Section 17-1621-8 - Eligibility requirements for federal Title IV-E kinship guardianship assistance Federal title IV-E kinship guardianship assistance is a type of permanency assistance. Federal title IV-E monies are available to provide kinship guardianship assistance payments to relatives who assume legal guardianship of children for whom they have cared while foster parents. Federal financial participation (FFP) using the applicable federal medical assistance percentage is available for kinship guardianship assistance payments. The following provisions apply to the federal Title IV-E kinship guardianship assistance program:
(a) Eligibility. (1) The child must have been removed from his/her home pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or as a result of a judicial determination that continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the chiId; and(2) The child must have been eligible for Title IV-E foster care maintenance payments during a period of at least six consecutive months during which the child resided in the home of the prospective relative guardian who was unconditionally licensed as a foster family home.(3) The department must determine that: (A) Return home or adoption are not appropriate permanency options;(B) The child demonstrates a strong attachment to the prospective relative guardian; and(C) The relative guardian has a strong commitment to caring permanently for the child.(4) The department must consult with a child who is 14 years or older regarding the kinship guardianship arrangement.(b) Treatment of siblings. (1) The eligible child and any sibling of the eligible child may be placed in the same kinship guardianship arrangement if the department and the relative agree on the appropriateness of the arrangement for the siblings; and(2) Kinship guardianship assistance payments shall be paid on behalf of each sibling so placed. The sibling does not have to meet the eligibility criteria to receive kinship guardianship assistance payments or for the legal guardian to be reimbursed for the nonrecurring expenses related to costs of the legal guardianship of the sibling.(c) Medicaid and social services. Any eligible child for whom there is a federal Title IV-E kinship guardianship assistance payment being made is categorically eligible for medical care under Title XIX of the Social Security Act, Medicaid services, and social services under Title XX, in the state where such child resides.(d) Case plan requirements. In addition to the case plan requirements at HAR 17-1610-26, for a child with respect to whom the permanency plan is placement with a relative and receipt of kinship guardian assistance payments, the case plan for this chapter shall include a description of: (1) The steps that the agency has taken to determine that it is not appropriate for the child to be returned home or adopted;(2) The reasons for any separation of siblings during placement;(3) The reasons why a permanent placement with a fit and willing relative through a kinship guardianship assistance arrangement is in the child's best interest;(4) The ways in which the child meets the eligibility requirements for a kinship guardianship assistance payment;(5) The efforts the agency has made to discuss adoption by the child's relative foster parent(s) as a more permanent alternative to legal guardianship and, in the case of a relative foster parent who has chosen not to pursue adoption, documentation of the reasons; and(6) The efforts made by the department to discuss with the child's parent(s) the kinship guardianship assistance arrangement, or the reasons why the efforts were not made.(e) A child who does not meet the eligibility requirements for federal Title IV-E kinship guardianship assistance, shall be evaluated for state funded permanency assistance eligibility. In all cases, however, eligibility for federal Title IV-E kinship guardianship assistance shall be evaluated first.[Eff DEC 09 2010] (Auth: HRS § 346-14) (Imp: § 346-14; ACYF-CB-PI-08-007)