When a child cannot remain in their parents’ care, kinship care can provide a safe and stable home while helping children stay connected to their family, culture, and community. Relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings often step in to provide daily care and support during difficult transitions. But do you get paid for kinship care during that time?
In some situations, kinship caregivers may receive financial support through foster care payments, TANF benefits, SNAP, Medicaid, KinGAP, or other state programs. Eligibility depends on the type of kinship placement, legal custody arrangement, income requirements, and the resources available in each state.
What Foster Care Stipends Do
Taking care of a child can bring new financial responsibilities. Food, clothing, transportation, medical care, school supplies, and other everyday needs can quickly add up, especially when a caregiver takes on a new role unexpectedly.
Foster care maintenance payments, sometimes called foster care stipends, are designed to help cover the costs of caring for a child in foster care. These monthly payments help caregivers provide children with the essentials they need while living in a safe and stable home.
The amount of financial support varies by state and may depend on factors such as the child’s age, individual needs, and the type of foster care placement. Some states may also provide additional assistance for clothing, transportation, or other approved expenses.
Who Qualifies for Foster Care Payments?
Not every person caring for a child automatically receives foster care payments. Eligibility depends on the child’s placement, the caregiver’s approval status, and state requirements.
In general, caregivers may qualify for foster care maintenance payments when:
- The child is placed through the foster care system
- The caregiver is approved or licensed as a foster parent
- The caregiver meets state foster home requirements
- The placement has been approved by the child welfare agency
Read More: Benefits of Kinship Care vs. Foster Care
Kinship caregivers who become licensed foster parents can receive the same foster care maintenance payments available to other foster parents. The fact that a caregiver is related to the child does not mean they receive a different type of payment.
How Can Kinship Caregivers Qualify for Foster Care Payments?
Kinship caregivers may qualify for foster care payments when they provide care through a formal kinship placement. This means the child has been placed with a relative through the child welfare system, and the caregiver completes the required approval process involving things like a background check, foster parent training, and approval from the local child welfare agency
Once approved, the relative caregiver becomes a licensed foster caregiver and may receive monthly foster care payments to help cover the child’s needs.
Which Kinship Caregivers Can Receive Foster Care Payments?
The type of kinship care arrangement plays a major role in whether a caregiver qualifies for foster care payments.
Formal Kinship Caregivers – Yes
Formal kinship care occurs when a child is placed with relatives through the foster care system. These caregivers must usually meet the same standards as other foster parents. Approved kinship caregivers in formal foster care placements may receive foster care maintenance payments.
Informal Kinship Caregivers – No
When a child lives with relatives without court involvement or placement through a child welfare agency. Because the child is not in foster care, these caregivers typically do not receive foster care payments. However, they may qualify for other forms of financial assistance, including child-only TANF benefits, SNAP, Medicaid, or local kinship programs.
Kinship Guardianship – It Depends
Some relatives may become the child’s legal guardian through the court. In certain situations, caregivers may qualify for programs like KinGAP, which can provide monthly payments and support after a foster care placement becomes permanent.
Assistance Programs Available to All Foster Caregivers, Including Kinship
These apply to any licensed/certified foster parent, related or not.
- Foster Care Maintenance Payments — A monthly payment funded through Title IV-E to cover a child’s food, clothing, housing, and daily needs. Kinship caregivers who become licensed foster parents receive this same payment; it is not a kinship-specific benefit.
- TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) — TANF provides cash assistance to eligible low-income families. Many states offer child-only TANF benefits for relatives caring for children, even when the caregiver’s own income does not qualify them for traditional TANF. Learn about your state’s TANF program HERE.
- Medicaid for the Child — Children in licensed foster care are automatically eligible, regardless of who is caring for them. Learn about Medicaid in your state HERE.
- SNAP (food stamps) — SNAP provides food assistance based on household income and size. Kinship caregivers may qualify after a child moves into their home. Find out more about your state’s SNAP program HERE.
Child Care, School, and Emergency Assistance
Depending on location and eligibility, kinship families may also qualify for additional state resources such as:
- Child care assistance like CCDF in California
- School meal programs like CACFP
- WIC benefits
- Clothing support
- Transportation assistance
- Emergency financial assistance
The best place to find out if you qualify for these is to contact your local Social Security office, your child’s school, or a local child welfare office, depending on your needs.
Programs Unique to Kinship Caregivers
These exist because the caregiver is a relative or fictive kin — a non-relative foster parent cannot access these.
Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP), also called Kin-GAP or KinGAP
A monthly cash subsidy, generally equal to the standard foster care rate, paid to a relative who takes legal guardianship after the child has lived with them in foster care for at least six consecutive months.
This is a federal Title IV-E program that states individually opt into, so the name, exact payment, and rules differ state to state. As of 2026, 43 states, DC, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and 12 tribes have an approved plan; caregivers in Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming rely on state-funded guardianship subsidies instead.
Kinship Navigator Programs
Case management and referral services (legal help, respite care, benefits navigation) are built specifically for relative and fictive-kin caregivers. This is support, not a cash payment.
Kinship Licensing and Certification Standards
Separate, often less burdensome, certification standards that let relatives qualify for foster care payments more easily than the standard foster licensing process requires. The standard itself pays nobody; it is a doorway to the payments above.
State-Specific Kinship Care Programs
Kinship care benefits vary by state. Each state has different programs, eligibility requirements, and payment options depending on the child’s placement, custody arrangement, and whether the child is involved in foster care.
California
- Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) Funding Option Program — Pays the basic foster care rate per child per month to relatives whose child does not qualify for federal Title IV-E funding.
New York
- NYS Kinship Caregiver Program — Cash assistance toward guardianship costs and a childs basic needs, plus case services, through a statewide network of 13 community-based programs.
Florida
- Relative Caregiver Program (RCP) — Monthly payment per child: $242 (ages 0-5), $249 (ages 6-12), $298 (age 13+).
- Nonrelative Caregiver Payment Program — Same payment structure, for fictive kin.
Illinois
- Extended Family Support Program (EFSP) — Cash assistance to obtain guardianship and meet a child’s basic needs, for caregivers not yet in the child welfare system.
Texas
- Relative and Other Designated Caregiver (RODC) Program — ~$380/month per child ($12.67/day), for up to 12 months (plus a 6-month extension for good cause).
- Permanency Care Assistance (PCA) — $400-545/month per child for relatives who take permanent legal custody after fostering for at least six months.
How to Apply for Your Kinship Care Benefits
Because eligibility depends on factors like custody, income, placement type, and state rules, there is no single program available to every kinship caregiver.
A caseworker can help you understand whether you qualify for foster care payments. Start by contacting your:
- Local child welfare agency
- County social services office
- Foster care caseworker
- Kinship navigator program
- State benefits office
Helpful paperwork to have on hand when you apply for these programs may include:
- Proof of identity
- Proof of relationship to the child
- Custody or guardianship documents
- The child’s birth certificate
- Medical records
- School records
- Placement paperwork
Becoming a kinship caregiver can feel overwhelming, but support is available. Programs vary by state, so caregivers should connect with local agencies to learn what assistance they may qualify for. Foster Love provides resources and support for children and families impacted by foster care. Learn more about kinship care using our guide HERE.