DC Kinship Foster Care vs Informal Care: How Benefits Differ

Two Common Tracks

In DC, several legal arrangements can apply when a relative raises someone else's child. Two common tracks are informal kinship care — you took the child in because the parent could not care for them, without a child welfare agency placing the child with you — and formal kinship foster care, where CFSA (the Child and Family Services Agency) places the child with you as a licensed relative foster parent through a dependency proceeding.

The track determines which programs you access, how much you receive, and what obligations you carry.

Informal Care: What You Qualify For

Most grandparents and relatives raising children in DC are informal caregivers. You stepped up because of a family crisis — parental addiction, incarceration, illness, or death — not because a judge or caseworker placed the child.

As an informal caregiver, you can access:

• Child-only TANF through DHS (your income excluded from the calculation)
• GCP or CRCP subsidies through CFSA (household income under 300% FPL; daily rate at 66%–105% of the regular daily Level 1 long-term permanent guardianship subsidy rate, offset by TANF)
• Medicaid (the child's household is determined under MAGI tax-filer and non-filer rules; a relative caregiver is not included solely because the child lives with them)
• SNAP (household rules apply; your income is counted here)
• OSSE childcare subsidy (with possible waivers for kinship-related priority groups)
• WIC for children under 5
• DHS Gen2Gen DC's Grandfamilies Support Group for caregivers, children, and youth in grandfamilies

Each program has its own eligibility and documentation rules. For TANF, D.C. law defines eligible caretaker relatives and when a caregiver may be included in the child's assistance unit; it does not list a court custody order as a universal eligibility condition.

Formal Kinship Foster Care: What Changes

When CFSA places a child with you through the child welfare system, the financial landscape shifts:

Different payment rules. Licensed relative foster parents receive the foster care board rate set for the child's age and level of care. GCP/CRCP use a separate subsidy formula: 66% to 105% of the regular daily Level 1 long-term guardianship subsidy rate, offset by TANF for the child.

CFSA oversight. You are subject to home visits, case plans, and agency requirements. CFSA retains legal custody of the child.

Path to permanency. Formal placement can lead to CFSA's Permanent Guardianship Subsidy after a permanent guardianship order. CFSA policy provides financial support and 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. D.C. law permits the subsidy to be paid regardless of the guardian's state of residence and provides eligibility through age 21 for guardianships finalized on or after May 7, 2010.

Medicaid and SNAP. The child is covered through the foster care system. SNAP rules for foster children differ from regular household rules.

The Gap Between the Tracks

The two arrangements use different payment rules. GCP/CRCP pays 66%–105% of the regular daily Level 1 long-term permanent guardianship subsidy rate, with TANF offset. Licensed foster parents receive the foster care board rate set for the child's age and level of care. Both are subject to their program's eligibility rules and available funding.

Formal foster care also carries obligations that many kinship families resist. CFSA involvement means caseworker visits, background checks on all household adults, ongoing compliance with licensing standards, and the possibility that the agency's permanency plan may not align with the family's wishes.

Can You Switch Tracks?

If you are an informal caregiver and the child has never been in the foster care system, you cannot simply request to become a foster parent for that child. If the court orders separation because of abuse or neglect, CFSA receives legal custody, and you can be licensed as the child's foster parent.

Going the other direction is more common: a child exits foster care through permanent guardianship or reunification, and the relative caregiver continues raising the child outside foster care. CFSA requires the guardianship subsidy agreement to be approved before the permanent guardianship order is granted.

Making the Most of the Informal Track

For informal caregivers, the key is benefit stacking. Child-only TANF plus GCP/CRCP plus Medicaid plus SNAP plus childcare subsidies together can provide substantial support — more than any single program alone.

For the full breakdown of every benefit, application instructions, and a stacking worksheet, see the DC Kinship Financial Help Guide.

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