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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
REVISED
kinship foster care stipend
Purpose
Requires the Department of Child Safety (DCS) to provide a monthly stipend of $250 per child to a kinship foster care parent.
Background
Children who have been removed from their home and are in custody of the DCS are placed in temporary out-of-home care, commonly called foster care, with a goal of permanent placement established for each child. Statute requires the DCS to place a child in the least restrictive type of placement available, consistent with the best interests of the child. The order of preference for placement is as follows: 1) with a parent; 2) with a grandparent; 3) in kinship care with another member of the child’s family including a person who has a significant relationship with the child; 4) in family foster care; 5) in therapeutic foster care; 6) in a group home; or 7) in a residential treatment facility (A.R.S. § 8-514).
The DCS offers a kinship foster care stipend (stipend) to all kinship foster care parents who have a child placed with them and whose income does not exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Currently, the stipend is a monthly benefit of $75 per child. A kinship foster care parent may become licensed as a foster parent to receive additional financial assistance and support services. When a kinship foster care parent becomes licensed as a foster parent, the individual is no longer eligible for the stipend.
S.B. 1391 increases the current monthly stipend for kinship foster care parents from $75 to $250 per child. According to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, there is an anticipated $14.8 million fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Directs DCS to provide a monthly stipend of $250 per child to a kinship foster care parent.
2. Makes conforming changes.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Revisions
· Corrects fiscal impact statement.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 18, 2019
CRS/AB/kja