A few years ago, when my wife and I were looking into fostering, we were told that they needed to be locked up and unloaded, with ammo locked in a separate locking container/safe. All medicines have to be locked up too.Wife is a former CPS Investigator. A few years back guns had to be locked up and ammo locked up separately. She is not in the biz anymore, so it could have changed.
A few years ago, when my wife and I were looking into fostering, we were told that they needed to be locked up and unloaded, with ammo locked in a separate locking container/safe. All medicines have to be locked up too.
Can you show me those rules, or just reference where they are located? I searched earlier, and found no such rules. I did find sites indicating Texas had no specific requirements.
§749.2961. Are weapons, firearms, explosive materials, and projectiles permitted in a foster home?
(a) Generally, weapons, firearms, explosive materials, and projectiles (such as darts or arrows), are permitted, however, there are some specific restrictions:
(1) If you allow weapons, firearms, explosive materials, projectiles, or toys that explode or shoot, you must develop and enforce a policy identifying specific precautions to ensure children do not have unsupervised access to them, including:
(A) Locked storage for the weapons and the ammunition;
(B) Locked storage must be made of strong, unbreakable material;
(C) If the locked storage has a glass or another breakable front or enclosure, guns must be secured with a locked cable or chain placed through the trigger guards; and
(D) Separate locked storage for the weapons and the ammunition. Ammunition may be stored with weapons in the same location, such as a gun cabinet, provided that access to both ammunition and weapons cannot be obtained by using the same key and/or combination;
(2) You must determine that it is appropriate for a specific child to use the weapons, firearms, explosive materials, projectiles, or toys that explode or shoot; and
(3) No child may use a weapon, firearm, explosive material, projectile, or toy that explodes or shoots, unless the child is directly supervised by a qualified adult.
(b) Your policies must require foster parents/caregivers to notify you if there is a change in the type of or an addition to weapons, firearms, explosive materials, or projectiles that are on the property where the foster home is located.
(c) Firearms which are inoperable and solely ornamental are exempt from the storage requirements in this rule.
§749.2961. Are weapons, firearms, explosive materials, and projectiles permitted in a foster home?
(a) Generally, weapons, firearms, explosive materials, and projectiles (such as darts or arrows), are permitted, however, there are some specific restrictions:
(1) If you allow weapons, firearms, explosive materials, projectiles, or toys that explode or shoot, you must develop and enforce a policy identifying specific precautions to ensure children do not have unsupervised access to them, including:
(A) Locked storage for the weapons and the ammunition;
(B) Locked storage must be made of strong, unbreakable material;
(C) If the locked storage has a glass or another breakable front or enclosure, guns must be secured with a locked cable or chain placed through the trigger guards; and
(D) Separate locked storage for the weapons and the ammunition. Ammunition may be stored with weapons in the same location, such as a gun cabinet, provided that access to both ammunition and weapons cannot be obtained by using the same key and/or combination;
(2) You must determine that it is appropriate for a specific child to use the weapons, firearms, explosive materials, projectiles, or toys that explode or shoot; and
(3) No child may use a weapon, firearm, explosive material, projectile, or toy that explodes or shoots, unless the child is directly supervised by a qualified adult.
(b) Your policies must require foster parents/caregivers to notify you if there is a change in the type of or an addition to weapons, firearms, explosive materials, or projectiles that are on the property where the foster home is located.
(c) Firearms which are inoperable and solely ornamental are exempt from the storage requirements in this rule.
My wife and I went through training with two different foster agencies last year and they both taught the restrictions mentioned above and enforced them by inspection. I did find some differences in interpretation in how the two agencies enforced the rule about the weapons and ammo being stored separately. I can confidently say that the difference arose from attitude each agency had about guns in general. The first agency we went to was a conservative, faith based, agency that provided an outstanding experience. They displayed no adverse attitude towards guns in any way. I asked questions about the separate storage of weapons and ammo...specifically I described my set up of having the ammo in a locked drawn of my night stand and, within that same locked drawn with the ammo, a locked gunsafe (Gunvault Mini) containing the guns. The first agency had no problem with that and said it met state requirements. Unfortunately that first agency decided to close their local office and we looked for another agency. The second agency, while recommended, was not faith based and the overall attitude was much less inviting. During the home inspection I showed them my setup as I described it before and the inspector's first reaction was to smirk, shake her head and mumble "I don't know what it is with you Texan's and your guns". She then told me that my setup was totally unacceptable and that the ammo or the guns would have to be stored in a completely different location to pass the inspection. This along with several other issues made us give up on the idea of fostering.
There are over a dozen codes in Texas, perhaps you could reference the code from which you pulled that. It is telling someone, cannot tell who without more context, that they must develop policies. It does not look like those are policies or laws enforced on foster parents.
Again, context is needed.
Per DFPS regulations (not a law per se), they have the following rules for children in foster care:
http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=T&app=9&p_dir=N&p_rloc=127224&p_tloc=&p_ploc=1&pg=4&p_tac=&ti=40&pt=19&ch=749&rl=2931
There are over a dozen codes in Texas, perhaps you could reference the code from which you pulled that. It is telling someone, cannot tell who without more context, that they must develop policies. It does not look like those are policies or laws enforced on foster parents.
Again, context is needed.
Thank you!
"MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR CHILD-PLACING AGENCIES"
The rule applies to agencies who place children
You must comply with Subchapter O of Chapter 749 of this title (relating to Foster Homes: Health and Safety Requirements, Environment, Space and Equipment), with the exception of §749.2965 of this title (relating to How must I determine whether weapons, firearms, explosive materials, or projectiles are present in a foster home?).