2005 California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 11360-11375 Article 4.5. Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program

11360.  The department shall establish a Kinship Guardianship
Assistance Payment Program as specified by this article.
11361.  The Legislature finds and declares that the Kinship
Guardianship Assistance Payment Program is intended to enhance family
preservation and stability by recognizing that many children are in
long-term, stable placements with relatives, that these placements
are the permanent plan for the child, that dependencies can be
dismissed pursuant to Section 366.3 with legal guardianship granted
to the relative, and that there is no need for continued governmental
intervention in the family life through ongoing, scheduled court and
social services supervision of the placement.
11362.  For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (a) "Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payments (Kin-GAP)" means the
aid provided on behalf of children in kinship care under the terms
of this article.
   (b) "Kinship guardian" means a person who (1) has been appointed
the legal guardian of a dependent child pursuant to Section 366.26
and (2) is a relative of the child.
   (c) "Relative" means an adult who is related to the child by
blood, adoption, or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship,
including stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status
is preceded by the words "great," "great-great," or "grand" or the
spouse of any of those persons even if the marriage was terminated by
death or dissolution.
11363.  (a) Aid in the form of Kin-GAP shall be provided under this
article on behalf of any child under 18 years of age who meets all of
the following conditions:
   (1) Has been adjudged a dependent child of the juvenile court
pursuant to Section 300.
   (2) Has been living with a relative for at least 12 consecutive
months.
   (3) Has had a kinship guardianship with that relative established
as the result of the implementation of a permanent plan pursuant to
Section 366.26.
   (4) Has had his or her dependency dismissed after January 1, 2000,
pursuant to Section 366.3, concurrently or subsequent to the
establishment of the kinship guardianship.
   (b) Kin-GAP payments shall continue after the child's 18th
birthday if the conditions specified in Section 11403 are met.
   (c) Termination of the guardianship with a kinship guardian shall
terminate eligibility for Kin-GAP; provided, however, that if an
alternate guardian or coguardian is appointed pursuant to Section
366.3 who is also a kinship guardian, the alternate or coguardian
shall be entitled to receive Kin-GAP on behalf of the child pursuant
to this article.  A new period of 12 months of placement with the
alternate guardian or coguardian shall not be required if that
alternate guardian or coguardian has been assessed pursuant to
Section 361.3 and the court terminates dependency jurisdiction.
11364.  Notwithstanding subdivision (a) of Section 11450, the rate
paid on behalf of children eligible for a Kin-GAP payment shall equal
100 percent of the rate for children placed in a licensed or
approved home as specified in subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, of
Section 11461.
11365.  Kin-GAP shall be paid to the kinship guardian on a per child
basis.
11366.  A child who is eligible to receive Medi-Cal benefits with no
share of cost shall maintain that eligibility notwithstanding the
receipt of Kin-GAP by his or her kinship guardian.
11367.  (a) Kin-GAP, in an amount equal to the then current Kin-GAP
rate, shall be paid utilizing the applicable regional per-child
CalWORKs grant from federal funds received as a part of the TANF
block grant program grant.  The balance of Kin-GAP shall be paid in
equal portions by the state and the counties.
   (b) The department shall seek any federal funds available for
implementation of this article, including, but not limited to, funds
available under Title IV of the federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.), unless doing so would be detrimental to the
state General Fund.  Implementation of the Kin-GAP program shall
not, however, be contingent upon receipt of any federal funding.
   (c) Any savings that accrue to the department as a result of this
article shall revert to the General Fund.  Savings that accrue to a
county shall accrue to that county's social services subaccount in
its local health and welfare trust fund.
11368.  (a) The department shall seek any waiver from the Secretary
of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that is
necessary to implement this article.
   (b) Any provision of this article that may only be implemented
pursuant to a waiver described in subdivision (a) shall only be
operative during the period for which the waiver is granted, as
stated in a declaration that shall be executed by the director when
the waiver is obtained.
11369.  (a) Notwithstanding the Administrative Procedure Act,
Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, through June 30, 2000, the
department may implement the applicable provisions of the Kin-GAP
Program through all county letters or similar instructions from the
director.
   (b) The director shall adopt regulations as otherwise necessary,
to implement the applicable provisions of the Kin-GAP Program no
later than July 1, 2000.  Emergency regulations to implement the
applicable provisions of this act may be adopted by the director in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.  The initial
adoption of the emergency regulations and one readoption of the
initial regulations shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety or
general welfare.  Initial emergency regulations and the first
readoption of those emergency regulations shall be exempt from review
by the Office of Administrative Law.  The emergency regulations
authorized by this section shall be submitted to the Office of
Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and shall
remain in effect for no more than 180 days.
11370.  The provisions of this article shall become operative on
January 1, 2000.
11371.  Income to the child, including the Kin-GAP payment, shall
not be considered income to the kinship guardian for purposes of
determining the kinship guardian's eligibility for any other aid
program, unless required by federal law as a condition of the receipt
of federal financial participation.
11372.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Kinship
Guardianship Assistance Payment Program implemented under this
article is exempt from the provisions of Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 11200) of Part 3, except Sections 11253.5, and 11265.8, as
long as these exemptions would not jeopardize federal financial
participation in the payment.
   (b) A person who is a kinship guardian under this article, and who
has met the requirements of Section 361.4, shall be exempt from
Chapter 4.6 (commencing with Section 10830) of Part 2 governing the
statewide fingerprint imaging system.  A guardian who is also an
applicant for or a recipient of benefits under the CalWORKs program,
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3, or the Food
Stamp program, Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6
shall comply with the statewide fingerprint imaging system
requirements applicable to those programs.
   (c) Any exemptions exercised pursuant to this section shall be
implemented in accordance with Section 11369.
11373.  Two years after the implementation date of this article, and
again five years after the implementation date of this article, the
department shall report to the Legislature information on the
outcomes of the Kin-GAP Program, with the report to include all of
the following:
   (a) The number and characteristics of the children who exited the
child welfare system to the Kin-GAP Program.
   (b) The numbers and types of disruptions to the Kin-GAP Program,
including subsequent substantiated child abuse reports, child welfare
services, and cases where children return to foster care.
   (c) Rates of Kin-GAP exits from foster care compared to relative
adoption and return to parents.
11374.  (a) Each county that formally had court ordered jurisdiction
under Section 300 over a child receiving benefits under the Kin-GAP
program shall be responsible for paying the child's aid regardless of
where the child actually resides, so long as the child resides in
California.
   (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, when a child
receiving benefits under the CalWORKs program or the AFDC-FC foster
care program becomes eligible for benefits under the Kin-GAP program
during any month, the child shall continue to receive benefits under
the CalWORKs program or the AFDC-FC foster care program, as
appropriate, to the end of that calendar month, and Kin-GAP payments
shall begin the first day of the following month.
11375.  The following shall apply to any child in receipt of Kin-GAP
benefits:
   (a) He or she is eligible to request and receive independent
living services pursuant to Section 10609.3.
   (b) He or she may retain cash savings, not to exceed ten thousand
dollars ($10,000), including interest, in addition to any other
property accumulated pursuant to Section 11257 or 11257.5.