About

Refuge House Knowledge Base

Refuge House, Inc.
Last updated: July 24, 2026 · Source: README.md

Refuge House Knowledge Base

Version-Controlled Policy, Procedure, and Regulatory Reference Repository for T3C Service Delivery

Table of Contents

Quick Start

What is This Repository?

This repository serves as the single source of truth for all Refuge House organizational policies, procedures, regulatory references, guides, and supporting materials for T3C (Texas Child-Centered Care) service delivery. It is designed to be:

Repository Structure: Regulatory vs Operational

This repository contains two distinct types of content:

📋 Regulatory Documents (regulatory-references/)

Purpose: Official requirements and specifications from regulatory agencies
Type: "What must be done" - The rules and standards we must comply with
Examples:

Location: regulatory-references/

🏢 Refuge House Operational Documents (all other folders)

Purpose: Refuge House's policies, procedures, and operational documents
Type: "How we do it" - Our implementation of regulatory requirements
Examples:

Key Relationship: Every Refuge House policy/procedure references specific regulatory requirements in its REFERENCES section, showing how we operationalize those requirements.

Key Entry Points

  1. New to T3C? Start with: T3C Basic Foster Family Home Support Services Policy
  2. Looking for a specific policy? See Document Index or use Search Guide
  3. Need regulatory references? See Regulatory References
  4. Package-specific content? See Package-Specific Resources
  5. Authoring mirrored HTML content? Start with cookbook/README.md

How to Use This Repository

Repository Overview

Repository Statistics

Repository Structure

refuge-house-knowbase/
│
├── 📋 REGULATORY DOCUMENTS (Requirements/Specifications)
│   └── regulatory-references/        # Official regulatory agency documents
│       ├── source-pdfs/             # Original PDF documents from agencies
│       │   ├── chapter-749-cpa.pdf  # TAC Chapter 749 (HHSC)
│       │   ├── t3c_blueprint.pdf    # T3C Blueprint (DFPS)
│       │   ├── 24_Hour_RCC_Requirements.pdf  # RCC Contract
│       │   └── [new regulatory documents]     # Additional regulatory docs
│       └── markdown/                # Searchable markdown indices & conversions
│           ├── TAC-749-INDEX.md     # TAC Chapter 749 index
│           ├── T3C-BLUEPRINT-INDEX.md # T3C Blueprint index
│           ├── RCC-REQUIREMENTS-INDEX.md # RCC Contract index
│           ├── tac-749-parts/       # Split Chapter 749 documents (in progress)
│           └── [new regulatory indices] # Indices for new regulatory docs
│
└── 🏢 REFUGE HOUSE OPERATIONAL DOCUMENTS (Implementation)
    ├── policies-procedures/          # How we operationalize requirements
    │   ├── Policy/                   # Refuge House policies
    │   ├── Procedure/                # Refuge House procedures
    │   ├── Policy-and-Procedure/     # Combined documents
    │   └── Package-Specific/         # T3C package-specific implementations
    ├── guides/                       # Organizational guides
    ├── job-descriptions/             # Position descriptions
    ├── models/                       # Treatment models (TBRI®)
    ├── plans/                        # Implementation and credentialing plans
    └── historical-docs/              # Legacy documents
        ├── source-documents/        # Original DOCX files
        └── markdown-conversions/    # Converted markdown files

Key Distinction:

Core Organizational Structure

Umbrella Documents

These foundational documents establish the framework for all T3C service delivery:

1. T3C Basic Foster Family Home Support Services Policy (FC-T3C-01)

Related Documents:

2. T3C Discharge and Permanency Planning Policy (FC14-01)

Related Documents:

3. Admission Assessment Policy (FC2-01)

Related Documents:

4. Individual Service Planning Policy (FC3-01)

Related Documents:

Directory Guide

Policies & Procedures

Policy Folder (policies-procedures/Policy/)

Document Name Policy Number Effective Date Revision Applies To Keywords
T3C Basic Foster Family Home Support Services Policy FC-T3C-01 5/25/25 7/14/25.2 All T3C Basic + Add-Ons #T3C-basic #umbrella #credentialing
Admission Assessment Policy FC2-01 5/15/25 7/10/25.3 Basic, MH, IDD #admission #assessment #TBRI
Individual Service Planning Policy FC3-01 - - All Packages #service-planning #CANS
T3C Discharge and Permanency Planning Policy FC14-01 9/1/24 12/27/24.1 All Packages #discharge #permanency
Home Studies Policy FC-17 2/20/12 7/16/25.1 All Packages #home-studies #credentialing
Recruitment and Retention of Foster Families Policy FC-16 - - All Packages #recruitment #retention
Physical and Mental Health Care Policy FC10-01 - - All Packages #healthcare #STAR-health
Family Connections and Engagement Policy FC7-01 - - All Packages #family-engagement #visitation
Alternative and Substitute Care Policy FC18-01 - - All Packages #alternative-care #substitute-care
Information Technology Data Management and Security Policy IT-001 - - All Operations #IT #data-security #privacy
REFUGE HOUSE FC-IDD-01 INTELLECTUAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY (IDD):AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER SUPPORT SERVICES POLICY FC-IDD-01 - - IDD/Autism Package #IDD #autism #developmental-disability

Procedure Folder (policies-procedures/Procedure/)

Document Name Procedure Number Related Policy Keywords
Admission Assessment Procedure FC2-01.1 FC2-01 #admission #assessment #procedure
Admission Screening Procedure FC1-01.1 FC1-01 #screening #intake
Admission Matching & Criteria for Child Placement Procedure FC6-01.1 FC6-01 #matching #placement
Individual Service Planning Procedure FC3-01.1 FC3-01 #service-planning #procedure
Family Connections and Engagement Procedure FC7-01.1 FC7-01 #family-engagement #procedure
Foster Home Studies Procedure FC17-01.1 FC-17 #home-studies #credentialing
Recruitment and Retention of Foster Families Procedure FC-16.1 FC-16 #recruitment #procedure
Physical and Mental Health Care Procedure FC10-01.1 FC10-01 #healthcare #procedure
STAR Health Coordination Procedure FC10-01.2 FC10-01 #STAR-health #coordination
Alternative and Substitute Care Procedure FC18-01.1 FC18-01 #alternative-care #procedure
Billing System and Foster Parent Pass-Through Procedures - - #billing #financial
IT System Access and Security Procedures IT-001-01.1 IT-001 #IT #security #procedure
T3C Discharge and Permanency Planning Procedure FC14-01.1 FC14-01 #discharge #permanency #procedure

Policy-and-Procedure Folder (policies-procedures/Policy-and-Procedure/)

Document Name Policy/Procedure Number Keywords
Aftercare Services Policy and Procedure FC-AF-01 / FC-AF-01.1 #aftercare #transition #mandatory
Crisis Management Policy and Procedure FC-04 #crisis #emergency #TBRI #de-escalation

Package-Specific Resources

Located in policies-procedures/Package-Specific/, these documents provide detailed requirements for specific T3C service packages:

Document Name Package Policy Number Keywords
FC-MH-01 MENTAL & BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT SERVICES Mental & Behavioral Health FC-MH-01 #mental-health #behavioral-health #treatment-director #therapy
FC-IDD-01 INTELLECTUAL OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY (IDD):AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER SUPPORT SERVICES IDD/Autism FC-IDD-01 #IDD #autism #developmental-disability #RN
Kinship Caregiver Support Services Add-On Policy Kinship Add-On FC-KIN-01 #kinship #relative-care #add-on
Kinship Caregiver Support Services Add-On Procedure Kinship Add-On FC-KIN-01.1 #kinship #procedure
YOUTH TRANSITION SUPPORT SERVICES ADD-O Transition Add-On - #transition #PAL #independent-living #add-on
PREGNANT & PARENTING YOUTH SUPPORT SERVICES ADD-ON Pregnant & Parenting Add-On - #pregnant #parenting #dual-generation #add-on

Guides

Document Name Type Location
Personnel Manual and HR Handbook HTML guides/

Job Descriptions

Located in job-descriptions/, these documents describe roles and responsibilities:

Document Name Role Type Keywords
Aftercare Case Manager Case Management #aftercare #case-manager
Aftercare Coordinator Case Management #aftercare #coordinator
Behavior Support Specialist_Mentor Clinical Support #BSS #mentor #behavioral-support
Billing Claims Administrator Administrative #billing #claims
Caregiver_Staff Recruitment & Retention Specialist Recruitment #recruitment #retention
Case Manager - Child Placing Agency _ Case Specialist Case Management #case-manager #CPA
Continuous Quality Improvement Coordinator Quality Assurance #CQI #quality-improvement
Cross System Coordinator Coordination #coordination #systems
Education Liaison Education #education #liaison
Foster Family Development & Retention Manager Management #foster-family #retention
HOME AND PLACEMENT AIDE CONTRACTOR Support Staff #aide #contractor
Human Resources, Quality Assurance Director Management #HR #QA #director
Intake_Placement Specialist Intake #intake #placement
Licensed Child Placing Agency Administrator (LCPAA) Administration #LCPAA #administrator
Program Director and Licensed Child Placing Agency Administrator Management #program-director #LCPAA
Program Director Management #program-director
Treatment Director - Part-Time Clinical #treatment-director #clinical
Treatment Director Clinical #treatment-director #clinical

Models

Document Name Model Type Keywords
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) as Evidence-Informed Treatment Model Treatment Model #TBRI #trauma-informed #evidence-based #treatment-model

Plans

Located in plans/, these documents outline implementation strategies and credentialing programs:

Document Name Plan Type Keywords
Behavioral Support Specialist_Mentor & Crisis Management Staff Credentialing Plan #BSS #crisis-management #credentialing
FOSTER FAMILY RE-ASSESSMENT AND RE-CREDENTIALING PLAN Credentialing Plan #re-credentialing #foster-family
Refuge House Behavioral Support Specialist_Mentor Credentialing Program Credentialing Program #BSS #credentialing-program
Refuge House Crisis Management Staff Credentialing Program Credentialing Program #crisis-management #credentialing
Refuge House T3C Credentialing Implementation Plan Implementation Plan #T3C #credentialing #implementation
T3C CRISIS RESPONSE TRAINING CURRICULUM Training Curriculum #crisis #training #curriculum
Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) Implementation Implementation Plan #TBRI #implementation
Universal Human Trafficking Prevention Training Procedure Training Procedure #human-trafficking #prevention #training

Regulatory References

📋 Regulatory Documents (Requirements/Specifications)

Located in regulatory-references/, these are official documents from regulatory agencies that define requirements Refuge House must comply with. See regulatory-references/README.md for complete documentation.

Three Primary Regulatory Frameworks

Refuge House must comply with three primary regulatory frameworks:

  1. TAC Chapter 749 (HHSC) - Administrative code establishing minimum standards for all Child Placing Agencies
  2. T3C Blueprint (DFPS) - System specifications for Texas Child-Centered Care service delivery
  3. RCC Contract Requirements (RCC) - Contractual obligations for residential child care operations

How They Work Together:

Note: Many CPAs operate under RCC contracts and must comply with all three frameworks simultaneously.

Source PDFs: Located in regulatory-references/source-pdfs/

Document Name Agency Document Type Pages Last Updated Status Conversion
chapter-749-cpa.pdf HHSC TAC Chapter 749 503 November 2025 ✅ Indexed ⏳ Split conversion (13 parts)
2026_04_t3c_blueprint.pdf DFPS T3C Blueprint 516 April 2026 ✅ Indexed ✅ Indexed (page-based)
24_Hour_RCC_Requirements.pdf RCC Contract 113 June 2021 ✅ Indexed ✅ Single file (no splitting)
24_Hour_RCC_Requirements_Addendum.pdf RCC Addendum - - ✅ Indexed ✅ Indexed

Note: Searchable markdown indices for these PDFs are available in regulatory-references/markdown/ (see Regulatory Reference Indices).

Regulatory Document Conversion Status

TAC Chapter 749 (503 pages):

RCC Contract Requirements (113 pages):

T3C Blueprint (~400+ pages):

Historical Documents

Located in historical-docs/:

Document Index

Complete Document Inventory

Document Name Type Policy/Proc # Folder T3C Packages Revision Date
T3C Basic Foster Family Home Support Services Policy Policy FC-T3C-01 Policy/ All Basic + Add-Ons 7/14/25.2
Admission Assessment Policy Policy FC2-01 Policy/ Basic, MH, IDD 7/10/25.3
Individual Service Planning Policy Policy FC3-01 Policy/ All Packages -
T3C Discharge and Permanency Planning Policy Policy FC14-01 Policy/ All Packages 12/27/24.1
Home Studies Policy Policy FC-17 Policy/ All Packages 7/16/25.1
Recruitment and Retention of Foster Families Policy Policy FC-16 Policy/ All Packages -
Physical and Mental Health Care Policy Policy FC10-01 Policy/ All Packages -
Family Connections and Engagement Policy Policy FC7-01 Policy/ All Packages -
Alternative and Substitute Care Policy Policy FC18-01 Policy/ All Packages -
Information Technology Data Management and Security Policy Policy IT-001 Policy/ All Operations -
REFUGE HOUSE FC-IDD-01 Policy Policy FC-IDD-01 Policy/ IDD/Autism -
Admission Assessment Procedure Procedure FC2-01.1 Procedure/ Basic, MH, IDD 7/10/25.3
Admission Screening Procedure Procedure FC1-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages 5/15/25
Admission Matching & Criteria Procedure Procedure FC6-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages -
Individual Service Planning Procedure Procedure FC3-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages -
Family Connections and Engagement Procedure Procedure FC7-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages -
Foster Home Studies Procedure Procedure FC17-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages 8/25/25.1
Recruitment and Retention Procedure Procedure FC-16.1 Procedure/ All Packages -
Physical and Mental Health Care Procedure Procedure FC10-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages -
STAR Health Coordination Procedure Procedure FC10-01.2 Procedure/ All Packages -
Alternative and Substitute Care Procedure Procedure FC18-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages -
Billing System Procedures Procedure - Procedure/ All Operations -
IT System Access and Security Procedures Procedure IT-001-01.1 Procedure/ All Operations -
T3C Discharge and Permanency Planning Procedure Procedure FC14-01.1 Procedure/ All Packages -
Aftercare Services Policy and Procedure Combined FC-AF-01 / FC-AF-01.1 Policy-and-Procedure/ All Packages (Mandatory for MH/IDD) 12/27/24.1
Crisis Management Policy and Procedure Combined FC-04 Policy-and-Procedure/ Basic, MH, IDD -
FC-MH-01 Mental & Behavioral Health Package-Specific FC-MH-01 Package-Specific/ Mental & Behavioral Health -
FC-IDD-01 IDD/Autism Package-Specific FC-IDD-01 Package-Specific/ IDD/Autism -
Kinship Caregiver Support Services Add-On Policy Package-Specific FC-KIN-01 Package-Specific/ Kinship Add-On -
Kinship Caregiver Support Services Add-On Procedure Package-Specific FC-KIN-01.1 Package-Specific/ Kinship Add-On -
Youth Transition Support Services Add-On Package-Specific - Package-Specific/ Transition Add-On -
Pregnant & Parenting Youth Support Services Add-On Package-Specific - Package-Specific/ Pregnant & Parenting Add-On -

Search Guide

Finding Content by Topic

By Function/Process

By T3C Package

By Regulatory Requirement

By Document Type

File Naming Conventions

Current Naming Patterns

Policies

Procedures

Policy Numbers

Procedure Numbers

Recommendations

The current naming convention is generally consistent but could benefit from:

  1. Standardized Policy Number Prefixes: Consider using consistent prefixes (e.g., all use FC-##-01 format)
  2. File Name Alignment: Consider including policy numbers in filenames for easier searching (e.g., FC2-01 Admission Assessment Policy.md)
  3. Package-Specific Naming: Consider consistent format for package documents (e.g., FC-MH-01 Mental & Behavioral Health Support Services Policy.md)

Note: These are recommendations only. No files will be renamed without explicit approval.

Document Access Control (Compliance API)

The Refuge House Compliance API publishes this knowbase on its human-facing site (/site-index, /public/documents, /public/files, /review/*). Each document controls who may view it through an access field in YAML frontmatter. The goal is anti-scraping, not secrecy.

Tiers

access value Who can view it on the site
public Anyone (e.g. foster-parent-facing material)
reviewer Refuge House staff, or anyone holding a current reviewer link
staff Refuge House staff only (Entra sign-in)

How to tag a document

Add frontmatter to the very top of the .md file:

---
access: public
---
# Document Title

...

The frontmatter is stripped before the document is rendered or used by the AI, so it never appears in published output.

Default is staff (fail-closed)

Any document without a valid access value is treated as staff — visible only to signed-in Refuge House staff. This is deliberate: a newly added or untagged document is never exposed by accident. To make a document available more widely you must tag it explicitly:

Binary files (PDFs, images) carry no frontmatter; their tier is set by directory in the Compliance API (utils/access.js). Static HTML pages under static-pages/ are served as public foster-parent pages.

Rollout note: the Compliance API ships with gating off until its REVIEWER_KEY_SECRET is configured, so adding access: frontmatter is safe to do incrementally before the gate is switched on. See the API's SETUP.md ("Human-Facing Site Auth") for the enforcement sequence.

AI Agent Integration

For Claude Projects

Recommended Folder Priority for Loading

  1. Primary (Essential):

    • policies-procedures/Policy/ - All policies
    • policies-procedures/Procedure/ - All procedures
    • policies-procedures/Package-Specific/ - Package-specific requirements

  2. Secondary (Supporting):

    • policies-procedures/Policy-and-Procedure/ - Combined documents
    • models/ - TBRI® treatment model
    • regulatory-references/markdown/ - Regulatory indices (when available)

  3. Tertiary (Reference):

    • plans/ - Implementation plans
    • job-descriptions/ - Role descriptions
    • guides/ - Organizational guides

Recommended Project Structure

Claude Project: Refuge House T3C Knowledge Base
├── Core Policies (Priority 1)
├── Core Procedures (Priority 1)
├── Package-Specific Documents (Priority 1)
├── Regulatory References (Priority 2)
├── Treatment Model (Priority 2)
└── Supporting Documents (Priority 3)

For Cursor Integration

How Cursor Should Reference This Repo

  1. Policy Awareness: When coding or documenting, reference relevant policy numbers (e.g., "Per FC2-01, admission assessments must...")
  2. Regulatory Compliance: Always check regulatory references in policy documents before implementing changes
  3. Cross-Reference Checking: Verify that related procedures match their parent policies

Suggested Prompt Patterns

Search Pattern Guidance

Sample Queries That Should Work Well

  1. Package-Specific Content:

    • "Find all Mental & Behavioral Health requirements"
    • "What are the IDD/Autism admission requirements?"
    • "Show me Transition Support Services add-on requirements"

  2. Functional Searches:

    • "How do I complete an admission assessment?"
    • "What is the discharge planning process?"
    • "What are the aftercare service requirements?"

  3. Regulatory Searches:

    • "What T3C Blueprint pages apply to Basic Foster Care?"
    • "What TAC sections govern service planning?"
    • "What are the RCC Contract requirements?"

  4. Cross-Reference Searches:

    • "What procedures relate to FC2-01?"
    • "What policies reference T3C Blueprint page 47?"
    • "Show me all documents that mention CANS 3.0"

Maintenance & Updates

How Files Are Organized for Growth

The repository structure is designed to accommodate growth:

  1. Policies & Procedures: Organized by type (Policy/, Procedure/, Policy-and-Procedure/) and function
  2. Package-Specific: Separate folder for T3C package requirements
  3. Regulatory References: Centralized location with PDFs and markdown indices
  4. Supporting Documents: Separate folders for plans, job descriptions, guides, and models

Where to Add New Content

Version Control Practices

  1. Commit Messages: Use format: docs: [brief description] - [date]
  2. Revision Tracking: Document revision dates in policy/procedure headers
  3. Change Log: Update this README when adding significant new documents
  4. Branch Strategy: Use feature branches for major updates, merge to main after review

Updating This README

When adding new content:

  1. Add to Directory Guide: Update the relevant section table
  2. Add to Document Index: Include in the complete inventory table
  3. Update Statistics: Adjust file counts in Repository Overview
  4. Add Keywords: Include appropriate tags for searchability
  5. Cross-Reference: Link related documents in the Core Organizational Structure section

Regulatory Reference Indices

Status: ✅ Complete

Searchable markdown indices are available for each regulatory PDF in regulatory-references/markdown/:

These indices include:

TAC Chapter 749 Split Documents

The Chapter 749 document is being converted to markdown format, split into 13 parts:

Change Log / Recent Updates

2025 Updates

Organization Improvements

Questions or Issues?

For questions about this repository or to report issues:

  1. Check the Search Guide for finding specific content
  2. Review the Document Index for complete inventory
  3. Consult regulatory references in individual policy documents
  4. Contact the repository maintainer for clarification

Last Updated: January 2025
Repository Maintainer: Refuge House, Inc.
Version: 1.0

© 2026 Refuge House, Inc. · This is a controlled document. Always refer to the current version.