Oklahoma TANF Supported Permanency Program: Higher Payments for Kinship Guardians

Standard TANF Child-Only pays $104 a month for one child in Oklahoma. The TANF Supported Permanency Program pays substantially more — but it's only available through a specific pathway involving OKDHS Child Welfare Services.

What Supported Permanency Is

The TANF Supported Permanency Program (SPP) provides enhanced monthly cash payments to relatives who take permanent guardianship of a child currently in OKDHS custody. It's governed by OAC 340:10-22-1 and exists as a middle path between standard child-only TANF (low payments, available to anyone) and Title IV-E Subsidized Guardianship (highest payments, strictest requirements).

SPP rates are set under OKDHS Appendix C-1, Schedule XVII and vary by the child's age across three brackets: under 6, ages 6 through 12, and 13 and older. These rates exceed standard child-only amounts significantly.

Who Qualifies

SPP has specific eligibility gates:

The child must be in OKDHS state custody. This is not available for informal kinship arrangements or private guardianships. The child must have been removed from the parents and placed in the state child welfare system.

The child must be in your home. The child must currently reside with you as an approved relative foster parent and must have lived in your home for at least four of the previous six months.

Age requirement: The child must be at least 12 years old, or be a younger sibling placed in the same home as an eligible child who is 12 or older. The Director of the Child and Family Services Division can approve a good-cause exception for younger children without older siblings, but this is discretionary.

How the Referral Works

You don't apply for SPP directly. The process starts on the child welfare side:

1. The child is placed in your home through OKDHS Child Welfare Services
2. The court enters a legal guardianship order transferring custody to you
3. Within five business days after the court order, the Child Welfare specialist submits Form 04PP006E (DCFS-77), Supported Permanency Referral to the TANF Programs Unit
4. OKDHS processes the referral and begins monthly payments

The five-day window after the court order is critical. If the referral form isn't submitted promptly, processing delays can stall payments.

What You Receive Beyond Cash

SPP recipients are categorically eligible for SoonerCare medical coverage for the child and subsidized childcare. These aren't separate applications — categorical eligibility means the child qualifies automatically based on SPP enrollment.

SPP vs. Title IV-E Guardianship

Oklahoma runs both SPP and Title IV-E Subsidized Guardianship. The key differences: Title IV-E requires six consecutive months of licensed foster care placement and the subsidy agreement must be signed before the court enters the guardianship order. SPP requires only four of six months and the referral is submitted after the order. Title IV-E rates can go up to 100% of the foster care reimbursement rate; SPP pays the Schedule XVII rate. Title IV-E also covers legal fee reimbursement.

Both programs continue payments until the child turns 18, with extensions possible through 19 or 21 for youth completing high school or living with a documented disability.

Our Oklahoma Kinship Financial Help Guide includes a side-by-side comparison of all three pathways — standard child-only TANF, Supported Permanency, and Title IV-E guardianship — so you and your caseworker can identify which program fits your situation.

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