North Dakota Kinship Care vs Foster Care: What Relatives Need to Know

When a child in North Dakota cannot stay with their parents, two very different systems can catch them. Kinship care means a relative takes the child in — often overnight, often without any formal process. Foster care means a child is placed out of home through a child-welfare agency, either by court order or through a voluntary parental placement, with a licensed foster provider or approved kinship placement. The two look similar from the outside, but the legal structure, the financial support, and the caregiver's authority are completely different.

Understanding which situation you are actually in matters for everything from school enrollment to medical consent to the benefits the child can receive.

Informal Kinship Care

Most kinship arrangements in North Dakota are informal. A grandparent, aunt, uncle, or family friend steps in because a parent is dealing with addiction, incarceration, hospitalization, or another crisis. No court order is involved. No state agency placed the child.

In this arrangement:

• You have no automatic legal authority. The biological parents retain all legal rights. To make decisions about the child's schooling and medical care, you typically need a Minor Power of Attorney under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-26-04, which requires a parent's signature and lasts a maximum of six months. Under § 23-12-13, certain relatives may consent to health care when a parent cannot provide informed consent and higher-priority people cannot be located, but not if someone higher on the list has refused.
• You are not a foster parent. You do not hold a foster care license, and you are not receiving foster care payments from the state.
• The child may qualify for benefits independently. TANF child-only grants may be available, and HHS lists an option to base eligibility on the child's income alone. Medicaid and CHIP have separate eligibility rules based on the child's coverage group and family-size income.
• Kinship-ND can help. HHS Child and Family Services offers navigator support and guardianship legal-cost funding through the Kinship-ND program for eligible kinship caregivers who are not licensed foster providers, including some with child-welfare agency involvement. Applying for Kinship-ND does not itself open a child-protection case. Contact: (701) 328-1453 or [email protected].

Formal Foster Care Placement

When Child Protective Services or a Human Service Zone obtains a court order removing a child from the home, the public agency holds legal custody. North Dakota also allows voluntary parental placements with a child-welfare agency; the agreement governs the agency's role. If you are the relative the child is placed with, you can choose to become a licensed relative foster parent.

In this arrangement:

• For a court-ordered placement, the public agency holds legal custody, not you. In a voluntary placement, the agreement governs the agency's decision-making role.
• Foster care payments are available to licensed relative foster providers. These payments are typically higher than TANF child-only grants.
• You must meet licensing requirements — background checks, home inspections, and training hours. Federal law allows states to waive non-safety licensing standards case by case for relative foster homes.
• Kinship-ND has separate eligibility rules. A relative who is licensed to provide foster care for the child is not eligible for Kinship-ND. Kinship-ND also supports some kinship caregivers with child-welfare agency involvement who are not licensed foster providers.

When Kinship Becomes Foster — and Vice Versa

Sometimes a child starts in informal kinship care and ends up in the foster system. A CPS investigation may result in formal removal and court-ordered placement. Other times, a child exits foster care and a relative continues caring for them informally after reunification falls through.

If CPS arranges a voluntary safety placement with you — without a court order — the biological parents still retain legal rights. Get the safety plan in writing from the CPS caseworker, and make sure it spells out exactly what authority you have for school and medical decisions during the placement.

Which Path Makes Sense

There is no universally better option. Informal kinship care preserves family autonomy and avoids court involvement, but it leaves you with limited legal authority and lower financial support. Foster care licensing provides stronger legal backing and higher payments, but it brings state oversight and licensing requirements.

Many families start informally and pursue court guardianship when the arrangement becomes long-term — when the six-month POA limit becomes impractical, when schools or medical providers demand a court order, or when the biological parents cannot execute a new delegation.

Our North Dakota School and Medical Consent Guide covers the consent and enrollment tools available to informal kinship caregivers, including when it makes sense to transition to a more formal legal arrangement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I receive foster care payments without becoming a licensed foster parent?

Generally, no. Foster care maintenance payments in North Dakota require licensing. However, informal kinship caregivers can access TANF child-only grants, Medicaid for the child, and Kinship-ND navigator services without licensing.

Does kinship care show up on the child's record?

Informal kinship care does not involve a CPS case or foster care record. Formal foster placement through a court order does become part of the child welfare system. This distinction matters to many families who want to keep the arrangement private.

What if I am already a licensed foster parent for one child and informally caring for another?

Your status is evaluated per child. You can be a licensed foster provider for one child and an informal kinship caregiver for another. Kinship-ND eligibility depends on whether you are a licensed foster provider for the specific child in question.

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