A Systematic Policy Review of Financial Assistance Differences in Kinship Care Programs versus Foster Care Programs.
Location
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Start Date
4-5-2024 9:00 AM
End Date
4-5-2024 11:30 AM
Poster Number
164
Name of Project's Faculty Sponsor
Alyson C Chroust
Faculty Sponsor's Department
Psychology
Competition Type
Competitive
Type
Poster Presentation
Presentation Category
Social Sciences
Abstract or Artist's Statement
Existing literature suggests that children have better emotional and mental outcomes with kin rather than being placed into foster care if primary caregivers can no longer care for them (Jantz et al., 2002). The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates, a middle-income family of two children will cost $12,980 per child annually (USDA, 2015). Many foster parents receive comparable grants to afford this. However, due to differences in financial assistance and lack of accessibility, many kin cannot afford to care for a child, which warrants the question of how large is the gap? This policy review aimed to discover the discrepancies in financial policies for kinship care and foster care that are impacting a child’s ability to stay with kin in the states Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi. Databases, such as PsychInfo, PubMed, ScienceDirect, as well as government or advocacy sites were utilized to find possible articles pertaining to this issue. Keywords used when searching were: “Kinship Care,” “Foster Care,” “Financial Policies,” along with all our involved states of study. Overall findings suggested that since the TANF/Child Only Grant, previously Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was established in 1996, there has been a large decrease in the number of families in poverty and kin taking over care of a child who can qualify for the grant. TANF is a fixed federal grant distributed throughout the country, and states are required to contribute funds as well called a maintenance of effort, MOE. The qualifications for this grant vary by state, especially since there is no universal definition of kin. Virginia, for example, requires kin to meet all non-kin foster caregiver standards in order to foster the child in need. The grant only reaches a small population of families, and often do not provide any substantial financial assistance, such as Alabama, who’s maximum TANF benefit has remained $215 per month since 2005 (CBPP, 2021). When considering inflation, the value of TANF has decreased, as only 7 states in the country have increased their TANF benefits to keep up with inflation, including Tennessee and Mississippi (CBPP, 2021). Whereas, Kentucky has not increased the maximum TANF benefit of $262 since the implementation of TANF/Child Only Grant since 1996, giving an adjusted value with inflation of -45%. In comparison, foster caregivers receive per diem board rates from state and federal funding under Title IV-E under the Social Security Act, ranging from $750-1,400 per month state to state. Unless kin are registered and trained as foster caregivers, they do not have access to the same financial assistance. In light of this information, we have learned that the states should aim for more transparency for citizens regarding financial policies of foster care and kinship care. Further investigations can be done into these policy discrepancies to bring more awareness for future possible policy reform.
A Systematic Policy Review of Financial Assistance Differences in Kinship Care Programs versus Foster Care Programs.
D.P. Culp Center Ballroom
Existing literature suggests that children have better emotional and mental outcomes with kin rather than being placed into foster care if primary caregivers can no longer care for them (Jantz et al., 2002). The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates, a middle-income family of two children will cost $12,980 per child annually (USDA, 2015). Many foster parents receive comparable grants to afford this. However, due to differences in financial assistance and lack of accessibility, many kin cannot afford to care for a child, which warrants the question of how large is the gap? This policy review aimed to discover the discrepancies in financial policies for kinship care and foster care that are impacting a child’s ability to stay with kin in the states Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi. Databases, such as PsychInfo, PubMed, ScienceDirect, as well as government or advocacy sites were utilized to find possible articles pertaining to this issue. Keywords used when searching were: “Kinship Care,” “Foster Care,” “Financial Policies,” along with all our involved states of study. Overall findings suggested that since the TANF/Child Only Grant, previously Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), was established in 1996, there has been a large decrease in the number of families in poverty and kin taking over care of a child who can qualify for the grant. TANF is a fixed federal grant distributed throughout the country, and states are required to contribute funds as well called a maintenance of effort, MOE. The qualifications for this grant vary by state, especially since there is no universal definition of kin. Virginia, for example, requires kin to meet all non-kin foster caregiver standards in order to foster the child in need. The grant only reaches a small population of families, and often do not provide any substantial financial assistance, such as Alabama, who’s maximum TANF benefit has remained $215 per month since 2005 (CBPP, 2021). When considering inflation, the value of TANF has decreased, as only 7 states in the country have increased their TANF benefits to keep up with inflation, including Tennessee and Mississippi (CBPP, 2021). Whereas, Kentucky has not increased the maximum TANF benefit of $262 since the implementation of TANF/Child Only Grant since 1996, giving an adjusted value with inflation of -45%. In comparison, foster caregivers receive per diem board rates from state and federal funding under Title IV-E under the Social Security Act, ranging from $750-1,400 per month state to state. Unless kin are registered and trained as foster caregivers, they do not have access to the same financial assistance. In light of this information, we have learned that the states should aim for more transparency for citizens regarding financial policies of foster care and kinship care. Further investigations can be done into these policy discrepancies to bring more awareness for future possible policy reform.