Documents Utah DWS Needs from Kinship Caregivers

Why Documents Matter More for Kinship Cases

Standard benefit applications require identity and income verification. Kinship cases add a layer: you also need to prove your relationship to the child, the parents' absence, and the child's living situation. Missing one document can stall the entire application for weeks.

DWS issues a Verification Checklist (Form 214) after receiving your application, listing exactly what they need. Getting ahead of that checklist saves an entire processing cycle. Here is what to gather before you apply.

Child Identity and Age

DWS needs proof that the child exists and how old they are. Accepted documents:

• Official birth certificate (the most common and strongest option)
• Hospital crib card
• Passport or consular ID card

If you do not have the birth certificate, you can order a certified copy from the Utah Office of Vital Records or the state where the child was born. A hospital crib card is an accepted option; ask DWS whether it will accept another record while you wait for a certified copy.

Social Security Number

The child's Social Security card or official SSA assignment slip. If the child does not have an SSN, contact SSA about applying. DWS accepts a documented SSN application receipt while the card is being processed.

Proof of Your Relationship

This is where kinship cases get specific. DWS needs to see that you are a qualifying specified relative — grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling, niece, nephew, or first cousin. Accepted proof:

• Birth certificates that chain your relationship: your birth certificate plus the child's, showing the connecting parent
• Court guardianship order (Form 1300GU)
• § 75-5-103 power of attorney signed by the parent
• For aunts, uncles, and other lateral relatives, you may need multiple birth certificates to establish the link

If you are the child's grandparent, typically two birth certificates do the job — yours and the child's parent's (your son or daughter), plus the child's own. DWS workers can trace the relationship from those documents.

Proof of Parental Absence

DWS needs to understand why the parents are not caring for the child. You are not required to produce a police report or court order — an attestation under penalty of perjury that the parents are absent and the child resides with you is sufficient for the application itself.

Supporting documentation strengthens the case and can speed processing:

• A letter from a treatment facility confirming a parent is in residential care
• An incarceration record or inmate locator printout
• A protective order
• A DCFS case reference number, if child welfare was involved

If you do not know where the parents are, say so directly on the application. DWS has procedures for processing cases where parental whereabouts are unknown.

Utah Residency

A current utility bill, lease agreement, mortgage receipt, or rent slip showing your household's Utah street address.

Child's Income and Resources

If the child receives any income in their own name — Social Security Survivor benefits, child support, trust disbursements — bring the documentation. An SSA benefit statement or an ORS payment history printout covers the most common sources. If the child has no income (most common), note that on the application.

Uploading Through myCase

The myCase portal at jobs.utah.gov accepts document uploads in common formats (PDF, JPEG, PNG). Each upload generates a confirmation number. Screenshot or write down every confirmation number — if a document disappears in the system, that number is your proof it was submitted on time.

The 30-day verification deadline starts from the date on the Form 214 notice, not the date you receive it. Submit documents as soon as you have them. If you submit between days 31 and 60, DWS can reopen the case without a new application, but benefits are prorated from the date they receive the documents. After day 60, you start over.

For a printable document checklist organized by program, the Utah Kinship Financial Help guide includes a verification matrix covering every benefit you might apply for.

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