The child must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for Title IV-E, Medical Assistance Only (MAO), or state-paid foster care assistance.

1. (1) Responsibility for Placement and Care. The Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services TDPRS must have the responsibility for the child's placement and care. This requirement is met if:

   1. (A) the child is placed in TDPRS's managing conservatorship by written court order issued under Title 5, Texas Family Code;
   2. (B) the child is placed by TDPRS under the statutory authorization of §262.104, Texas Family Code; or
   3. (C) the child lives with his minor parent, and the minor parent is in TDPRS's managing conservatorship. The child and the minor parent must reside together in the same foster family home or child-care institution.
2. (2) Age if not attending school. The child must be less than 18 years old. When a youth in foster care turns 18, the youth's eligibility for foster care assistance ends on the last day of the month of his 18th birthday, unless the youth is attending high school or taking vocational or technical training classes as specified in paragraph (3) of this section.

3. (3) Age if attending school. A youth's eligibility for foster care assistance can be extended until the end of the month of his graduation from high school or the end of the month of his completion of vocational or technical training classes when the conditions specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph are satisfied or when the conditions specified in subparagraphs (B) or (C)(i) of this paragraph are satisfied in addition to the conditions in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

   1. (A) General conditions. The youth must:

      1. (i) already be receiving foster care assistance during the month of his 18th birthday;

      2. (ii) be:

         1. (I) attending high school as a full-time student (as defined by the school); or
         2. (II) taking vocational or technical training classes as an alternative to attending high school as a full-time student; and

      3. (iii) be scheduled to:

         1. (I) graduate from high school or complete the vocational or technical training classes specified in clause (ii) of this subparagraph before or during the month of his 19th birthday; or
         2. (II) graduate from high school before or during the month of his 20th birthday as specified in subparagraph (C)(i) of this paragraph.
   2. (B) Special condition affecting Title IV-E foster-care assistance. If a youth receives a general equivalency diploma (GED) and enrolls in vocational or technical training classes before his 18th birthday, the youth's eligibility for Title IV-E foster-care assistance may be extended until the end of the month in which he completes or withdraws from the vocational or technical training, as long as the youth is scheduled to complete the training before or during the month of his 19th birthday.

   3. (C) Special condition affecting state-paid foster-care assistance.

      1. (i) A youth who is scheduled to graduate from high school after his 19th birthday is eligible to receive state-paid foster-care assistance from the beginning of the first full month following his 18th birthday until the end of the month of his graduation or withdrawal, as long as the youth is scheduled to graduate from high school before or during the month of his 20th birthday.
      2. (ii) If a youth has been accepted for admission to a college or vocational program that does not begin immediately, the youth's eligibility for state-paid foster care assistance can be extended for a period not to exceed 3 and 1/2 months following the end of the month in which the youth graduated from high school or completed the GED. In these situations, the youth qualifies for state-paid foster care assistance at a level of care (LOC) 1.

4. (4) Placement. The child must be receiving care in Texas in a licensed, certified, or verified foster home or a licensed, private, nonprofit child-caring institution approved for TDPRS foster-care assistance, except in the following circumstances.

   1. (A) The child is in permanent foster family care and the foster family must move out of state. The foster family must secure foster care licensing in the new state of residence within 90 days, or the child's eligibility for foster care assistance will be terminated until appropriate licensing is secured. The TDPRS program director may grant one extension of no more than 60 days, but only if it is clear that the foster family will be licensed in the additional time.
   2. (B) The child must be removed from an out-of-state adoptive or foster care placement; and TDPRS determines that another out-of-state placement will better meet the child's needs than a return to Texas.
   3. (C) Under the service plan, the child is to be reunited with his biological family and must be moved out of state in order to live near the family.

   4. (D) If the child is placed in a licensed residential treatment center, the facility may be for profit. Children can be admitted to a for-profit licensed residential treatment center at LOC 5 and LOC 6 only. If a child's level of care is subsequently reduced to LOC 4 only, the for-profit provider may continue to care for the child, if doing so is in the child's best interest, until the child's functioning stabilizes and TDPRS can arrange a planned move to an appropriate placement.

      1. (i) the child's needs are best served by his remaining in the facility; and
      2. (ii) the facility agrees to continue serving the child at the new LOC.
5. (5) Resources. The child must not have equity in real or personal property in excess of $1,000.

6. (6) Income. The child's monthly income must be less than the daily rate paid to the child-care facility for the child's maintenance. Countable income includes supplemental security income (SSI); retirement, survivors, and disability insurance (RSDI); Veterans Administration (VA) benefits; any other dependent or survivor's income; funds resulting from the child's Indian heritage; or other income from private sources. The following types of income are not counted in determining eligibility:

   1. (A) Earnings of a child who is:

      1. (i) a full-time student;
      2. (ii) a part-time student and not a full-time employee. Full-time employment is 30 hours or more per week;
   2. (B) money given as a gift on an irregular basis by the parent to the child;
   3. (C) educational loans or grants, such as scholarships, to the child if provided for purposes other than regular maintenance;
   4. (D) child support payments received by or forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General.
7. (7) Lump-sum Income. Nonrecurring lump-sum payments received after certification for foster care assistance are generally considered as countable income. Exceptions are detailed in §§3.3208-3.3213 of this title (relating to Income) in the AFDC chapter of rules. If the lump-sum payment plus other countable income for a month is equal to or greater than the cost of foster-care maintenance, the child is ineligible for a period of time. The period of ineligibility is determined by dividing the amount of the lump-sum payment and other countable income by the monthly cost of care. The resulting whole number is the number of months the child is ineligible for foster care assistance. Any remaining amount from this division is considered as income the first month after the period of ineligibility.
8. (8) Social Security number. The child must have, or must have applied for, a Social Security number, if eligible.

Source Note:The provisions of this §700.316 adopted to be effective October 31, 1984, 9 TexReg 5431; amended to be effective August 1, 1988, 13 TexReg 3529; amended to be effective April 1, 1988, 13 TexReg 5975; amended to be effective May 1, 1989, 14 TexReg 1536; amended to be effective November 30, 1991, 16 TexReg 6213; transferred effective September 1, 1992, as published in the Texas Register September 11, 1992, 17 TexReg 6279; amended to be effective April 1, 1994, 19 TexReg 1546; amended to be effective January 1, 1998, 22 TexReg 12547; amended to be effective June 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 5452; amended to be effective October 1, 1998, 23 TexReg 9411.