OKDHS - OAC 340:75-7-24. Kinship placements

340:75-7-24. Kinship placements

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• 1 through • 5

Revised 3-26-10

(a) Kinship care. When placement with a non-custodial parent is not in the child's best interest, kinship care is considered as the first option in providing care for the child requiring out-of-home placement, provided the child's needs are met and safety is reasonably ensured in the kinship placement. In cases where the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) applies, the placement preferences of the act are followed. A kinship placement is assessed as a potential permanent placement for the child if reunification is not achieved. Kinship relationships do not require a blood relationship. The types of kinship relationships are identified in (1) through (5).

(1) Related by blood. Maternal and paternal blood relatives, whether related by marriage or not, considered as kinship, including half-blood, are:
- (A) siblings;
- (B) grandparents, including those denoted by prefixes of great and great-great;
- (C) aunts and uncles, including those denoted by prefixes of great and great-great;
- (D) nieces and nephews, including those denoted by prefixes of grand and great-grand; and
- (E) cousins.
(2) Related by marriage. Per OAC 340:75-7-24(a)(1), relationships by marriage, whether common-law or ceremonial, including step-relations and even after the marriage is terminated by death or divorce, are considered kinship.
(3) Related by adoption. Relatives by adoption, per OAC 340:75-7-24(a)(1) and (2), are considered kinship.
(4) Related by emotional tie or bond. An emotional tie or bond exists when a child or the child's parent acknowledges and accepts a person as part of the extended family or in the family's close network of friends and relationships. The family relationship role exists prior to the necessity for out-of-home placement of the child. • 1
(5) Noncustodial parent. A child returned to or placed with a noncustodial parent or a parent whose rights were terminated is not a kinship placement. Biological parents are not kinship resources and are not eligible for foster care maintenance payments. • 2

(b) Initial kinship placement. A child may be placed in a kinship foster home prior to completion of the resource family assessment and pre-service training, provided:

(1) Form 04FC001E, Initial Kinship Placement Agreement, is completed and signed;
(2) Forms 04AF001E, Bridge Resource Family Assessment Application, and 04AD003E, Request for Background Check, are completed and signed, per OAC 340:75-7-15 and 340:75-7-18;
(3) an Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) records search, including Child Welfare (CW) records, is completed and documented on Form 04AF007E, Records Check;
(4) Form 04AF004E, House Assessment, is completed and approved; and
(5) three personal references, only one of whom is a family member, are interviewed by phone. • 3

(c) Kinship maintenance payment option. The kinship applicant may opt for payment by OKDHS or a money payment for which the child is eligible instead of the foster home maintenance payment.

(1) The foster home maintenance payment is reduced by the amount of the money payment if the money payment is less than the foster home maintenance payment. Refer to OAC 340:75-7-52.1 for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Administration (SSA) benefits received for a parent who is deceased or disabled.
(2) Payment may include:
- (A) other financial resources, per OAC 340:75-13-28; or
- (B) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, per OAC 340:10-9. • 4

(d) Kinship requirement. All kinship foster homes, paid or non-paid, must meet the same requirements as all other CW foster homes. Kinship foster homes, that have not been approved within the preceding five years, are entitled to receive:

(1) a one-time kinship start-up stipend to assist with initial expenditures for each child placed in the home for fourteen days; and
(2) a training stipend half after enrollment and half after completion of the pre-service training when a child has been placed in the home. The kinship start-up stipend and the training stipends are set out in Appendix C-20 (.pdf, 9 pp, 109 KB), Children and Family Services Division Rates Schedule. For paid kinship foster homes, maintenance payments begin at the time requirements are met per OAC 340:75-7-18 and are not retroactive. • 4

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:75-7-24

Revised 12-15-11

1.   Notification to court of relative denied placement. When a relative considered for placement is denied placement, Form 04MP056E, Notice to the Court of Relative Denied Placement, is submitted to the court per OAC 340:75-7-18.

2.   Exception to kinship relationship requirements. An exception to the requirement for emotional tie or bond for a kinship relationship may be requested from, and approved on a case-by-case basis by the Children and Family Services Division (CFSD) Foster Care Section when:

(1) a diligent search for kinship has been completed per OAC 340:75-6-85.2 and documented in the child's KIDS case;

(2) an appropriate kinship provider as defined in OAC 340:75-7-24 is not located; and

(3) a specialized skill is needed to care for the child;

(4) a teenager has found placement through a connection in the community; or

(5) a child in permanent custody or long-term placement has a connection in the community; or

(6) other similar circumstance exists.

3.   Kinship. Diligent efforts, per Section 1-4-204 of Title 10A of the Oklahoma Statutes (10A O.S. § 1-4-204), are made to place a child in a kinship placement. The resource specialist carefully considers the child's physical and emotional health and safety when identifying potential kin providers.

4.   Initial kinship placement. An Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) records search, including Child Welfare (CW) records, is completed first on potential kinship providers and documented on Form 04AF007E, Records Check Documentation Form. When the resource specialist does not complete the initial kinship placement, the CW specialist provides the necessary paperwork to the resource specialist within two business days. The resource specialist:

(1) copies the KIDS Pre-Resource to a Resource after the child is placed in the kinship foster home and the initial placement requirements are completed, per OAC 340:75-7-24;

(2) documents the relationship of the kinship provider in KIDS Resource General Information screen. When requesting an out-of-county kinship placement, a KIDS Pre-Resource is assigned to the county where the kinship provider resides;

(3) end dates the KIDS Pre-Resource after the conversion to a Resource; and

(4) completes:

(A) Form 04FC001E, Initial Kinship Placement Agreement;

(B) the criminal records search, OKDHS records review, background checks, and Juvenile Justice Information System (JOLTS) review for any child older than 13 years of age residing in the home, per OAC 340:75-7-15;

(C) Form 04AF004E, House Assessment, and submits Form 04AF004E to the CW supervisor for review; and

(D) an interview by phone with three personal references, only one of whom is a family member. When all other requirements are satisfied and the placement is occurring after 10:00 p.m., the child may be placed and the references contacted the next day.

5.   Kinship stipends and maintenance payment.

(1) The kinship start-up stipend (KSUS) and the training stipend is entered automatically by the KIDS system.

(A) The KIDS system automatically generates the KSUS on the 15th day of the child's placement when the child is in the placement for 14 consecutive days.

(B) The KIDS system allows a date range for automatic payment of the training stipend that includes the kinship provider:

(i) enrolling in the pre-service training up to seven days prior to the child's placement; and

(ii) completing the pre-service training up to seven days after the child leaves the placement.

(2) The resource specialist:

(A) refers the relative kinship provider to the local OKDHS office to apply for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits pending completion of the assessment process to become a paid foster family;

(B) to avoid an overpayment, informs the Family Support Services worker no later than the next business day after the foster care home requirements are satisfied for foster care;

(C) at the initial consultation:

(i) obtains each kinship provider's signature on a foster care contract, per OAC 340:75-7-52 Instructions to Staff, or when the provider is a non-paid kinship provider, on Form 04FC002E, Nonpaid Agreement; and

(ii) provides each adult applicant in the home with fingerprint cards to be completed and returned to the resource specialist within five calendar days; and

(D) consults with the CW supervisor and determines whether an exception is necessary.

(i) Exceptions for payments made before requirements are completed are considered on a case-by-case basis.

(ii) A request for a one-time 60-day training or home study waiver is requested only after all efforts by the county to expedite training or the home study are exhausted, and the efforts are documented in KIDS Resource Contacts screens.

(iii) A written request and a waiver request on KIDS is submitted to CFSD Foster Care Section by the CW supervisor.

(iv) The types of training waivers include a:

(I) temporary waiver when pre-service training is not available and all other requirements are satisfied; and

(II) permanent training waiver for an incapacitated spouse that is available only after the primary kinship provider completes the pre-service training.

(v) A home assessment waiver is requested when:

(I) the resource specialist has not completed the home assessment timely; or

(II) required documentation is not received.

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