Last updated: July 24, 2026
· Source: policies-procedures/Procedure/Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness Plan (DERPP) Procedure.md
REFUGE HOUSE, INC.
| Procedure Information |
Details |
| PROCEDURE NUMBER |
ADM-DERPP-01.1 |
| LEGACY CODE |
(none — net-new) |
| PRIMARY DOMAIN |
Administration |
| ADJACENT DOMAINS |
Foster Care; Operations |
| PROCEDURE TITLE |
Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness Plan (DERPP) Procedure |
| GOVERNING POLICY |
Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness Plan (DERPP) Policy — ADM-DERPP-01 |
| OPERATIONAL PLAN |
Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness Plan (DERPP) — ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN (/plans) |
| EFFECTIVE DATE |
5/22/2026 |
| DATE ADOPTED |
5/22/2026 |
| LAST UPDATED |
5/15/2026 |
| REVISION DATE |
7/13/26 (pending approval) |
| LAST APPROVED |
5/22/2026 |
| REVIEW DATE |
7/13/2027 |
| DEPARTMENT |
Foster Care Services / Administration |
| APPROVED BY |
Board of Directors |
| APPLICABLE T3C PACKAGES: |
APPLICABLE T3C ADD-ON SERVICES: |
| ☒ T3C Basic Foster Family Home |
☒ Transition Support Services for Youth & Young Adults |
| ☒ Substance Use Support Services |
☒ Kinship Caregiver Support Services |
| ☒ Short-Term Assessment |
☒ Pregnant & Parenting Youth or Young Adult |
| ☒ Mental & Behavioral Health |
|
| ☒ Sexual Aggression/Sex Offender |
|
| ☒ Complex Medical Needs or Medically Fragile |
|
| ☒ Human Trafficking Victim/Survivor |
|
| ☒ Intellectual or Developmental Disability (IDD)/Autism Spectrum Disorder |
|
| ☒ T3C Treatment Foster Family Care |
|
1. PURPOSE
This procedure operationalizes the DERPP Policy (ADM-DERPP-01) — it specifies the steps by which Refuge House builds, distributes, captures sign-off on, drills, documents, maintains, and reviews each home's disaster and emergency plan. The substantive plan content these steps act on is the DERPP Plan (ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN).
2. PROCEDURE
Each step names the responsible role, the cadence, and the standard or contract requirement it satisfies.
2.1 Build the home-specific plan
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 1 |
At verification, complete a written disaster and emergency plan for the home covering fire, severe weather, and transportation emergencies. |
Child placement staff w/ caregiver |
§749.2907(a) |
| 2 |
Confirm the plan includes relocation/evacuation to a designated safe area or alternate shelter, with specific provisions for children under 24 months, with limited mobility, or with mental/visual/hearing/medical needs, and how medications and equipment will be made available. |
Child placement staff |
§749.2907(a)(1)–(2) |
| 3 |
Record at least two current emergency contacts per child and the home's designated meeting place and out-of-area contact. |
Caregiver |
§749.2907(a) |
2.2 Distribute and capture sign-off
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard / Source |
| 4 |
Provide the foster-family rendition of the plan to all caregivers in the home. The shareable/sign-off copy is the portal version at foster-parent-portal/emergency-disaster-plan/ (Refuge-House-Emergency-Disaster-Plan-Foster-Families.pdf), generated from the canonical Plan. |
Program Director / staff |
§749.2907(b) |
| 5 |
Review the plan with caregivers and obtain a signed acknowledgement confirming they understand evacuation, supervision, and emergency-contact procedures. Provide the review in the child's communication method where applicable (kinship). |
Child placement staff |
§749.2907(b); §749 kinship plan review |
| 6 |
Submit the home-specific DERPP to the SSCC partner within 30 days of the Provider Services Agreement. |
Program Director |
RCC/SSCC PSA (see Crisis Mgmt §13) |
2.3 Practice (annual drills)
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 7 |
Each year, discuss the fire and weather plans and procedures with the children in care. |
Caregiver |
§749.2908(a)(1) |
| 8 |
Conduct a fire drill demonstrating a safe exit within three minutes. |
Caregiver |
§749.2908(a)(2) |
| 9 |
Conduct a severe-weather drill. |
Caregiver |
§749.2908(a)(3) |
| 10 |
Document each discussion and drill with date and time. For children with primary medical needs, use a substitute (e.g., large body pillow) where a drill would endanger or overstimulate the child. |
Caregiver |
§749.2908(b)–(c) |
2.4 Maintain and review
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 11 |
Keep a current copy of each home's plan at the main office, relevant branch office, or a central administratively designated location. |
Program Director |
§749.539 |
| 12 |
At least quarterly, evaluate and document any change to the home's disaster and emergency plans during the supervisory visit. |
Child placement staff |
§749.2815(c)(3) |
| 13 |
Maintain current fire/health inspection basis (external inspection current two years; staff fire-safety/health evaluation current one year). |
Child placement staff |
§749.2905 |
| 14 |
Review the plan with all caregivers and children annually and after any major life change or relocation; update and re-capture sign-off as needed. |
Child placement staff |
§749.2907; §749.2908(a) |
2.5 Activation and reporting
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 15 |
On a disaster or emergency that requires a home to close, report to Licensing and the placing entity as soon as possible, no later than 24 hours. |
Program Director / On-call |
§749.503(e)(2) |
| 16 |
During a Chapter 418 declared disaster, if the agency or a home is temporarily relocated, or care is provided at a location not on the verification, report the temporary change within 24 hours. |
Program Director |
§749.503(e)(3) |
| 17 |
Follow the threat-specific and situation-specific response steps and the communication tree in the DERPP Plan. |
All staff & caregivers |
ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN |
2.6 Covered hazards and provisioning (RCC §§1600–1610)
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 18 |
Confirm the agency and home-specific plans address the full RCC hazard list — acts of nature (flood, hurricane, fires, tornadoes), chemical or hazardous material spills, critical equipment failure, weapons of mass destruction events, and acts of terrorism — and that all staff and subcontractors know the plan and their role in executing it. (RCC §1600: policies and procedures "include, but are not limited to: Acts of nature…; Chemical or hazardous material spills; Critical equipment failure; Weapons of mass destruction events; and Acts of terrorism.") |
Program Director |
RCC §1600 |
| 19 |
Confirm the plan addresses mandatory evacuation if directed by local officials, emergency evacuation, emergency response, disaster planning training for all staff and caregivers, and "arrangements for adequate provision of: Staffing; Shelter; Food; Transportation; Education; Supplies; Emergency equipment; Emergency services; and Medically necessary equipment and supplies, or access to these items for the Child during an emergency." (RCC §1610) |
Program Director |
RCC §1610 |
2.7 Record preservation and child tracking in a disaster (RCC §1620)
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 20 |
Ensure contact information for each child's CPS Caseworker and the Caseworker's supervisor is available during a disaster. (RCC §1620) |
Child placement staff / On-call |
RCC §1620 |
| 21 |
Identify and track each child throughout the disaster and remain aware of each child's location at all times. (RCC §1620) |
Program Director / caregivers |
RCC §1620 |
| 22 |
Protect or recover each child's records and important paperwork, including but not limited to: electronic records; placement information; medical authorizations; Medicaid cards; STAR Health cards; and the child's Education Portfolio. (RCC §1620) |
Caregiver / child placement staff |
RCC §1620 |
2.8 Service continuity during and after a disaster (RCC §1630)
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 23 |
Maintain regular and crisis-response services for each child during and after a disaster, including plans "for maintaining any services required by a court order or the Child's service plan." (RCC §1630) |
Program Director / child placement staff |
RCC §1630 |
| 24 |
Ensure each child receives services to meet crisis-related needs (counseling) during and after the disaster. (RCC §1630) |
Child placement staff |
RCC §1630 |
| 25 |
Ensure each child receives medical services throughout the disaster, including but not limited to: "Providing the Child with medication as prescribed (including insulin and asthma-related treatments); Emergency care; and Medical Care if a Child has Primary Medical Needs." (RCC §1630) |
Caregiver / child placement staff |
RCC §1630 |
2.9 Disaster communications and post-disaster planning (RCC §§1640–1650)
| # |
Step |
Responsible |
Standard |
| 26 |
Provide DFPS with the names and telephone numbers of two agency emergency contacts "who will be available to DFPS at all times in the event of an emergency or disaster." These are agency-level contacts, distinct from the two per-child emergency contacts recorded at step 3. (RCC §1640) |
Program Director |
RCC §1640 |
| 27 |
Unless otherwise instructed by DFPS, during a disaster contact CPS at a minimum once a day until all children in care are accounted for. (RCC §1640) |
Program Director / On-call |
RCC §1640 |
| 28 |
Report the location and condition of each child as soon as the child reaches the evacuation destination using the online reporting feature on the DFPS website (enabled when mass evacuation of part of Texas is anticipated); if the website is unavailable, call the Statewide Intake hotline at 1-800-252-5400. (RCC §1640) |
Program Director / On-call |
RCC §1640 |
| 29 |
Maintain, and instruct each foster home in, the method by which the home contacts Refuge House administration "to inform them of the location and condition of each Child in care as soon as possible upon reaching an evacuation destination" (on-call line, with text/email fallback). (RCC §1640) |
Child placement staff / caregivers |
RCC §1640 |
| 30 |
Include post-disaster needs in the plan: providing emergency power, food, water, and transportation, and planning the return after an evacuation. (RCC §1650) |
Program Director |
RCC §1650 |
NOTE — canonical Plan document. The canonical DERPP Plan (ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN) is not currently present in the repository (/plans). The operational content required by RCC §§1600–1650 is therefore carried in this Procedure (steps 18–30) until the Plan document is restored; when it is, it must be updated to match these steps so the Plan, Policy, and Procedure stay in sync.
3. RELATED DOCUMENTS
- DERPP Policy (ADM-DERPP-01) — governing policy.
- DERPP Plan (ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN) — operating plan with threat/situation procedures, communication tree, contacts, and the required/recommended emergency kit.
- Crisis Management Procedure — §13 (home-level disaster response and SSCC submission).
Implementation guidance. Steps 4–5 (distribution + signed acknowledgement), 7–10 (annual drill logging), and 11–13 (central file + quarterly review currency) are being built into Pulse so each produces a dated, evidenced record against the cited standard. Until then, sign-off and drill documentation are captured in the home record.
DOCUMENT HISTORY
| Date |
Change |
By |
| 5/15/2026 |
Net-new procedure created as the operational layer of the DERPP. Reverse-engineered from 26 TAC §749 disaster/emergency standards and the RCC/SSCC submission requirement; each step cited to its source. |
Refuge House |
| 7/13/2026 |
FY26 RCC gap remediation (audit Package 7): added §§2.6–2.9 — hazard-list confirmation incl. critical equipment failure and WMD events (RCC §1600), §1610 provisioning enumeration, record preservation and child tracking (RCC §1620), service continuity during/after disaster (RCC §1630), agency emergency contacts to DFPS, daily CPS check-in, DFPS online evacuation reporting, foster-home→CPA check-in (RCC §1640), and post-disaster power/food/water/transport and return planning (RCC §1650). Noted that ADM-DERPP-01-PLAN is missing from the repo and must be restored/updated to match. Pending approval. |
Refuge House |