Caregiving Without Becoming a Foster Parent 

Caregiving Without Becoming a Foster Parent

Once the child is in Department of Social Services (DSS) custody, DSS will look for relatives to care for the child while they work with the child’s parents to resolve the safety issues in the home. If you agree to care for the child, you will be given the option of becoming a licensed foster parent. Kinship caregivers are vital partners in providing safe and stable connections and homes for children and youth. The Unlicensed Kinship Care payment program was launched in November 2023. Unlicensed Kinship Care providers are potentially eligible to receive half the standard foster care board rate. Speak to your DSS to see if you qualify.

Advantages

  • Some kinship caregivers want to avoid taking 30 hours of training to become licensed foster parents. Although the training does take time, the information gained is valuable in raising this child who has experienced disruption in their life. Children’s Home Society offers training specific to kinship families’ challenges, Caring for Our Own.
  • The home assessment required for kinship caregivers who are not a licensed foster parent (the Comprehensive Provider Assessment) is less involved than the assessment for foster parents (the Mutual Home Assessment), and some kin families find it less intrusive. However, if the kinship caregiver was a Temporary Placement Safety Provider and had a Comprehensive Provider Assessment done, that may be able to be used instead of the Mutual Home Assessment. Ask your caseworker.
  • The Comprehensive Provider Assessment completed for unlicensed kinship caregivers does not require all adults in the home to be fingerprinted. Using the Comprehensive Provider Assessment completed when you were a Temporary Placement Safety Provider may be possible instead of the Mutual Home Assessment. Ask your caseworker. 
  • Unlicensed kinship caregivers can apply for Work First (child-only TANF), but this payment will be significantly less than the foster parent monthly board payment. 
  • While the child is in DSS custody, they will receive services such as Medicaid, daycare subsidy, therapy, assistance with visits with birth parents, etc., regardless of whether their kinship caretaker becomes licensed. 

Disadvantages

  • Once children are in foster care, the kinship caregiver is subject to all the rules regardless of whether they are licensed foster parents. If you are not licensed, you have the rules but with limited benefits. (The Unlicensed Kinship Care payment program was launched in November 2023. Unlicensed Kinship Care providers are potentially eligible to receive half the standard foster care board rate. Ask your county if you are eligible.)
  • Many grandparents and other kin assume that the arrangement will be temporary and that the child will soon reunite with their parents; therefore, they don’t want to take the time to become licensed foster parents. However, reunification can often take time, so while the parents and DSS are working on getting the child back home, the kinship caregiver may want to get licensed, so they receive support.
  • DSS will complete a home assessment (the Comprehensive Provider Assessment), which is less involved than theMutual Home Assessment used for licensing kinship foster families. If you were this child’s Temporary Placement Safety Provider, you would have already completed this assessment.
  • Background checks are required for everyone 18 or older living in your home. This background check is through a county record search, and no fingerprints are required. DSS will also review 911 calls from your address.  
  • While the child is in DSS custody, they will receive services such as Medicaid, daycare subsidy, therapy, assistance with visits with birth parents, etc., regardless of whether their kinship caretaker becomes licensed. 

Develop good working relationships with any child welfare worker or other service providers helping you. You should feel like you are partners working for the best interest of this child. Ask if your county has a specific person who works with kinship families. Communicate respectfully what you and the child need and promptly respond to requests for more information. Ask for a different caseworker if you need a better working relationship. 

DSS custody of the child is temporary. First, they will work with the parents to address the safety issues that caused them to remove the child. Once those issues are addressed, the parents will regain custody, and the child will go home. If the safety issues are not corrected, DSS must look for other options so the child will not remain in their custody. These are called “permanency options,” and they include custody, guardianship, and adoption. DSS will work with the kinship caregiver to decide which option is best for the child and family.

Reunification

Returning the child to their parents is usually the goal when the child enters foster care and is placed in a kinship caregiver’s home. The child can return home when the parents address the safety concerns that caused the child to be removed. Relatives caring for the child are expected to support and promote reunification and, if possible, share the parenting duties with the child’s parents.

Custody

One option if the child cannot be reunified with their parents is for their relative to get legal custody. The parent’s rights are not terminated, and the child’s last name is not changed, but the caregiver can make all the child’s educational, medical, and legal decisions. However, this option doesn’t provide as much security for the caregiver and the child. In addition, it does not provide the financial support and services that may be available with the other permanency options.

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Guardianship

One option if the child cannot be reunified with their parents is for their relative to become their guardian. The parent’s rights are not terminated, and the child’s last name is not changed, but the caregiver can make all the child’s educational, medical, and legal decisions. This option provides greater security for the child and caregiver than custody, and financial support and services may be available.

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Adoption

Adoption is the permanency option that provides the most security for the caregiver and the child. The child’s parent’s rights are terminated. The caregiver becomes the child’s legal parent and has all the rights and responsibilities as if the child had been born to them. Usually, the child’s last name will change, and the caregiver will receive financial support and services.

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NC Legal Options for Kinship Caregivers

Legal Options Quiz

Child Welfare Not Involved

Child Welfare Is Involved

Making the Decision

Finding an Attorney

Kinship Advisory Committee

Additional Resources

*Not Intended as Legal Advice