KINSHIP CARE

     Kinship Care is the full-time nurturing and protection of a child by relatives, or any other adult who has a kinship bond, or long standing relationship with a child.  Kinship Care allows families to ensure the children in their care are safe and have a sense of belonging that maintain family connections.  Kinship care includes relationships established through an informal arrangement, a legal custody or guardianship order, a relative foster care placement or a kinship adoption.  This type of commitment provides permanency children and families need and may help secure the relationship of all family members.

The Kinship Permanency Incentive (KPI) program is designed to promote a permanent commitment by a kinship caregiver(s) through becoming guardians and custodians over minor children who would otherwise be unsafe or at risk of harm if they remained in their own homes.  The Kinship Permanency Incentive program provides time-limited incentive payments to eligible Kinship families.  Eligible families will receive an initial payment of $1,000 ($3,500) limit) per child to defray costs of initial placement and may receive $500 per child at six month intervals to support the stability of the child’s placement in the home.