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My godmother is the guardian of her granddaughter. Currently she is receiving just the TANF?? payment (which is considerably less than she would be getting as a regular foster parent). She has permanent guardianship of her granddaughter. She was told that the county/state (colorado) would not be in favor of her becoming a kinship foster parent due to the extra cost the state would incur. Is that really the counties decision to make? Or can my godmother go against their "advice" and become a foster parent so she can receive more assistance? Is it still possible to do so even though she is already the permanent guardian of her granddaughter? Her main concern is that she does not lose the services for her granddaughter, which will remain in place under the current arrangement, but it seems like she should be able to become a kinship foster home and receive additional assistance. Help! I don't know much about kinship care. Any advice is appreciated.
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Well, you just knew I'd pop up on this one. Unfortunately, it may be too late. I don't think the case can go backward. The child is already out of foster care, so I'm not seeing how the godmother can get her back in? But it's worth asking. In my state, as soon as a relative gets their license, they are considered foster parent. In other states, kinship care and foster get the same subsidy (allowed under Title IV-E) and services, licensed or not. In others, if you are related, you are out of luck, licensed or not (our sending state tried to do this to us, but our state objected :clap: . It's wrong, wrong, wrong, but many agencies sucker relatives into empty guardianship dispositions, robbing the child of permanency, legal security, and sometimes the medical/mental healthcare, services and other benefits needed for a successful placement and healthy childhood.
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Of course I'm in Canada, so the terminology may be very different - but here Private Guardianship is virtually the same as adoption (except that it ends when the child turns 18). That means that it takes the child OUT of the foster care system, and the only way they go back in is if they are seized from their parents...so here, it definitely can't be "undone" at the choice of the parent. In fact, if you request to have a child MOVED once you have private guardianship, YOU get to pay all the financial support for the child! We are kindship care providers - but I'll admit that the supports here for PG are almost as good as those for kinship.
I was B's Volunteer Big Sister for 6 years before she came to me. Though the judge called me a "stranger" (that's a whole other story), the SW called me a nonreleated extended family member. I became her emergency foster parent and received $540 a month. WE saw the social worker once a month and went to court every 6 months. Then I became her legal guardian after about 9 months. I still have to see the social worker once every six months but I am her legal guardian and basically make most of the calls.
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