Oklahoma Kinship Foster Care Payment Rates

How Oklahoma Pays Kinship Foster Parents

When OKDHS places a child in a relative's home through the child welfare system, that relative can become an approved or licensed kinship foster parent and receive monthly foster care maintenance payments. These payments are funded through federal Title IV-E or state dollars and are meant to cover the child's daily living expenses — food, clothing, shelter, personal care, and school supplies.

The payment rates vary by the child's age. Oklahoma's Child Welfare Services (CWS) Rates Schedule establishes daily reimbursement amounts. These are separate from Child-Only TANF and permanency assistance, which use their own payment standards.

Kinship foster placements are paid under the CWS rate schedule. The child must be in OKDHS legal custody, and the relative must have an approved or fully licensed foster home.

Payment Rates by Age Group

Oklahoma structures foster care reimbursement as daily rates that vary across age tiers. Rates may also vary with the child's specialized care needs.

The key point for relative caregivers: these rates far exceed what Child-Only TANF provides. A single child on Child-Only TANF receives a maximum of $104 per month regardless of age. The foster care rate for that same child, depending on their age, can be several times that amount.

Beyond the monthly maintenance payment, kinship foster parents also receive categorical SoonerCare (Medicaid) coverage for the child with no income test and subsidized child care at a $0 copay.

Foster Care Payments vs. Other Kinship Financial Options

The payment you receive depends entirely on your legal arrangement with the child and whether OKDHS child welfare is involved. Here is how the main options compare:

Informal kinship care (no court order, no OKDHS involvement): You can apply for Child-Only TANF, which pays $104 per month for one child, $205 for two, and $289 for three. Your personal income is excluded from the eligibility calculation. You can also apply for SNAP, SoonerCare, and child care subsidies, but there are no foster care maintenance payments because the child is not in state custody.

Private guardianship (Title 30, no OKDHS custody): Same financial picture as informal care. You get Child-Only TANF and other public benefits, but no foster care payments. You went through court, but the child was never in OKDHS custody.

Child welfare kinship foster placement (OKDHS custody, approved or licensed home): This is where foster care payment rates apply. Monthly maintenance payments at the age-tiered daily rate, categorical SoonerCare, and $0 copay child care. The child must be adjudicated deprived, removed by court order, and placed in your approved or licensed kinship foster home by OKDHS.

TANF Supported Permanency or Title IV-E Subsidized Guardianship: These programs are for relatives transitioning from foster care to permanent guardianship. Supported Permanency pays specialized rates under Appendix C-1, Schedule XVII — higher than Child-Only TANF but structured differently from foster maintenance. Title IV-E Subsidized Guardianship can pay up to 100% of the foster care rate, individually negotiated. Both require the child to have been in OKDHS custody first.

What Determines Your Specific Monthly Amount

Several factors affect the actual dollar amount you receive each month as a kinship foster parent:

Child's age: Younger children receive a lower daily base rate. As the child ages into higher tiers, the daily rate increases.

Care level: Specialized care needs can affect the rate. Ask your CWS specialist which rate applies to the child's circumstances.

Number of children: Each child placed in your home generates a separate maintenance payment at their individual rate. If you are caring for a sibling group, each child's payment is calculated independently.

Licensing status: You must maintain your foster home approval or license to continue receiving payments. If it lapses or is revoked, payments stop even if the child remains in your physical care.

How to Access Kinship Foster Care Payments

You cannot apply for foster care payments the way you apply for TANF or SNAP. The process begins with OKDHS involvement:

1. The child must come into OKDHS custody through a child welfare proceeding — typically after a report of abuse or neglect.
2. OKDHS identifies you as a relative willing to provide placement.
3. You complete the kinship foster home approval or licensing process through your CWS specialist.
4. Once approved or licensed and the child is formally placed, maintenance payments begin.

If you are currently caring for a relative's child informally and believe the child may need state protection, contact the OKDHS Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-522-3511. If you are already in the child welfare system and have questions about your payment rate, your assigned CWS specialist can review the rate schedule with you.

For relatives caring for children outside the child welfare system, the Oklahoma kinship financial help guide maps every payment program available based on your specific legal arrangement — informal care, power of attorney, private guardianship, or child welfare placement — so you can identify exactly which funding streams apply to your situation.

See more Oklahoma guides →