Kinship Care refers to a temporary or permanent arrangement in
which a relative or any non-relative adult who has a long-standing
relationship or bond with the child and/or family, has taken over
the full-time, substitute care of a child whose parents are unable
or unwilling to do so. Kinship Care includes those relationships
established through an informal arrangement, legal custody or
guardianship order, a relative foster care placement or kinship
adoption. Regardless of the type of kinship care arrangement, the
kinship caregivers' voluntary commitment to devote their lives to
the children in their care is a courageous, life-changing
decision. Kinship care represents the most desirable out-of-home placement
option for children who cannot live with their parents. It offers
the greatest level of stability by allowing children to maintain
their sense of belonging and enhances their ability to identify
with their family's culture and traditions.
Kinship Permanency Incentive
Program The Kinship Permanency Incentive (KPI)
program was created to support children in the homes of family or
friends who have committed to caring for them when birth parents
cannot. KPI provides time-limited incentive payments to
families caring for their kin. Eligible kinship caregivers will
receive an initial payment to defray costs of initial placement and
may receive subsequent payments at six-month intervals to support
the stability of the child's placement in the home. The
maximum incentive amount may not exceed eight payments and will not be
provided for longer than forty-eight consecutive months. KPI
payments are in addition to Ohio Works First (OWF) cash assistance
received for the child. Eligibility requirements for Ohio's Kinship
Permanency Incentive Program include: - The court must have awarded legal custody or guardianship of
the child on or after July 1, 2005 to the kinship caregiver, based
on the best interest of the child.
- The public children services agency must have completed the
Relative or Non-Relative Substitute Placement Approval Process,
inclusive of a criminal background check, as well as completion of
an application form.
- The gross income of the caregiver's family, including the
child, may not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty
guidelines.
For the list of Kinship Permanency Incentive Program contacts at each county public children services agency click link: KPI County Contacts. For more information on resources available to kinship
caregivers, please see the following resource or contact your local
public children services agency: Kinship Support Program
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