The state is taking steps to make it easier for extended family and close family friends to receive monthly foster care payments when they care for children in foster care who cannot live with their parents. This kind of caregiving is called kinship care. It is often preferred for kids in foster care because these youth do better behaviorally and emotionally, maintain their cultural roots and community connections, and receive the love and stability all kids need from their caregivers.
As of January 2023, the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families will help support kinship caregivers by making it easier for them to get licensed to care for the specific child or children living with them. These child/children-specific licenses will then pave the way for kinship families to receive monthly checks to help cover the costs of raising children. Amara’s kinship programs will help support kinship families seeking these licenses with DCYF.