(a) Caregivers meeting the eligibility requirements specified in §700.1003 of this title (relating to What are the eligibility requirements for caregiver assistance?) are eligible only if:
  (1) the household income of the caregiver does not exceed 300% of poverty, as determined by federal poverty guidelines;
  (2) the caregiver continues to comply with the signed caregiver assistance agreement; and
  (3) the children were placed in the caregiver’s home by DFPS.
(b) The monthly cash payment must be distributed to a caregiver on behalf of a child in the managing conservatorship of DFPS in the same manner as to a foster parent receiving foster care reimbursement.
(c) The monthly cash payment may not exceed 50% of the DFPS daily Basic Foster Care Rate paid to a foster home in accordance with §355.7103 of Title 1 (relating to Rate-Setting Methodology for 24-Hour Residential Child-Care Reimbursements). The amount of the monthly cash payment will be published on the DFPS website, and is paid per child in the managing conservatorship of DFPS who is placed in the home of the eligible caregiver.
(d) The monthly cash payment is provided to the caregiver for 12 months, except that DFPS may extend the monthly cash payment for an additional 6 months if DFPS determines good cause exists for the extension. "Good cause" refers to circumstances in which it is in the child’s best interest to remain in the home of a caregiver who is receiving monthly cash payments and is generally comprised of actions and steps necessary in order to achieve positive permanency for the child. Good cause may include:
  (1) the identification, release, or location of a previously absent parent of the child;
  (2) awaiting the expiration of the timeline for an appeal of an order in a suit affecting the parent-child relationship;
  (3) the provision of additional time for the caregiver to complete the approval process for adoption of the child;
  (4) awaiting the approval of a child’s placement from another state pursuant the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, as provided in Subchapter B, Chapter 162, Texas Family Code;
  (5) a delayed determination of the child’s Indian Child status, or awaiting the approval of the Indian Child’s Tribe, pursuant the Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 U.S.C. §1901, et seq.; and
  (6) any other circumstance surrounding the child or the caregiver that DFPS deems to necessitate the extension.
(e) Any one-time integration payment received by a caregiver who qualified for the payment between June 1, 2017, and September 1, 2017, under rules in existence at that time, must be offset against monthly cash payments for which the caregiver qualifies on or after September 1, 2017.

Source Note: The provisions of this §700.1007 adopted to be effective December 1, 2005, 30 TexReg 7486; amended to be effective September 1, 2017, 42 TexReg 4309