Ohio Kinship Permanency Incentive (KPI): Eligibility, Income Limit, and How to Apply

What KPI Pays — and How It's Structured

The Kinship Permanency Incentive is Ohio's financial reward for relatives who take the legal step of securing custody or guardianship of a child. Unlike KSP's flat daily rate or KGAP's negotiated monthly payments, KPI provides a fixed series of incentive payments spread over a 36-month period.

The program offers up to eight payments across that timeline. The exact amounts are set by tiered schedules based on the number of children in the placement. These payments are meant to offset the costs of transitioning from a temporary arrangement to a permanent legal one — court fees, household adjustments, and the ongoing costs of raising the child.

Who Qualifies

Three requirements:

1. A court order granting legal custody or guardianship. The order must come from an Ohio juvenile or probate court, and the custody must have been awarded after July 1, 2005.

2. A PCSA home assessment. The placement must have been evaluated by a Public Children Services Agency or a court-appointed agency. This doesn't mean the child was in agency custody — some families get the assessment as part of a private custody petition.

3. Gross family income at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. This is the one income test in Ohio's kinship financial landscape. For a family of three, calculate the annual limit as three times the current three-person federal poverty guideline. Both the caregiver's and the child's income are counted.

That income test is why KPI and OWF child-only serve different roles. OWF ignores your income entirely. KPI counts it — but the 300% FPL threshold is high enough that most kinship families qualify.

How to Apply

KPI applications go through your local county PCSA — not the CDJFS office where you'd apply for OWF or SNAP. You'll need:

• A certified copy of the juvenile or probate court order
• Proof of household income (pay stubs, tax returns, Social Security statements)
• Proof that the child lives with you

The PCSA verifies the court order, runs the income check, and determines the payment schedule. Once approved, payments are issued on the established schedule.

The Six-Month Renewal

KPI isn't automatic once approved. You must re-verify eligibility every six months. That means providing updated income documentation and confirming the child still lives with you. Miss the renewal window and payments stop.

Mark the dates. Set a phone reminder, write it on a paper calendar, whatever works. The renewal is administrative — if you still meet the criteria, it goes through. But the PCSA won't chase you down if you forget.

How KPI Fits with Other Programs

KPI and OWF child-only can overlap. You can receive the KPI incentive payments while also getting the monthly OWF grant, because they serve different purposes (incentive vs. cash assistance) and are administered by different agencies (PCSA vs. CDJFS).

You can also receive SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC alongside KPI. The incentive payments may count as income for SNAP purposes, so report them to your CDJFS caseworker.

Families who exhausted their six months of KSP payments can transition to KPI once the court grants legal custody or guardianship. The programs are designed to relay, not overlap.

For the full picture of how KPI connects to every other Ohio kinship program — OWF, KGAP, SNAP, Medicaid, PRC, and childcare — the Ohio kinship financial help guide walks through each program and shows how the paperwork fits together.

See more Ohio guides →