely on a low-risk offense, you can appeal using DFPS Form 6583 within 15 days of the denial. A CPS manager designated by the Regional Director reviews when the conviction occurred, whether you have multiple low-risk convictions, and the likelihood of future issues.⁹ A successful appeal puts you back in consideration; DFPS still decides what’s in the child’s best interest.

Home Safety Standards

A caseworker walks through the home to verify it meets safety and health benchmarks. Each child needs an age-appropriate bed with clean linens and a designated space for personal belongings. The home must have running water, electricity, and heating, and pass a health inspection by the local health authority or an evaluation conducted by the child-placing agency, plus a fire inspection or fire safety evaluation.¹⁰

Specific safety rules you’ll be checked against:

Firearms stored separately from ammunition, locked, and out of reach.⁵
All medications in a locked box out of reach.
Infants sleeping alone, on their backs, in a crib on a firm surface, with no blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or co-sleeping.
Children never left alone in a bathtub or near bodies of water.
Working smoke detectors in hallways and sleeping areas.

Indoor and outdoor space can’t pose undue risks, and you’re expected to supervise based on each child’s developmental age and maturity.¹⁰

Documentation to Gather

Pull together valid government-issued identification for every adult in the household — a Texas driver’s license, state-issued ID card, or U.S. passport. DFPS conducts a financial assessment too, so expect to show recent pay stubs, your most recent tax return, or bank statements demonstrating you can cover basic living expenses for everyone, including the child.¹¹

DFPS may ask for a medical reference or signed statement from a licensed physician confirming you are physically and mentally capable of caring for a child. It isn’t always required, but the department reserves the right to request it.¹¹ Your caseworker provides the official DFPS kinship forms, including the Kinship Caregiver Home Assessment, which asks for employment history, monthly budget, and references from people outside the family. Report income and expenses carefully — those figures determine eligibility for financial assistance later.

The Home Study

After you submit your paperwork to your assigned caseworker or local regional office, DFPS schedules a home study. The caseworker makes in-person visits to inspect the physical home and interview household members, looking at both environmental safety and family dynamics: how household members interact, whether there’s a real bond with the child, and whether the home can absorb a new member.

The home study typically takes 30 to 60 days, longer if background checks are slow or the household situation is complex.⁵ DFPS then issues a written approval or denial. If approved, you receive documentation outlining your rights and responsibilities, and the placement becomes official.

Training After Placement

Once you’re a verified kinship caregiver, you must complete a two-hour Trauma-Informed Care training within 60 days of the first child being placed in your home. DFPS offers it online. Beyond that, annual refresher training is optional and left to your child-placing agency.¹² Full foster home licensing requires additional training hours beyond that two-hour minimum.

Financial Help You Can Qualify For

The short-term and long-term numbers follow the track you chose:

Unlicensed kinship caregiver: up to $23.45 per day per child (about $700 per month) while the child is in DFPS temporary conservatorship, you have a signed Kinship Caregiver Agreement, your household income is at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level, and you’ve passed a home study. Long-term support is $500 per year per child for up to three years.⁴
Licensed kinship foster caregiver: up to $27.07 per day per child (about $812 per month), plus case management. After maintaining placement for at least six consecutive months, you can apply for Permanency Care Assistance — roughly $400 per month per child plus healthcare assistance until adulthood.⁴

PCA has its own gates. You must be verified as a foster parent and serve as the child’s foster parent for at least six consecutive months before taking permanent managing conservatorship. The PCA agreement must be signed before the court grants permanent managing conservatorship, not after. The child must be in DFPS conservatorship, and DFPS must have determined that neither reunification nor adoption is an appropriate permanency option.²

Outside DFPS, other benefits may apply. TANF child-only grants count only the child’s income, so many kinship households qualify. If the child’s parent has died, the child may qualify for Social Security survivor benefits if they are 17 or younger, or 18-19 and enrolled in school full time.¹³ If the child lives with you for more than half the tax year, you may be able to claim the federal Child Tax Credit, provided the child is under 17, is your dependent, and meets the relationship test (which includes grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and eligible foster children).¹⁴

Medical Consent and School Enrollment

One of the first practical problems after placement is getting the child into school and to the doctor. Texas Family Code Chapter 34 lets parents execute an authorization agreement granting a nonparent relative authority to make medical and educational decisions. The DFPS form is Form 2638.¹⁵

For school enrollment, you don’t actually need that agreement. The Texas Education Agency has stated that a student who qualifies for enrollment under Texas Education Code Section 25.001 cannot be excluded because a kinship caregiver lacks an authorization agreement, power of attorney, or similar document.¹⁵ When the child is in DFPS conservatorship, the caseworker usually facilitates enrollment directly.

For medical decisions, it depends on legal status. If DFPS has conservatorship, the department generally holds consent authority but often delegates routine care decisions to the caregiver. If you’re caring for a child outside DFPS involvement, the Chapter 34 authorization agreement is the primary way to get medical consent authority.

If You’re Denied

A denial based on a low-risk criminal offense can be appealed. Submit DFPS Form 6583 within 15 days of the denial; a CPS manager designated by the Regional Director reviews when the conviction happened, whether there are multiple convictions, and other relevant circumstances.⁹

For absolute-bar offenses — violence against children, sexual assault, and the others listed above — the standard appeal doesn’t apply. Reconsideration happens only through a Regional Director exception following a Kinship Safety Evaluation, which is a much higher bar. If your denial is based on something other than criminal history, such as home safety deficiencies, you can often reapply after fixing the problem. Ask your caseworker exactly what needs to change before a new assessment can go forward.

1
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 264.751
2
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. 1600 Permanency Care Assistance PCA
3
Texas Children’s Commission. Undocumented Caregivers in Texas
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Texas Law Help. Kinship Care
5
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Kinship Manual
6
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Child Protective Services CPS Foster and Adoptive FAD Homes
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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Assessing Criminal History Offenses and Convictions for Kinship Placement and Kinship Foster and Adoptive Homes
8
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 264.754 – Caregiver Assistance Agreement
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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Form 6583 Request to Appeal a Denied Home Assessment Based on Criminal History
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Texas Secretary of State. Title 26 Health and Human Services Adopted Rules
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2Ingage. Kinship Caregiver Manual
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Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. 24-Hour Residential Child Care Requirements
13
Social Security Administration. Who Can Get Survivor Benefits
14
Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
15
Texas Education Agency. Authorization for Nonparent Relative