FC-WCM-01 — EXHIBIT A

Contact & Monitoring Minimum Requirements Matrix

Exhibit Information	Details
EXHIBIT	A — Contact & Monitoring Minimum Requirements Matrix
PARENT POLICY	FC-WCM-01 Worker Contact and Monitoring Policy
STATUS	DRAFT 7/13/2026 — adopted with and forming part of FC-WCM-01 upon Board approval
VERIFIED SOURCES	26 TAC Ch. 749 (Nov 2025 text); DFPS 24-Hr RCC (FY26); T3C Blueprint (Apr 2026); SSCC manuals: OCOK Rev. 7-1-2025 · Belong Aug 2025 · 2INgage Rev. 1.2026 · EMPOWER Rev. 1.2026 · SFCS July 2020 (partial) · 4Kids Dec 2025

Reading the matrix. Each row is one externally-imposed minimum. Conducted by uses: Case Staff = child placement staff (qualified under §749.673 and designated for child placement activities); CPMS = child placement management staff; RN = nurse. Face-to-face (FTF) is in-person only — virtual/phone never counts unless the citation expressly permits it. The strictest applicable row controls. Rows marked ★ are commonly missed. Refuge House enhancements are intentionally absent — this exhibit is the compliance floor.

A. Child contact

ID	Requirement	Cadence / limit	Applies to	Conducted by	Entity	Citation	Weight
MIN-01	Face-to-face contact with each child in care; may miss 2 visits/yr; never >60 days between visits	Monthly	All children in care	Case Staff	HHSC	26 TAC §749.1291(a)	High
MIN-02	At least half of all contacts occur in the foster home (out-of-home FTF, e.g. at an appointment, counts toward the month but not this share)	Rolling share	All children	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.1291(c)	Med-High
MIN-03	PMN child: FTF twice monthly, ≤20 days between visits, never >30 days without	Twice monthly	PMN children	Case Staff or RN	HHSC	§749.1291(b)	High
MIN-04	Kinship child: monthly FTF, ≥half in the foster home, same content elements	Monthly	Kinship placements	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.4451(a)–(b)	High / Med-High
MIN-05	Every contact: verify child safe, needs met, placement appropriate; sufficient length; private opportunity; child expresses feelings (observation standard for non-/pre-verbal)	Every contact	All children	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.1291(d)–(f)	Med-High
MIN-06	Contacts significant and documented in the child's record sufficient to show (d)–(f)	Every contact	All children	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.1291(g)	Medium
MIN-07	Weekly suicide screening for 30 days following a mental-health crisis	Weekly × 30 days	Post-crisis	Per FC-04	HHSC	§749.137(f)	—

B. Foster home supervision (every verified home, with or without placements — §749.2817)

ID	Requirement	Cadence / limit	Applies to	Conducted by	Entity	Citation	Weight
MIN-08	Supervisory visit in the foster home	Quarterly	Every verified home	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2815(a)(1)	Med-High
MIN-09 ★	Supervisory visit with both foster parents (if applicable)	Every 6 months	Two-parent homes	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2815(a)(2)	Med-High
MIN-10	Supervisory visit with all household members	Annual	Every verified home	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2815(a)(3)	Med-High
MIN-11 ★	At least two supervisory visits per year unannounced	2×/year	Every verified home	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2815(b)	Med-High
MIN-12	Quarterly visit evaluates/documents: household-member changes, major life changes, disaster-plan changes, child behaviors & family stress	Quarterly	Every verified home	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2815(c)	Medium
MIN-13	Visit documented in home record; signed by each foster parent present and the Case Staff conducting the visit; CPMS reviews and approves	Every visit	Every visit	Case Staff + CPMS	HHSC	§749.2815(d)–(e); §749.667(1)(B)	Medium / Med-High
MIN-14	All monitoring/supervisory cadences continue while a home is available for placements (waived only on formal inactive status)	Continuous	Empty active homes	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2817	Medium
MIN-15	Supervisory contact in the home before placing a child into a reactivated home	Per reactivation	Reactivated homes	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2825(1)	Med-High

C. Foster home evaluation cycle

ID	Requirement	Cadence / limit	Applies to	Conducted by	Entity	Citation	Weight
MIN-16	Full compliance evaluation of the home against all applicable rules (also before extending a time-limited verification or converting to non-expiring)	Every 2 years	Every verified home	Case Staff/CPMS	HHSC	§§749.2801(b), .2813–.2814	Med-High
MIN-17	Weapons/firearms storage discussion included in the two-year evaluation	Every 2 years	Every verified home	Case Staff/CPMS	HHSC	§749.2965(c)	High
MIN-18	Event-triggered evaluation: alleged deficiency, major life change, verification-affecting change, DFPS family-violence report	Per event	Every verified home	Case Staff/CPMS	HHSC	§749.2801(a)	Med-High
MIN-19	Deficiencies cited and addressed at any contact; re-inspect or document correction	Per contact	Every contact	Case Staff	HHSC	§§749.2807(5), .2811	Medium
MIN-20 ★	Kinship foster home: full compliance evaluation ANNUALLY (Subchapter N regime applies to kinship homes)	Annual	Kinship homes	Case Staff/CPMS	HHSC	§749.4429(a); §749.4403(a)(9)	High
MIN-21	Screening update on major life change: assess current placements immediately; complete update within 30 days	Per event	Every verified home	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.2453	Medium

D. Event-driven contact (SSCC contracts — apply the row for the SSCC holding the case)

ID	Requirement	Cadence / limit	Applies to	Conducted by	Entity	Citation	Weight
MIN-22	New placement: contact with child and caregiver within 1 business day, not to exceed 72 hours	Per placement	All except 4Kids	RH staff	SSCC	2INgage §4; EMPOWER §4; Belong (Placement Stability); OCOK §§6.00, 6.03; SFCS §2.12	Contract
MIN-23	First parent–child visit within 5 calendar days of removal; RH ensures transportation	Per removal	All except 4Kids	RH staff	SSCC	2INgage §6; EMPOWER §6; Belong p.14; OCOK §6.00; SFCS §3.2	Contract
MIN-24	Sibling contact when placed apart — SFCS: weekly, distance not an exception; Belong: weekly (FTF ≤100 mi, electronic beyond); OCOK: monthly (FTF ≤100 mi); 2INgage/EMPOWER/4Kids: none	Weekly / Monthly	Separated siblings	RH staff	SSCC	SFCS §3.1.9.1; Belong p.14; OCOK §1.02	Contract
MIN-25	Monthly contact with designated family connections	Monthly	OCOK cases	RH staff	SSCC	OCOK §1.02	Contract
MIN-26	Contact with caregivers/foster parents in the home, documented	Quarterly	OCOK homes	RH staff	SSCC	OCOK §6.00 item 7	Contract
MIN-27	In-home verification of hygiene products, adequate clothing, personal items, documented in client record	Monthly	OCOK cases	RH staff	SSCC	OCOK §4.03	Contract
MIN-28	24/7/365 crisis-support capacity (incl. 24/7 immediate response to kinship caregivers)	Continuous	All except 4Kids; T3C kinship	Agency	SSCC / T3C	2INgage §4; EMPOWER §4; Belong; OCOK §6.03; SFCS §2.12; Blueprint Kinship §Expectations	Contract

E. Program- and status-specific

ID	Requirement	Cadence / limit	Applies to	Conducted by	Entity	Citation	Weight
MIN-29	Exceptional Care: home visits at least every other week; OCOK may direct more FTF/phone contact	Biweekly	OCOK EC placements	RH staff	SSCC	OCOK §6.24	Contract
MIN-30	PHBC: in-home visit within 3 days of placement; weekly in-home FTF; monthly in-home family meetings; 24/7 on-call; caseload ≤8	Weekly / monthly	OCOK PHBC homes	PHBC case manager	SSCC	OCOK §6.21	Contract
MIN-31	Hospitalized child: frequent FTF at the facility + facilitation of family visits + care-team communication (condition of continued payment)	During stay	OCOK cases	RH staff	SSCC	OCOK §7.04	Contract
MIN-32	Adoption preparation: quarterly contact with the child; ≥3 FTF preparation contacts (≥18 months old) / ≥1 (0–18 months)	Quarterly	Pre-adoptive children	Case Staff (§749.673-qualified)	HHSC	§749.3341	Medium
MIN-33	Adoptive post-placement: child ≥2 or in treatment — monthly FTF for first 6 months incl. 2 in-home whole-family; then quarterly in-home whole-family until decree (child <2 no treatment: ≥5 contacts/6 months, 2 whole-family, ≥1 in-home). SSCC layer: monthly supervision + documentation	Monthly → quarterly	Adoptive placements	Case Staff	HHSC + SSCC	§749.3425; 2INgage §9; EMPOWER §9; Belong Adoption (≥3 pre-placement visits; monthly reports)	Med-High
MIN-34	Delayed finalization: plan requiring quarterly in-home FTF with both parents present	Quarterly	Delayed adoptions	Case Staff	HHSC	§749.3427(b)	Medium
MIN-35	Post-discharge aftercare: weekly, transitioning to twice-monthly, calls/meetings for 6 months with dates set in the aftercare plan; documentation to SSCC/DFPS caseworker monthly	Weekly → 2×/mo × 6 mo	Kinship / Transition / P&P add-on discharges	Aftercare staff	T3C	Blueprint, add-on Aftercare sections	Contract
MIN-36	Educational Portfolio: hard copy at the home, updated within 30 days of any educational event, reviewed with caregiver quarterly	Monthly upkeep / quarterly review	School-age children	Case Specialist / caregiver	DFPS RCC	RCC §§6700, 6840; FC09-01.1	Contract

Entities imposing no additional contact minimums

DFPS 24-Hr RCC contract: no contact frequencies of its own — incorporates the HHSC minimums by reference (MIN-36 is its one contact-adjacent documentation duty). T3C Blueprint: no in-placement visit cadence for any credentialed package (aftercare only, MIN-35; plus Service Plan review ≥ every 6 months and annual CANS for T3C Basic). 4Kids4Families: Joint Operations Manual imposes no contact or monitoring frequency on CPAs. TFCN / DePelchin: prospective SSCCs (contracts in negotiation, July 2026) — requirements to be incorporated upon contract execution.

Ratification

Upon Board approval of FC-WCM-01 (revision of 7/13/2026), this Exhibit A is adopted as the normative statement of Refuge House's contact and monitoring compliance minimums. Amendments to this exhibit follow the same approval path as the parent policy, except that (a) citation corrections and regulating-entity edition updates that do not change a requirement's substance, and (b) additions imposed by a regulating entity (which bind Refuge House regardless of ratification) may be incorporated administratively and reported to the Board at its next meeting. Enhancements above these minimums are governed by the Enhancement Authority section of FC-WCM-01 and never appear in this exhibit.

FC-WCM-01 Exhibit A - Minimum Requirements Matrix