Alabama Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KinGAP): Eligibility and Payments

What KinGAP Actually Is

KinGAP — the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program — is Alabama's permanent financial support for relatives who take legal guardianship of a child leaving the state foster care system. It operates under federal Title IV-E authority and Alabama Code § 38-12-31.

The key word is "foster care system." KinGAP is not available to grandparents or relatives who obtain probate guardianship on their own, outside of DHR involvement. The child must have been formally placed in DHR custody through a juvenile court dependency order first.

The Six Requirements

Every one of these must be met:

1. Foster care history. The child was removed from the parental home by a juvenile court dependency order and placed in DHR legal custody.
2. Licensed or approved kinship foster home. The child was placed in the relative's fully licensed or DHR-approved kinship foster home.
3. Six months of placement. The child lived continuously in the fully licensed or approved relative foster home for at least six consecutive months before the guardianship application.
4. Permanency determination and child consultation. DHR formally determined that reunification with the birth parents and adoption are not appropriate permanency goals. The relative must show a strong commitment to the child's permanent care, and DHR must consult a child aged 14 or older about the guardianship.
5. Fourth-degree relationship. The relative must fall within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity — grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, first cousin, niece, nephew, grandniece, grandnephew, or stepparent.
6. Agreement before court order. The relative and DHR must sign a KinGAP agreement before the court enters the guardianship order. Once the court order is finalized, DHR cannot execute a retroactive agreement.

That last point trips up more families than any other. If the court enters the guardianship order before the KinGAP agreement is signed, the subsidy is permanently lost for that placement.

Payment Rates

KinGAP monthly payments are negotiated between DHR and the relative guardian before the legal transfer. The subsidy cannot exceed the foster care maintenance board rate the child was receiving (or would have received) in the licensed foster home.

The caregiver's income is not tested — KinGAP is a non-needy subsidy tied to the child's foster care history, not the guardian's financial situation.

How Long Payments Last

KinGAP continues until the child turns 18. Extensions to age 21 are available if the guardianship was established after the child turned 16 and the youth stays enrolled in secondary education, college, vocational training, or an employment program.

Children exiting foster care to KinGAP after age 16 also become eligible for the Alabama Fostering Hope Scholarship (tuition and fees at public post-secondary institutions) and the federal Education and Training Voucher program (up to $5,000/year for higher education).

KinGAP vs. Other Financial Help

Most relatives raising a child never enter the foster care system at all. If you're caring for a grandchild informally — without a DHR placement — KinGAP isn't the program for you, but several others are. Child-only Family Assistance, SNAP, Medicaid, and ALL Kids are all available without foster care involvement or formal custody.

The Financial Help for Grandparents and Relatives Raising a Child in Alabama guide covers the full spectrum — from child-only cash grants that don't count your income, to KinGAP for foster care transitions, to childcare subsidies and caregiver respite programs — so you can see exactly which programs match your situation.

See more Alabama guides →