Get Started: Care for Foster Children

Step 1: Enroll with a doctor

To avoid delays in being seen by a health provider, it’s important to register your foster child as soon as they are placed in your home:

• In Dallas, please register with Dr. Hilda Loria by calling 866-912-6283 before your appointment.

• In Plano, please register with Dr. Mayra Nieves-Rios by calling 866-912-6283 before your appointment.

Step 2: Schedule an appointment

To schedule a new patient appointment for your child, please call 214-867-6000.

We recommend that you keep a calendar so you can track your child’s follow-up medical and behavioral health appointments.

Step 3: Talk about the appointment

Prepare your child for routine health visits by explaining the purpose of the visit in age-appropriate language. Be sure to speak positively to reduce any fears and promote a healthy relationship between your foster child and the doctor. Create a list of questions for the health care provider to answer during the appointment and encourage your foster child to do the same.

Step 4: Bring these helpful records

We know and understand that records can be difficult when a foster child is newly placed. Any of the following documents that you can be provide before or at your first appointment will be helpful:

• Immunization records

• Current medications (including dosages and instructions)

• Former or current doctors and behavioral health providers and any available records (for example, discharge summaries or psychological documents)

• A list of previous schools (sometimes immunization records can be collected from schools)

• One of the following required legal documents (which can be faxed to Dallas: 214-456-3741 or Plano 214-867-5449):

  • Medical Consenter Form 2085-B (Foster Placement)

  • Medical Consenter Form 2085-KO (Kinship Placement)

  • Court order establishing Permanent Managing Conservatorship (PMC)

  • Court order establishing Temporary Managing Conservatorship (TMC)

  • Safety plan agreement from Child Protective Services

Late arrivals

Please arrive early for your appointment. Late arrivals will only be seen with your doctor’s approval, and you may be asked to wait until the next available appointment or reschedule for another day.

What to expect at your appointment

Starting with your first visit, your child will see the pediatrician or nurse practitioner who will care for them at all routine and illness visits. During your appointment, your child’s care team may also include additional experts from Children’s Health and UT Southwestern, including:

• Nurses and medical assistants

• CPS liaisons

• Nurse coordinators

• Early childhood specialists

• Psychologists

• Therapists

• Psychiatrist

• Medical students

After-hours care and the nurse advice line

Once you have completed your first visit, we can help with any questions or concerns about your foster child’s health. Please feel free to discuss your concerns during your appointments. In addition, a nurse is available Monday - Friday, from 8 am - 4:30 pm Please call 214-867-6000 and select option 4.

Please do not hesitate to call. We’re here to help you.

If you have a sick child who needs to see a doctor after hours or on weekends, please call 214-456-7000 and ask the operator to page the on-call Foster Care Provider (established patients only).

Missed appointment policy

Providing exceptional care for patients and families is dependent on your attending all scheduled appointments. If you need to reschedule, please contact the clinic at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled appointment time.

Providing advance notice gives the clinic the opportunity to offer that appointment time to other children awaiting care. 

Following two consecutive no shows, we will contact your Child Placing Agency and/or Child Protective Services to better coordinate the plan of care. We are also unable to refill prescriptions, provide school or work notes, and may delay pending therapy services if you do not keep your appointments.

If the child has moved, please contact our clinic so we can update the patient’s chart.

Frequently asked questions FAQs

Step-by-step health care for your foster child

Because we know children who have experienced foster care have often been affected by childhood trauma and stress, the Rees-Jones Center for Foster Care Excellence, at Children's Health℠, recommends making your first medical appointment a priority.