Virginia Code 63.2-1306: State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program
A. The State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program is established to facilitate placements with relatives and ensure permanency for children in foster care. Kinship guardianship assistance payments may include state-funded maintenance payments made pursuant to this section.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 63.2-1306
- Adult: means a person 18 years of age or more. See Virginia Code 1-203
- Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
- Department: means the State Department of Social Services. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- Federal-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program: means a program consistent with 42 U. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- Fictive kin: means persons who are not related to a child by blood or adoption but have an established relationship with the child or his family. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- Foster home: means a residence approved by a child-placing agency or local board in which any child, other than a child by birth or adoption of such person or a child who is the subject of a power of attorney to delegate parental or legal custodial powers by his parents or legal custodian to the natural person who has been designated the child's legal guardian pursuant to Chapter 10 of Title 20 and who exercises legal authority over the child on a continuous basis for at least 24 hours without compensation, resides as a member of the household. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Kinship guardian: means the adult relative of a child in a kinship guardianship established in accordance with § 63. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- Kinship guardianship: means a relationship established in accordance with § 63. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- Local department: means the local department of social services of any county or city in the Commonwealth. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
- Sibling: means each of two or more children having one or more parents in common. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program: means a program that provides payments to eligible individuals who have received custody of a relative child subject to a kinship guardianship assistance agreement developed in accordance with § 63. See Virginia Code 63.2-100
B. A child is eligible for kinship guardianship assistance under the program if:
1. The child has been removed from his home pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or as a result of a judicial determination that continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child;
2. The child has been in the custody of the local department for at least 90 days;
3. The child demonstrates a strong attachment to the prospective kinship guardian, and the prospective kinship guardian has a strong commitment to caring permanently for the child;
4. The child has been consulted regarding the kinship guardianship if the child is 14 years of age or older;
5. The requirements for a transfer of custody of the child to the prospective kinship guardian for the purpose of establishing eligibility for the State-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program set forth in subsection A1 of § 16.1-282.1 have been met; and
6. The child is not eligible for the Federal-Funded Kinship Guardianship Assistance program set forth in § 63.2-1305.
C. If a child does not meet the eligibility criteria set forth in subsection B but has a sibling who meets such criteria, the child may be placed in the same kinship guardianship with his eligible sibling if the local department and kinship guardian agree that such placement is appropriate. In such cases, kinship guardianship assistance may be paid on behalf of each sibling so placed.
D. A prospective kinship guardian is eligible for kinship guardianship assistance under the program if he:
1. Completes the relative foster home approval process; or
2. Qualifies for a waiver from one or more components of such process pursuant to Board regulations, completes a background check and has not been convicted of any barrier crime as outlined in 42 U.S.C. § 671(a)(20), and completes a home study in accordance with § 63.2-904.
E. In order to receive payments pursuant to the Children’s Services Act (§ 2.2-5200 et seq.), the local department and the prospective kinship guardian of a child who meets the requirements of subsection B shall enter into a written kinship guardianship assistance agreement with the Department and containing terms providing for the following:
1. The amount of each kinship guardianship assistance payment, the manner in which such payments will be provided, and the manner in which such payments may be adjusted periodically, in consultation with the kinship guardian, on the basis of the circumstances of the kinship guardian and the needs of the child; and
2. Assurance that the agreement shall remain in effect without regard to the state of residency of the kinship guardian.
F. For purposes of this section, “relative” means an adult who is (i) related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption or (ii) fictive kin of the child.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 254.