Kinship care reimbursement payments are a vital resource that will support positive outcomes for children and families and encourage more people to become kinship care providers.
Senate Bill 20 authorized NCDHHS to implement a policy that provides payments to kinship care providers who take care of children who are in the custody of DSS without having to meet the requirements of a foster care license. As it relates to this legislation, kinship is defined as a person who is related by blood, marriage, or adoption to a child and is providing foster care. When children cannot be assured safety in their own homes, often the best alternative resource can be found within extended family and other kin.
“We know children in foster care do best when placed with relatives because family connections provide a sense of belonging, preserve a child’s cultural identity, build their relationship to their community and children experience fewer behavioral problems,” said Susan Osborne, NCDHHS Deputy Secretary for Opportunity and Well-Being. “Currently about 25% of children in foster care live with kinship providers, but with kinship payments and other initiatives we hope to significantly increase this option for children who cannot remain safely in their home.”
The payments went into effect in November, and beginning in December, kinship providers can receive up to $405 per month for each child in their care. Before now, most county social service departments lacked the resources to pay kinship providers. These payments will provide financial support and promote placement with appropriate kinship care providers for children in foster care. Ultimately, this may also have a positive impact on permanency outcomes for children and lead to children exiting from foster care to adoption, guardianship, or reunification sooner.
“I am very thankful that the state of North Carolina has decided to allow payments to unlicensed kinship providers,” said Harnett County DSS…
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