SECTION 749.2551. What is the maximum number of children a foster family home may care for?

(a) A one-parent foster family home with one additional full-time, live-in caregiver or a two-parent foster family home may care for up to six children, except as noted in the chart below:

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(b) A one-parent foster family home with one additional full-time, live-in caregiver or a two-parent foster family home may care for seven or eight children if all of the following criteria are met:

(1) Each foster or adoptive child that you place in the home that expands the home's capacity to more than six children is placed in the home for the purpose of allowing:

(A) Siblings to remain together;

(B) A child with an established meaningful relationship with the foster family (including a relative or close family friend) to remain with the family;

(C) A parenting youth in care to remain with the child of the parenting youth; or

(D) A family with special training or skills to provide care to a child who has a severe disability;

(2) The foster family home cares for a maximum of two infants and two more children less than six years old, unless the placement is necessary to maintain a sibling group of children;

(3) The foster family home cares for a maximum of three children with primary medical needs requiring total care, unless the placement is necessary to maintain a sibling group of children;

(4) You complete a Foster Family Home Capacity Exception Form with the appropriate signatures and place the form in the foster family home record; and

(5) After you complete the exception form, you lower the home's capacity each time a child listed on the form leaves the home until the home's capacity does not exceed six. This applies to both a foster child that leaves and a child who was placed in the home to be adopted leaves without the adoption being consummated.

(c) A one-parent foster family home or two-parent foster family home with one foster parent absent for extended periods of time (such as military service or out-of-town job assignments) may care for up to six children, except as noted in the chart below:

Attached Graphic

(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a), (b), and (c) of this section, a child-placing agency may request an exception for a foster family home to care for seven or eight children by using the process for requesting a variance that is in 26 TAC Chapter 745, Subchapter J of this title (relating to Waivers and Variances for Minimum Standards) and meeting the requirements of that subchapter. When processing a request for a variance related to a foster home's capacity, we will consider any limitations in state or federal law.

(e) The maximum number of children that a foster family home may care for includes any biological and adopted children of the caregivers who live in the foster home, any children receiving foster or respite child-care, and any children for whom the family provides day care. All adults in care must also be counted in the capacity of the home as required by §749.2651(b) of this chapter (relating to May a foster home accept adults into the home for care?).

Source Note: The provisions of this §749.2551 adopted to be effective December 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 9058; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909; amended to be effective July 29, 2018, 43 TexReg 4464; amended to be effective November 23, 2022, 47 TexReg 7728