Texas Home School Coalition » Concerning Adoption http://thsc.org Texas Home School Coalition Tue, 21 May 2013 15:33:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Letter to DFPS Commissioner – October 12, 2011 http://thsc.org/2011/10/letter-to-dfps-commissioner-october-12-2011/ http://thsc.org/2011/10/letter-to-dfps-commissioner-october-12-2011/#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:09:12 +0000 Tim Lambert http://thsc.org/?p=7714 THSC was recently contacted by member family in the process of adopting two young children. Child Protective Services (CPS) had denied this family a waiver to homeschool these children during the six month foster period prior to adoption. Tim Lambert wrote a letter directly to the Commissioner of DFPS regarding the denial and requirements for…

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]]> THSC was recently contacted by member family in the process of adopting two young children. Child Protective Services (CPS) had denied this family a waiver to homeschool these children during the six month foster period prior to adoption. Tim Lambert wrote a letter directly to the Commissioner of DFPS regarding the denial and requirements for testing and assessment by CPS that was unheard of and not required of families with adopted children in the past.

Read the letter.

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]]> http://thsc.org/2011/10/letter-to-dfps-commissioner-october-12-2011/feed/ 0 Letter From the Department of Family and Protective Services – November 18, 2009 http://thsc.org/2009/11/letter-from-the-department-of-family-and-protective-services-november-18-2009/ http://thsc.org/2009/11/letter-from-the-department-of-family-and-protective-services-november-18-2009/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:32:20 +0000 THSC Webmaster http://thsc.org/?p=4940 VIA EMAIL Wed, November 18, 2009 Mr. Lambert, Thank you again for visiting with the Commissioner and me yesterday. We appreciate your taking the time to keep us and Katherine posted on THSC and related issues. You requested the CPS policy related to home school waiver requests. It is available on our public website. Per…

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]]> VIA EMAIL

Wed, November 18, 2009

Mr. Lambert,

Thank you again for visiting with the Commissioner and me yesterday. We appreciate your taking the time to keep us and Katherine posted on THSC and related issues.

You requested the CPS policy related to home school waiver requests. It is available on our public website.

Per our discussion about reports of abuse/neglect and how they are not assigned to investigation stage unless they meet the statutory definition of abuse and neglect, Intake workers follow the legal definitions of abuse and neglect in Chapter 261 of the Texas Family Code when assessing reports made to Statewide Intake (SWI) about possible abuse or neglect of children.

And, the SWI handbook (section 4491) , also available on our website, has specific information about assessment of reports regarding home schooling:

Calls involving home-schooled children are assessed based on the same criteria and intake guidelines as any other CPS report. Home schools are considered private schools in Texas. They are not subject to inspection, monitoring, or regulation by CPS, by the Texas Education Agency, or by local school districts. A caller with concerns about truancy or compulsory attendance issues is referred to the local school district in which the child lives.

Also for your information, please find attached a recent letter sent to residential and adoption contract providers regarding educational services and resources, including home school waiver requests.

Thank you for sharing the letter you recently sent to a caseworker in Athens. I assure you that we take the confidentiality of our cases very seriously and we will be looking into this matter further. You should not have been contacted about this case.

As mentioned in our meeting, Commissioner is happy to personally review any waiver requests and/or look into any concerns your members may have. She would rather personally receive those types of concerns than for you to respond caseworkers, etc.  We also look forward to hearing back from you on writing an article for your next quarterly magazine. Please let me know your deadline.

Thank you,

Katie Olse

 

Katie Renner Olse Director,
Center for Consumer & External Affairs
Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS)

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]]> http://thsc.org/2009/11/letter-from-the-department-of-family-and-protective-services-november-18-2009/feed/ 0 Letter in Response to Waiver Clarification – September 26, 2009 http://thsc.org/2009/09/letter-in-response-to-waiver-clarification-september-26-2009/ http://thsc.org/2009/09/letter-in-response-to-waiver-clarification-september-26-2009/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:33:25 +0000 Tim Lambert http://thsc.org/?p=4917 On September 26, 2009, Tim writes a letter in response to Commissioner Heiligenstein’s letter of September 11, 2009.

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]]> On September 26, 2009, Tim writes a letter in response to Commissioner Heiligenstein’s letter of September 11, 2009.

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]]> http://thsc.org/2009/09/letter-in-response-to-waiver-clarification-september-26-2009/feed/ 0 Letter to DFPS Regarding Adoption Policy – August 4, 2009 http://thsc.org/2009/08/letter-to-dfps-regarding-adoption-policy-8-4-2009/ http://thsc.org/2009/08/letter-to-dfps-regarding-adoption-policy-8-4-2009/#comments Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:43:22 +0000 Tim Lambert http://thsc.org/?p=4897 On August 4, 2009, Tim writes to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for follow-up regarding the department’s policies related to homeschooling. Read his follow-up letter. Read the September 11, 2009 response letter from Anne Heiligenstein with the DFPS.  

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]]> On August 4, 2009, Tim writes to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for follow-up regarding the department’s policies related to homeschooling. Read his follow-up letter.

Read the September 11, 2009 response letter from Anne Heiligenstein with the DFPS.

 

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