Foster/Adoptive Home Directives:

• Follow all CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations on Travel Health Notices (found at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices) regarding staff and child travel and subsequent quarantine.

• Post signs at the entrance to your home instructing visitors not to visit if they are ill or have symptoms of a respiratory illness.

• Stay home if you or family members have symptoms of respiratory illness. This includes ensuring that hygiene and food needs are addressed and can be obtained. Contact your case manager if you will need to miss or reschedule appointments, particularly therapy and medication management appointments. Notify your psychiatric professional in order to obtain additional medications if necessary.

• Identify a list of key contacts at your local and state health departments. Monitor local and state public health sources to understand outbreak activity in your community (the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/ and Department of State Health Services website https://dshs.texas.gov/ are excellent resources).

• Be aware of temporary school closures and address how residents will be supervised and kept busy when local gathering places may be closed for public safety. If there is transmission in the community, consult with public health authorities for additional guidance.

• Implement everyday preventive actions. Ensure a clean environment in your home. Perform routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (ex. tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles desks, toilets, faucets, sinks) with household cleaners and EPA-registered disinfectants that are appropriate for the surface following label instructions

• Monitor residents for symptoms that resemble those of a disease outbreak. Contact healthcare providers for children with fever or respiratory symptoms and follow medical advice; not all children will need to be seen by a health care provider.

• If possible, identify a place within your home where a resident can be safely separated if deemed necessary by a health care provider, and obtain instructions from them on how best to closely supervise the sick resident in a hygienic manner. Note if disposable facemasks will be kept on-site for use by sick residents. Note if changes to room assignments will be made to accommodate multiple residents with symptoms, and how appropriate supervision will be assured. Note how communal activities such as meals will be handled.

• Plan for the possible need to report cases and transport persons with severe illness to medical facilities.

Agency-specific Directives:

• Follow all CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommendations on Travel Health Notices (found at https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices) regarding staff and child travel and subsequent quarantine.

• Post signs at the entrance to your operation instructing visitors not to visit if they are ill or have symptoms of a respiratory illness.

• Employees will be given special consideration and will be encouraged to stay home if they have symptoms of respiratory illness. Special case activities will be given due consideration by Agency leadership to enable direct care staff to continue their duties virtually, as they are able, in the case of increased absenteeism caused by employee illness or by illness in employee’s family members. Such special considerations include conducting phone and video conferencing with foster/adoptive families and children. Additionally, employees should endeavor to establish and maintain high-speed internet in order to accommodate the remote workload.

• Monitor local and state public health sources to understand outbreak activity (the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/ and Department of State Health Services website https://dshs.texas.gov/ are excellent resources).

• Monitor temporary school closures. If there is transmission in the community, operations should also consult with public health authorities for additional guidance.

• Implement everyday preventive actions. Ensure a clean environment in your operation. Perform routine cleaning of frequently touched surfaces (ex. tables, doorknobs, light switches, handles desks, toilets, faucets, sinks) with household cleaners and EPA-registered disinfectants that are appropriate for the surface following label instructions.

• Keep employees and foster parents informed. Describe what actions the facility is taking to protect them, including answering their questions and explaining what they can do to protect themselves and their fellow residents.

• Maintain close contact with foster homes ensuring communication related to symptoms that resemble those of a disease outbreak. Facilitate contact with healthcare providers for children with fever or respiratory symptoms and follow medical advice; not all children will need to be seen by a health care provider.

• When admitting a child to a foster home, ask questions about relevant symptoms, potential contact with a person showing symptoms of a disease outbreak, and/or travel within 14 days to an area with significant community spread of a disease outbreak. Be aware of health conditions that would put the child at greater risk for getting seriously sick if they contract the disease (for COVID-19, this can be found athttps://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/specific-groups/high-risk-complications.html)

• Plan for the possible need to report cases and transport persons with severe illness to medical facilities.