The Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment program (Kin-GAP) is a new permanency option for children in long-term foster care placements with relative caregivers and in certain instances non related caregivers that have established a familial relationship with the child. To be eligible to receive a Kin-GAP payment all of the following conditions must be met:
- The child was a dependent of the Juvenile Court placed with the relative for at least 6 consecutive months before the guardianship was ordered by the Juvenile Court and before dependency was dismissed.
- The social worker assessed the relative caregiver and determined that he or she no longer needed the supervision of a social worker or the Juvenile Court and was ready and able to leave the foster care system.
- The relative guardianship was ordered by the Juvenile Court.
- The juvenile court dependency was dismissed on or after January 1, 2000.
- The child is a US citizen, US national or has lawful immigration status.
Kin-GAP payments equal to the basic family home rate for the county in which the child resides.