Department of Economic Security: Kinship Foster Care/Kinship Care Pilot Program

This report addresses two areas within the Arizona Department of Economic Security:  kinship foster care and kinship care pilot program. Kinship foster care involves the parenting of a child by a relative when the court determines that a child should be separated from his or her parents due to abuse or neglect, and placed in the custody and control of the State’s child welfare agency. Within the Department, the Division of Children, Youth, and Families oversees kinship foster care and offers financial benefits and nonfinancial services, such as foster care maintenance payments to licensed relative caregivers, case management services, and childcare. Kinship care involves the parenting of a child by a relative when the relative takes on the responsibility without court or child welfare agency involvement. The Department’s Division of Benefits and Medical Eligibility administers the kinship care pilot program, and offers financial benefits to relative caregivers in the form of a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families child-only grant. 

This report found that the Department needs to improve its compliance with legislative requirements for kinship foster care by focusing additional efforts in three areas. First, it needs to provide additional staff training on the intent and specific policy requirements of kinship foster care. Second, the Department should monitor staff compliance with program requirements such as informing caregivers about financial benefits and other services. Finally, the Department should use, where appropriate, its current goals, objectives, and performance measures to assess the outcomes of kinship foster care placements. 

The report also found that the Department should take steps to ensure the legislative requirements and intent are met for the kinship care pilot program. Specifically, the Department should develop a formal outreach plan to facilitate community awareness of the pilot program. In addition, the Department should improve its mechanism for helping relative caregivers identify and locate other needed services. The Department should also revise its cash assistance application instructions and provide additional training to pilot office staff to ensure the program’s streamlined processes are implemented appropriately. Finally, the Department should gather outcome information to monitor its progress in achieving the program’s legislative intent.