Kinship Care

Kinship Care is the care of a child by a relative for which the relative receives a monthly payment. The Kinship Care program is designed to help support the child and the relative caregiver during the time that the child is living outside their own home, either temporarily or permanently. Kinship Care recognizes the importance of extended family and provides an alternative to foster care or other out-of-home care placements for those children who are unable to live in their own homes.

 

There are three basic eligibility requirements for Kinship Care:

• the basic needs of the child can be better met with the caregiver than with the parent
• the placement is in the best interests of the child
• the child currently or might meet the requirements to be in need of protection or services if the child were to remain with his or her parent(s)

Other requirements include:

• a criminal background check on the caregiver caretaker and all adult household members
• cooperation with the agency by the caregiver caretaker
• the caregiver caretaker must apply for other public assistance or benefits the child might be eligible for
• the caregiver caretaker must cooperate with referring the parents to child support, unless the caregiver caretaker is granted an exemption
• Kinship living arrangements and eligibility must be reviewed every 12 months

 

Definition of a Relative/Like-Kin for the Kinship Care Program
Kinship Care is a program to help support a child who lives outside of his or her home with the caregiver. The child may be living temporarily or for the long term with a caregiver such as:

• An adult brother or sister
• A first cousin
• A nephew or niece
• An uncle or aunt or a grandparent
• Others by blood or marriage or like-kin

Kinship care helps a family support a child in the home of a caregiver that might be under stress or when the child has experienced abuse or neglect.

With this support, placing a child in a foster home or another out-of-home care setting may be avoided. For children in the child welfare system who cannot continue living at home with his or her parents, Kinship Care may be another placement option.

Two Types of Kinship Care

• Voluntary-refers to an arrangement between a parent and a relative for the care of a child without involvement by the child welfare system.
• Court Ordered-refers to a situation in which Juvenile Court has ordered a child to be placed in the care of a relative. In these instances, the relative caregiver is required to obtain a foster care license to continue receiving Kinship Care benefits.

 

Additional Information
For more information about our Kinship Care Services or to apply for Kinship Care benefits, please contact Kate Montague at Barron County Department of Health and Human Services at 715-537-6298 or kate.montague@co.barron.wi.us.