REFUGE HOUSE, INC.

Procedure Information	Details
PROCEDURE NAME	Extended Foster Care and Transition Age Services Procedure
PROCEDURE NUMBER	FC-EFC-01.1
RELATED POLICY	FC-EFC-01 Extended Foster Care and Transition Age Services Policy
ORIGINATED	7/26
EFFECTIVE DATE	7/13/26 (pending ED approval)
LAST UPDATED	7/13/2026

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

The age-triggered steps below apply to any youth meeting the age or selection trigger, whatever T3C package governs the placement.

PURPOSE:

To operationalize FC-EFC-01: the VEFC agreement tracking clock and 2-calendar-day notice (RCC §1431), the 30-calendar-day participation-violation notice (RCC §1432), Forms 2540/2532 record-keeping (RCC §8300), the §8500 support duties including the Trial Independence return path and FFCC information, and NYTD survey support (RCC §8400). Transition planning and aftercare steps live in FC-YTSS-01 and FC-AF-01 and are not repeated here.

VEFC AGREEMENT TRACKING AND THE 2-DAY NOTICE (RCC §1431):

#	Who	Action	Regulatory / Source
1	Case Manager	For every youth in care age 17 or older, calendar the youth's 18th birthday and a checkpoint at 10 calendar days before it.	RCC §1431 (trigger date); RH operational standard
2	Case Manager	At the 10-day checkpoint, verify whether a Voluntary Extended Foster Care Agreement (Form 2540) signed by the child has been completed.	RCC §1431
3	Case Manager	If the signed agreement has not been completed at the 10-day checkpoint, send written notice to the child's CPS Caseworker within 2 calendar days; document in the child's record the efforts made to obtain a copy of the signed agreement.	RCC §1431
4	Case Manager	For every youth 18 to 22 participating in Extended Foster Care, verify at admission (and confirm during monthly contact review) that the signed Form 2540 has been received; if it has not, send written notice to the CPS Caseworker within 2 calendar days and document the efforts made to obtain it.	RCC §1431; FC-WCM-01.1
5	CPMS	Review each §1431 notice and the documented efforts; confirm the notice date is within the 2-calendar-day window.	RCC §1431

PARTICIPATION MONITORING AND THE 30-DAY NOTICE (RCC §1432):

#	Who	Action	Regulatory / Source
6	Case Manager	Through the monthly face-to-face contacts (FC-WCM-01.1), note whether each youth 18–22 who has requested Extended Foster Care or Return for Extended Foster Care is participating in the required school, work, or other activity.	RCC §1432; FC-WCM-01.1
7	Case Manager	When the youth is not participating, notify the CPS Caseworker in writing within 30 calendar days; file the notice in the youth's record.	RCC §1432
8	CPMS	Track open §1432 clocks (date non-participation identified → notice due date) on the compliance calendar; escalate any clock approaching day 30 without a sent notice.	RCC §1432; RH operational standard

RECORD-KEEPING — FORMS 2540 AND 2532 (RCC §8300):

#	Who	Action	Regulatory / Source
9	Case Manager	For every youth ages 18 up to 22, file the completed Form 2540 (Voluntary Extended Foster Care Agreement) and Form 2532 (Trial Independence: Ability to Return for Extended Foster Care) in the child's record in Radius as each is received.	RCC §8300 (EFC subsection)
10	CPMS	At record review, verify both forms are present for each 18–22 youth (a missing 2540 also triggers step 4).	RCC §§8300, 1431

EFC SUPPORT DUTIES (RCC §8500):

#	Who	Action	Regulatory / Source
11	Case Manager / Foster Parent	Offer (or ensure the Caregiver offers) to help the youth maintain documentation, such as school transcripts or pay stubs, demonstrating the youth remains qualified for Extended Foster Care; document the offer and any assistance in the Contact Log.	RCC §8500
12	Case Manager / Foster Parent	When CPS requests it, offer to help the youth complete Form 2540; document the assistance.	RCC §8500
13	Case Manager	If a youth under 21 seeks to return to Extended Foster Care during or after the Trial Independence period, direct the youth to contact regional DFPS Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) staff (contacts on the Texas Youth Connection website); document the referral in the youth's record.	RCC §8500
14	Case Manager / Foster Parent	Make the FFCC healthcare-coverage information stated in RCC §8500 available to the youth (coverage through age 25 for youth who age out on Medicaid; automatic STAR Health enrollment at 18–20 with plan-switch options; plan choice or STAR+PLUS at 21+); document that the information was provided.	RCC §8500

NYTD SURVEY SUPPORT (RCC §8400):

#	Who	Action	Regulatory / Source
15	Case Manager	Maintain contact with regional PAL staff to determine whether a youth has been selected to take the NYTD survey (PAL contact information on the Texas Youth Connection website).	RCC §8400
16	Case Manager / Foster Parent	For a selected youth, provide any support necessary, including: on-going computer access during the reporting period; help registering with NYTD on the Texas Youth Connection website; help maintaining a personal email address for NYTD updates; help entering NYTD contact updates; and help completing the survey within the required timeframe.	RCC §8400
17	Case Manager	Document the selection, the supports provided, and the survey completion date in the youth's record.	RCC §8400

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE:

Being built into Pulse: automatic tracking of each youth's 18th-birthday clock with the 10-days-prior VEFC checkpoint (step 2), 2-calendar-day notice timers with CPMS escalation (steps 3–4), the §1432 30-day clock (step 8), a Forms 2540/2532 presence check on the 18–22 record profile (step 10), and NYTD selection flags (step 15). Until this is live, steps 1–17 are tracked manually by the Case Manager on the compliance calendar with CPMS review.

REFERENCES:

Same as Policy FC-EFC-01 — principally RCC §1431 (incomplete VEFC agreement notice), §1432 (EFC participation violations), §8300 EFC subsection (Forms 2540/2532), §8400 (NYTD), §8500 (EFC/Return for EFC, Trial Independence, FFCC; 40 TAC §§700.316, 700.346); the Extended Foster Care Resource Guide and Trial Independence and Return Resource Guide referenced by §8500. Transition planning: FC-YTSS-01; aftercare: FC-AF-01.

FORMS/ATTACHMENTS:

Form 2540 — Voluntary Extended Foster Care Agreement (DFPS)
Form 2532 — Trial Independence: Ability to Return for Extended Foster Care (DFPS)
Written notice to CPS Caseworker (§1431 / §1432)
Contact Log (Radius)

This procedure operationalizes the principles established in FC-EFC-01 Extended Foster Care and Transition Age Services Policy. While policies require Board approval and remain relatively stable, procedures may be updated by the Executive Director to adapt to regulatory changes or operational improvements without requiring Board approval, provided such changes maintain alignment with the policy's intent.

Extended Foster Care and Transition Age Services Procedure