REFUGE HOUSE, INC.

1. PURPOSE

This policy establishes Refuge House's requirement to maintain disaster and emergency preparedness plans that protect the children in its care and sustain critical services during a disruption. It states what Refuge House requires and why; the operational detail of how the requirement is met lives in the companion DERPP Procedure (ADM-DERPP-01.1), and the full operating plan is the Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness Plan (ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN).

2. SCOPE

This policy applies to the Refuge House agency and to every certified/verified foster and adoptive home, across all T3C packages and add-on services, including kinship foster homes.

3. POLICY STATEMENTS

Each statement is anchored to the Minimum Standard or contract requirement it satisfies.

1. Written plans required. Refuge House maintains, and requires each foster home to have, written plans and procedures for handling potential disasters and emergencies — including fire, severe weather, and transportation emergencies. (26 TAC §749.2907(a))

2. Required plan content. Each home-specific plan must include (a) procedures for relocating children to a designated safe area or alternate shelter, with specific procedures for children under 24 months of age, children with limited mobility, and children who otherwise need assistance (e.g., mental, visual, hearing, or medical conditions); and (b) how medications and equipment will be made available to children with special needs or medical conditions. (26 TAC §749.2907(a)(1)–(2))

3. Caregiver competency. Foster parents and caregivers must know the procedures for meeting disasters and emergencies — including evacuation, supervision of children, and contacting emergency help. (26 TAC §749.2907(b))

4. Annual practice and documentation. Each home practices its plan every year by discussing fire and weather procedures with the children, conducting a fire drill demonstrating a safe exit within three minutes, and conducting a severe-weather drill; each discussion and drill is documented with date and time. (26 TAC §749.2908(a)–(b)) For homes serving children with primary medical needs, a substitute (e.g., a large body pillow) is used where a drill would endanger or overstimulate the child. (26 TAC §749.2908(c))

5. Recordkeeping and central availability. Refuge House maintains a current copy of each home's disaster and emergency plan at the main office, the relevant branch office, or a central administratively designated location. (26 TAC §749.539)

6. Ongoing currency. Any change to a home's disaster and emergency plans is evaluated and documented at least quarterly during supervisory visits. (26 TAC §749.2815(c)(3))

7. Inspection basis. The home's fire and health inspection currency that underpins its plan is maintained per standard (external fire/health inspection current two years; staff fire-safety/health evaluation current one year). (26 TAC §749.2905)

8. Disaster reporting and declared-disaster operations. A disaster or emergency that requires a foster home to close is reported to Licensing and the placing entity as soon as possible and no later than 24 hours. During a disaster declared under Chapter 418, Government Code, Refuge House may temporarily relocate the agency or a home, or provide care at a location not noted on the verification, and reports such temporary changes within 24 hours. (26 TAC §749.503(e)(2)–(3))

9. Contract submission overlay. A home-specific DERPP is submitted to Refuge House's SSCC partner(s) within 30 days of the Provider Services Agreement and reviewed annually thereafter. (RCC/SSCC Provider Services Agreement; see Crisis Management Procedure §13.)

10. RCC hazard coverage. The agency plan and each home plan address internal and external emergencies and disasters including, but not limited to, acts of nature (flood, hurricane, fires, tornadoes), chemical or hazardous material spills, critical equipment failure, weapons of mass destruction events, and acts of terrorism; in an emergency requiring evacuation or quarantine, Refuge House remains responsible for the safety and placement of all children in its care, and all staff and subcontractors must know the plan and be prepared to fulfill their role in executing it. Plan content addresses mandatory and emergency evacuation, emergency response, disaster planning training, and adequate provision of staffing, shelter, food, transportation, education, supplies, emergency equipment, emergency services, and medically necessary equipment and supplies (or access to them) for each child during an emergency. (RCC FY26 §§1600–1610)

11. Continuity of records, services, and communications. During and after a disaster Refuge House: identifies and tracks each child and each child's location, keeps CPS Caseworker/supervisor contact information available, and protects or recovers each child's records — including electronic records, placement information, medical authorizations, Medicaid cards, STAR Health cards, and the Education Portfolio (RCC §1620); maintains court-ordered and service-plan services, crisis counseling, and medical services including medication as prescribed (including insulin and asthma-related treatments), emergency care, and care for children with Primary Medical Needs (RCC §1630); provides DFPS the names and telephone numbers of two agency emergency contacts available at all times, contacts CPS at least daily until all children are accounted for, reports each child's location and condition on reaching an evacuation destination via the DFPS online reporting feature (or Statewide Intake, 1-800-252-5400, if the website is unavailable), and maintains methods for each foster home to check in with agency administration on reaching an evacuation destination (RCC §1640); and plans for post-disaster emergency power, food, water, and transportation and for the return after an evacuation (RCC §1650). Operational steps are in DERPP Procedure §§2.6–2.9.

SSCC-2INGAGE — addition start (provider-specific; remove this block if the 2INgage contract ends)

For the 2INgage network, Refuge House submits its DERPP to 2INgage within 30 days of execution of the Provider Services Agreement, provides annual staff and caregiver training on the plan and any updates, and cooperates with 2INgage emergency oversight. (2INgage Provider Manual Rev. 1.2026 §11, p.47)

SSCC-2INGAGE — addition end

SSCC-EMPOWER — addition start (provider-specific; remove this block if the EMPOWER contract ends)

For the EMPOWER network, Refuge House submits its DERPP to EMPOWER within 30 days of execution of the Provider Services Agreement and trains staff and caregivers annually on the plan and any updates (EMPOWER Provider Manual Rev. 1.2026 §11, p.49).

SSCC-EMPOWER — addition end

SSCC-OCOK — addition start (provider-specific; remove this block if the OCOK contract ends)

For the OCOK network, Refuge House submits its DERPP to OCOK within 30 days of execution of the Provider Services Agreement, trains personnel and caregivers at pre-service and annually, and ensures each foster/adoptive home develops its own DERPP (OCOK Network Management Operations Manual Rev. 7-1-2025 §4.06, p.69).

SSCC-OCOK — addition end

SSCC-BELONG — addition start (provider-specific; remove this block if the Belong contract ends)

For the Belong network, Refuge House submits its DERPP to Belong within 30 days of execution of the Provider Services Agreement (Belong Provider Services Agreement §4.25), with annual staff/contractor disaster-recovery training and biennial plan review (Belong Stage I & II Provider Manual, p.52).

SSCC-BELONG — addition end

SSCC-STFRANCIS — addition start (provider-specific; based on the publicly-sourced July-2020 SFCS manual — confirm against the current SFCS manual; remove this block if the SFCS contract ends)

For the SFCS network, Refuge House personnel acknowledge being informed of the most current agency DERPP on an annual basis (SFCS Placement Provider Manual, July 2020 §1.8, p.13). (DERPP submission mechanics fall in the manual's truncated §4.8 — confirm against the current SFCS manual.)

SSCC-STFRANCIS — addition end

4. ROLES

The Program Director ensures every certified home has a current, compliant plan and that copies are centrally maintained; child placement staff verify content and currency at supervisory visits; foster parents and caregivers maintain competency, conduct and document the annual drills, and keep their home plan current. Operational role detail is in the DERPP Procedure.

5. RELATED DOCUMENTS

• DERPP Procedure (ADM-DERPP-01.1) — operational steps for building, distributing, signing off, drilling, and reviewing the plan.
• DERPP Plan (ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN) — the consolidated operating plan; the foster-family sign-off rendition is the portal copy at foster-parent-portal/emergency-disaster-plan/.
• Crisis Management Procedure — §13 cross-references this policy for home-level disaster response.

Implementation guidance. This policy is the thin governance layer; it deliberately restates only what the Minimum Standards and contract require. Operational mechanics (distribution, sign-off capture, drill logging, central-file maintenance) are specified in the DERPP Procedure and are being built into Pulse so each requirement above maps to a tracked, evidenced step.

SSCC alignment (FY-26): 2INgage Provider Manual Rev. 1.2026 — §11 (p.47 DERPP submission/annual training/oversight). Cross-reference: FC-CQI-01 Continuous Quality Improvement Policy; FY-26 SSCC coverage tracker (temporary-reference/fy26-sscc-joint-monitoring/sscc-alignment/).

SSCC alignment (FY-26) — EMPOWER: EMPOWER Provider Manual Rev. 1.2026 — §11 (p.49 DERPP submission/annual training). Cross-reference: FC-CQI-01 Continuous Quality Improvement Policy; FY-26 SSCC variance matrix.

SSCC alignment (FY-26) — OCOK: OCOK Network Management Operations Manual Rev. 7-1-2025 — §4.06 (p.69 DERPP submission/annual training). Cross-reference: FC-CQI-01 Continuous Quality Improvement Policy; FY-26 SSCC variance matrix.

SSCC alignment (FY-26) — 4Kids: 4Kids4Families Joint Operations Manual (Dec 2025) / Subcontractor Agreement — reviewed; aligned (4Kids items here are casework/Minimum-Standards-level), no additional provider-specific provisions required in this document. Cross-reference: FC-CQI-01 Continuous Quality Improvement Policy; FY-26 SSCC variance matrix.

SSCC alignment (FY-26) — Belong: Belong Stage I & II Provider Manual (Aug 2025) / Provider Services Agreement — Agreement §4.25; p.52. Cross-reference: FC-CQI-01 Continuous Quality Improvement Policy; FY-26 SSCC variance matrix.

SSCC alignment (FY-26) — SFCS: SFCS Placement Provider Manual (July 2020, publicly-sourced — currency unconfirmed) / 2019 Affiliate Provider Agreement — Manual §1.8 (annual DERPP acknowledgment); submission detail needs current manual. Confirm against the current SFCS provider manual. Cross-reference: FC-CQI-01 Continuous Quality Improvement Policy; FY-26 SSCC variance matrix.

DOCUMENT HISTORY