Relating to the collection and confidentiality of information regarding firearms in agency foster homes; creating a civil penalty.

Contracts

• Foster Parent Agreements: Review and amend standard contracts. Clauses requiring foster parents to report "all weapon purchases" or provide updated inventories must be stricken or modified to require reporting only changes in the *presence* of firearms (e.g., going from zero firearms to one).
• State Provider Contracts: Anticipate amendments from DFPS/HHSC removing requirements to document specific weapon types in home studies.

Hiring/Training

• Caseworker Training: Immediate retraining is required for all staff conducting home screenings and post-placement visits. Staff must be instructed to verify *storage safety* (locks, separate ammo) without recording the make, model, or caliber of the weapons observed.
• Liability Defense: Legal and risk management teams must adjust negligence defense strategies, as they can no longer rely on specific weapon inventories to prove risk assessment diligence.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Form Revision: Immediately audit and revise all Intake Applications, Home Study templates, and Recertification checklists. Remove columns or fields for "Weapon Type," "Serial Number," "Caliber," or "Model." Replace with a single checkbox: "Firearms Present: [Yes/No]."
• Legacy Data: The law prohibits the *use* of specific firearm information. You must segregate or redact existing data fields containing specific weapon inventories in active files to ensure this data is not inadvertently used in placement decisions.
• Confidentiality: Any firearm data currently held is now statutorily confidential and exempt from Public Information Act requests.

Fees & Costs

• Civil Penalties: There are no new licensing fees, but the law introduces a $5,000 civil penalty per violation. A "violation" could be interpreted per form or per home, creating significant financial exposure for systemic non-compliance.