When the Department of Child Safety removes a child from their home, they prefer placing the child with a relative if possible. As a result, over 4600 grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, and other relatives in Arizona are responsible for children in foster care. The unexpected responsibility often leaves families wondering how they can support a child in their care.
As of this writing, here are the current financial resources available from the state:
- Monthly CHILDS check: Kinship caregivers of children ages 0-12 receive $78.90 per month, 1-2 years receives $44.40, 3-5 years receives $18.90, 6-11 years receives $33.60, and 12+ receives 52.80. To receive the stipend, you need to fill out, sign, and return billing statements sent from DCS via mail.
- TANF assistance: Apply through your DCS agent. If eligible, you can receive monthly assistance from $164 for one child to $506 for seven children.
- The Grandparent Stipend Program gives grandparents and great-grandparents below a certain income a $75 monthly stipend. You can qualify if you are not a licensed foster parent and you are not receiving TANF assistance.
- Becoming a licensed foster parent makes you eligible to receive a monthly stipend, which is based on the number of children in your care, their ages, and their particular needs.
- Some emergency funds are also available for clothing, school books, food, diapers, graduation expenses, passports, educational fees, and special needs-related expenses.
We often receive calls from grandparents who need help buying clothes, food, school supplies, and other basic needs for their grandchildren. It can be a scary time for the children and kinship caregivers alike. We offer help by directing them to resources for kinship caregivers in Arizona, by sharing our experiences with the foster care system, and by supporting extracurricular and educational activities through our grant program. Your tax-credit donation funds these activities for children, and allows Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation to keep answering our phones for families in need.