(a) An admission assessment must provide an initial evaluation of the appropriate placement for a child and ensure that you obtain the information necessary for you to facilitate service planning.
(b) Prior to a child's non-emergency admission, an admission assessment must be completed which includes:
  (1) The child's legal status;
  (2) A description of the circumstances that led to the child's referral for substitute care;
  (3) A description of the child's behavior, including appropriate and maladaptive behavior, and any high-risk behavior;
  (4) Any history of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect;
  (5) Any history of trauma;
  (6) Current medical and dental status, including the available results of any medical and dental examinations;
  (7) Current mental health and substance abuse status, including available results of any psychiatric evaluation, psychological evaluation, or psychosocial assessment;
  (8) The child's current developmental, educational, and behavioral level of functioning;
  (9) The child's current educational level and any school problems;
  (10) Any applicable requirements of §748.1219 of this title (relating to What are the additional admission assessment requirements when I admit a child for treatment services?);
  (11) Documentation indicating efforts made to obtain any of the information in paragraphs (1) - (10) of this subsection, if any information is not obtainable;
  (12) The services you plan to provide to the child;
  (13) Immediate goals of placement;
  (14) The parent's expectations for placement, duration of the placement, and family involvement;
  (15) The child's understanding of the placement; and
  (16) A determination of whether and how you can meet the needs of the child.
(c) Prior to completing a child's initial service plan, the following information must be added to the admission assessment:
  (1) The child's social history. The history must include information about past and existing relationships with the child's birth parents, siblings, extended family members, and other significant adults and children, and the quality of those relationships with the child;
  (2) A description of the child's home environment and family functioning;
  (3) The child's birth and neonatal history;
  (4) The child's developmental history;
  (5) The child's mental health and substance abuse history;
  (6) The child's school history, including the names of previous schools attended and the dates the schools were attended, grades earned and special achievements;
  (7) The child's history of any other placements outside the child's home, including the admission and discharge dates and reasons for placement;
  (8) The child's criminal history, if applicable;
  (9) The child's skills and special interests;
  (10) Documentation indicating efforts made to obtain any of the information in paragraphs (1) - (9) of this subsection, if any information is not obtainable;
  (11) The services you plan to provide to the child, including long-range goals of placement;
  (12) Recommendations for any further assessments and testing;
  (13) A recommended behavior management plan; and
  (14) A determination of whether and how you can meet the needs of the child, based on an evaluation of the child's special strengths and needs.
(d) You must attempt to obtain a signed authorization, so you can subsequently request in writing materials from the child's current or most recent placement, such as the admission assessment, professional assessments, and the discharge summary. You must consider information from these materials when you complete your admission assessment if they are made available to you.
(e) This rule does not apply to children receiving emergency care services. See §748.4231 of this chapter (relating to What information must an admission assessment include for a child needing emergency care services, including respite child-care services?).

Source Note: The provisions of this §748.1217 adopted to be effective January 1, 2007, 31 TexReg 7377; amended to be effective September 1, 2010, 35 TexReg 7497; amended to be effective January 1, 2017, 41 TexReg 10393; transferred effective March 9, 2018, as published in the Texas Register February 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 909; amended to be effective April 25, 2022, 47 TexReg 2248