The California Department of Social Services issued a reminder regarding federal and state requirements for eligibility and redetermination for foster youth and non-minor dependents.
Annual redeterminations are not required after the initial eligibility decision is made for a foster youth or a non-minor dependent. Deprivation only needs to be determined at the time of initial eligibility and foster youth and non-minor dependents who remain in a continuous foster care episode continue to be eligible regardless of income or resources. The county agency must establish AFDC Foster Care (AFDC FC) eligibility at the time the youth is removed from the home, when a voluntary placement agreement is entered, or when the youth reenters foster care.
Welfare and Institutions Code sections 11155.5 and 11401.5 now state that a youth’s income or resources must not be used to determine eligibility or the amount of an AFDC FC payment at any time during a foster care episode. This includes tribal per capita or other disbursements. Eligibility also cannot be redetermined solely because a youth turns eighteen years old. Foster youth and non-minor dependents who are in a continuous foster care episode remain eligible for AFDC FC payments regardless of income, monetary value, or resources if all other eligibility requirements are met. Eligibility determinations are not to be conducted because of temporary absences from placement such as trial home visits or other temporary placement changes.
When a non-minor dependent reenters foster care, the county must conduct a new AFDC deprivation determination, and that determination must be based only on the non-minor dependent’s income and resources and not on family income. If the non-minor dependent is not federally eligible at that time based on their own income and resources, they can still be eligible for a foster care payment without federal participation if all other criteria are met. Counties must continue to evaluate all factors that affect eligibility for a payment, including continuing dependency, age, eligible placement type, and participation conditions for non-minor dependents. (ACIN I-50-25, October 13, 2025.)