DC Permanent Guardianship Subsidy for Relative Caregivers

The Permanent Guardianship Subsidy Is for Children Exiting CFSA Care

The District's permanent guardianship subsidy is not the same thing as the Grandparent Caregivers Program or the Close Relative Caregivers Program. Those CFSA subsidies serve caregivers outside the child welfare system. The permanent guardianship subsidy may assist eligible kin and non-kin permanent guardians of children who were in CFSA legal custody.

If you are raising a grandchild informally — without the child ever having been in foster care — the permanent guardianship subsidy does not apply to your situation. You would look at GCP, CRCP, or child-only TANF instead. If the child was adjudicated neglected, committed to CFSA legal custody, and placed in your licensed home, a subsidy may be available if the eligibility criteria are met.

Eligibility Requirements

The core requirements include:

Foster care involvement. The child must have been adjudicated neglected by the DC Superior Court and committed to CFSA's legal custody.

Licensed home. CFSA policy requires the child to have lived with the prospective guardian, who must be licensed, for at least six months before permanent guardianship is finalized.

Child with special needs. D.C. law requires the child to meet the special-needs criteria for the local permanent guardianship subsidy. This includes being difficult to place for adoption because of age, race or ethnic background, physical or mental condition, or sibling-group status, or likely to lack another permanent placement except with the guardian.

Permanency determination. CFSA must formally determine that reunification with the biological parents and adoption are not appropriate permanency goals for the child.

Agreement before the court order. A written Guardianship Assistance Agreement must be fully negotiated and signed between you and CFSA before the DC Superior Court enters the final guardianship order. You cannot apply retroactively after the court has already granted guardianship.

That last point catches people. CFSA policy requires the agreement to be approved before the permanent guardianship order is granted, so begin the subsidy process before the court finalizes guardianship.

Payment Rates and Coverage

CFSA's policy provides for either a time-limited or monthly board-and-care payment, generally no higher than the child's current foster care board-and-care rate when the guardianship order is issued. The agreement also covers nonrecurring expenses associated with obtaining legal guardianship — court filing costs and legal fees — up to statutory maximums.

CFSA's permanent guardianship subsidy policy includes medical coverage through DC Medicaid. For an out-of-state guardian, it describes Title XIX Medicaid in the state of residence, subject to provider acceptance there.

Extensions Beyond Age 18

For guardianships finalized on or after May 7, 2010, D.C. law provides that subsidy eligibility continues during the guardianship order until the child reaches age 21.

Interstate Portability

The D.C. subsidy may be paid to a permanent guardian regardless of the guardian's state of residence, subject to available appropriations. Medicaid coverage for an out-of-state guardian is through Title XIX in the state of residence, subject to provider acceptance.

How This Subsidy Differs From GCP/CRCP

For a complete guide to all DC kinship financial programs — including the permanent guardianship subsidy, GCP, CRCP, TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and childcare — with application steps and document checklists, see the DC Kinship Financial Help Guide.

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