Family Care Or Foster Care? How State Policies Affect Kinship Caregivers

THE URBAN INSTITUTE Family Care or Foster Care? How State Policies Affect Kinship Caregivers Shelley Waters Boots TES TES A A Rob Geen xtended family members have long kinship care arrangements or more kinship played a role in caring for children care arrangements are being formally recog- when their parents were unavailable to nized by the state—the upward trend contin- do so, a practice commonly referred to as ues, with the majority of states reporting that E“kinship care.” While the state, through the the proportion of the foster care caseload child welfare system, has only recently begun accounted for by kinship care has increased to rely on relatives as foster parents for chil- since 1994.3 dren at risk in their own homes, the practice This growth and the high cost of foster grew substantially in the past decade. This care, which averaged $6,000 per child in 1996, growth, and federal legislation encouraging pushed policymakers to take note of kinship states to place foster children with family care.4 However, it was the 1996 welfare members, has thrust kinship care into the reform act that officially encouraged policy spotlight, igniting debates states to give relatives first priority within the child welfare and in providing care for foster welfare systems about how to More than two children, solidified the role publicly support kinship million children in of kinship care as a federal care families. the United States now policy issue, and provoked When the Adoption discussion among policy- and Child Welfare Act of live in kinship care makers as to how welfare 1980 was passed, form- arrangements; policy would affect kin- ing the basis of the feder- 10 percent of these, or ship care.5 al foster care law, it was During the 1996 wel- almost unheard of for a approximately fare reform debate, child NEW FEDERALISM child’s relative to act as a 200,000, are foster advocates pointed out poten- NEW FEDERALISM foster parent. More than two children. tial unintended consequences million children in the United of the welfare reform legislation States now live in kinship care that could influence the receipt of arrangements; 10 percent of these, or approxi- kinship care. Specifically, they noted that one 1 ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR ST ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR ST mately 200,000, are foster children. Much of particular type of welfare payment for which the growth in the use of kin as foster parents kinship care families were eligible, child-only occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s; for grants, would not necessarily fall under the A product of example, between 1986 and 1990 the propor- proposed new work requirements and time “Assessing the New tion of children in state-supported kinship care limits. Advocates raised the concern that par- Federalism,” increased from 18 to 31 percent.2 Though ents might leave their children with relatives an Urban Institute experts cannot pinpoint the cause of the to avoid the new welfare requirements but still Program to Assess increase—whether more children are entering preserve assistance in the form of child-only Changing Social Policies Series A, No. A-34, July 1999 members to care for children in the fos- Figure 1 ter care system.8 Public Kinship Care: Requirements to Become a Foster Parent Licensing Caregivers In order to care for a child in state custody, foster caregivers must first be licensed, or approved, by the state Less More child welfare agency. The standards Stringent Stringent upon which kinship caregivers are assessed for licensure vary (figure 1). In states with the most stringent requirements, kinship families are subject to the same standards that govern non-kin foster families—they Few or no Separate Waive some Full standards must be “fully licensed.” Almost all requirements; approval of full for licensing— states (44 out of 50 responding) often called process for standard’s same as reported that these families receive unlicensed kin requirements non-kin visits by caseworkers who provide supervision and intervention, just like non-kin foster parents. Fully licensed families are often eligible for all the Child Welfare Agency benefits and supports available to a non-kin foster parent, including foster care maintenance payments, respite child care, and other support services. grants.6 They also worried that kin- whether or not the child was taken Other states maintain less strin- ship care providers, who used to care into custody by those authorities. gent requirements. For example, for children informally, would seek some kinship families meet all except assistance from the child welfare sys- a few of the licensing standards. tem if forced to meet welfare require- Policies Affecting Public States often waive specific licensure ments.7 Kinship Care Families requirements (such as physical space In 1997, the Urban Institute sur- Our survey reveals the variations or training) for kinship families, as veyed state foster care administrators state child welfare agencies have long as they do not jeopardize the to gather information on state poli- developed in their policies for public safety of the child. Other states cies for identifying, licensing, and kinship care. States can differ in three license kinship families under a set of financially supporting kinship care primary ways: (1) who they consider criteria established especially for families. Previous to this study, little eligible caregivers, (2) how they them. Usually these standards are less information existed on state kinship license or approve family members stringent, focusing more on child care policies. for caregiving, and (3) how they sup- safety and family support than on reg- port kinship families within the child ulations that are difficult for some kin Defining the Term welfare system. to meet and could prohibit a family NEW FEDERALISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR STATES No. A-34 from staying together. Some states “Kinship Care” Eligible Caregivers allow relatives to care for children Because kinship care has many The types of relatives who can pro- with minimal standards and minimal forms, it is helpful to think of it as a vide care for foster children vary by supervision—sometimes called unli- continuum of interventions and sup- state. Of the 50 states whose adminis- censed kinship care. port. At one end are private kinship trators responded to the Urban Institute To clarify the different ways in care families, with no contact at all kinship care survey on this question, 26 which they evaluate kinship families, with the child welfare system. In the stated that their policies mandate that we asked states to specify the avail- middle are kinship care families family members must be related to a able options for licensing relative known to the system but not formally child by blood or through marriage to a caregivers within their state. Most a part of it, some of whom may be blood relative. Twenty include a variety states (including the District of receiving support services. At the of additional categories such as neigh- Columbia) offer more licensing other end are families caring for chil- bors, godparents, and other adults who options to kin than to non-kin foster dren in state custody and receiving have a close relationship with the child, parents. In 41 of the 51 states, for ongoing attention from the child wel- and the other four have no formal defi- example, relatives have at least one fare system. For the purposes of this nition. Regardless of how states define licensing option besides the licensing brief, a “public” kinship care child kin, almost all give preference to rela- standard applied to nonrelative foster refers to a child whose placement was tives over non-kin foster parents, and care providers. In the remaining 10 arranged by child welfare authorities, many actively work to recruit family states, family members can only care 2 No. A-34 NEW FEDERALISM: ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR STATES for children in state custody if they Figure 2 comply with all state policies for Licensing Standards and Payments for foster caregivers. Kinship Foster Parents Many of the 41 states with more flexible requirements for kinship foster care have more than one licensing WA VT option for kinship homes. For MT ND ME instance, Maryland has two other OR MN ID NH options available for relatives besides SD WI NY MA WY MI a fully licensed standard: They can RI IA PA CT NE either get licensed by the foster care NV OH NJ IL IN agency under less stringent criteria UT DE CA CO WV VA DC KS MO KY (and receive a foster care payment), MD or they can be considered an unli- TN NC AZ OK censed home, meet even less strin- NM AR SC gent requirements (usually only MS AL GA safety requirements), and apply for TX LA welfare benefits. The licensing FL option a kinship caregiver chooses can be a function of family prefer- AK ences as well as state policy. HI Supporting Caregivers Payment of kinship foster caregivers varies according to the licensing a caregiver receives (table 1). Less stringent licensing Less stringent licensing Kin must meet all foster When relatives have the same option for kinship care. option for kinship care. Pay- care requirements to care licensing as non-kin caregivers, the Receive foster care payment is generally lower than for a child in the foster care ment. foster care rate. system. Receive foster care vast majority of states allow them a payment. full foster care payment.9 As seen in figure 2, of the 41 states that offer a less stringent standard, 22 still pro- In both these states, all other kinship in Maryland, a child being cared for vide a foster care payment to kinship care families must rely on welfare for by a relative licensed as a foster care- caregivers.

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