February 18, 2010

Program Instruction on Kinship Care Expansion (ACYF-CB-PI-10-01)

On February 18, 2010, the federal Administration on Children and Families (ACF) revised Title IV-E Kinship care coverage; for 2011 states can now include children placed in kinship arrangements before the Fostering Connection to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008 (Act) went into effect. The Act created the Guardianship Assistance Payments (GAP) Program, which became effective October 7, 2008. GAP enables state and tribal title IV-E agencies to provide federal GAP to help grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other extended family members cover the costs of caring for a family member needing long-term out-of-home placement. The federal funds will be limited to children and kin families enrolled in state-funded programs as long as they met all the GAP requirements when they went into the original placement. To implement the expanded kinship coverage, states must be approved by ACF to offer the kinship option and must describe their processes for ensuring that only claims for eligible children will be submitted.