How Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C) will impact foster families in Texas

Texas Child-Centered Care, otherwise known as T3C, is a placement system under the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services that allows for assessments of children entering foster care and tiered support provided to families. This new program is the state’s effort to address a foster care system that has historically been labeled as dysfunctional or broken by addressing underlying issues in the support provided to children and families.

Organizations must qualify and become credentialed in the T3C program to offer this support. Buckner has made the decision to become credentialed in the following packages under the new system:

• Basic Foster Family Support Services
• Mental and Behavioral Health Family Support Services (MHBH)
• Intellectual Developmental Disability/Autism Spectrum Disorder Family Support Services (IDD/ASD)
• Medically Complex or Medically Fragile Family Support Services
• Kinship Add-On Package
• Transitional Services for Youth Add-On Package

Families may be curious about how choosing an agency credentialed under T3C will alter their foster care experience in Texas. The goal of T3C is to create a more personalized and supportive foster care system by ensuring children and families receive services that match their specific needs.

One example of this expanded support involves children with diabetes. Previously, a child considered to have primary medical needs often needed to have a “g-button” to qualify for additional support. Under the new T3C rate system, however, diabetes would be considered Medically Complex, allowing foster families to receive increased support and resources to better care for the child.

Foster care reimbursement rates have also increased under all packages listed above. Families considering foster care in Texas will now receive more accurate information about the child they are caring for and benefit from more robust financial support to meet that child’s needs.

Under the T3C program, children can be credentialed for the packages above through a CANS evaluation. Using the evaluation, along with information Buckner provides, the evaluator will determine the appropriate support package for the child and family.

The transformation of the foster care system in Texas allows organizations to offer more holistic care to children and families. Through T3C, Buckner has expanded the services offered to foster families across the state. Buckner now provides the following services to families who fall under the packages listed above:

• Behavioral Specialist – This position will provide parent coaching to assist families with trauma-informed parenting based on TBRI and ARC (Attachment, Regulation, and Competency) Framework, which is a foundational approach to our program.
• Therapeutic Treatment Director – This position is to provide administrative oversight to children credentialed with Mental or Behavioral Health Foster Family Support Services or Intellectual Developmental Disability/Autism Spectrum Disorder Family Support Services.
• Aftercare Services – If children have higher therapeutic needs, Buckner will follow the child for six months after the child is discharged from a Buckner home. The aftercare services could entail family reunification, placement with a relative, adoption, aging out of foster care, or moving to another foster home. If there is a licensed kinship home, aftercare services would apply to any child with a kinship placement.
• Registered Nurse – The registered nurse is to provide administrative oversight for children with complex medical needs or medically fragile. The registered nurse will also provide training to our families and be available for case consultation with any family.

As Texas continues to reshape its foster care system through T3C, foster families will have access to stronger support systems, expanded resources, and more individualized care for the children placed in their homes. These changes are designed to help foster families feel more equipped while improving outcomes for children in foster care across Texas.

If you are a potential foster care family and are curious about the criteria required to care for a child in foster care, visit buckner.org/foster-care-adoption/forms-and-guides to learn more.