ACIN I-42-14: The Approved Relative Caregiver Funding Option Program (8/1/14)

Introductory information regarding the Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) Funding Option Program enacted by SB 855.  Relatives who care for a non-federally eligible child in foster care is not eligible to receive foster care payments.  Instead, the relatives can get CalWORKs payments.  The CalWORKs benefits are not a per-child payment, however, but are based on the size of the family as a whole, and are less than the AFDC-FC rate. To address this issue, the Legislature has enacted the ARC Funding Option Program, which gives counties the option to provide funding equal to the basic foster care rate to an approved relative caregiver of a non-federally eligible child. [Download]