KINSHIP EVALUATION PROCESS

When family or non-relative supports are identified as being a possible option for children who need a placement outside of their home, Protective Services will complete a kinship evaluation with the interested individuals.  Agency kinship staff visit the prospective home (assessing for any physical hazards or safety issues in the home), interview household members (to help determine the family’s ability to best provide care) and review any possible additional needs or supports which placement of children might create.  Background checks for any prior Protective Services and criminal history must also be performed on all adults in the home as part of the evaluation process.

SUPPORTS AND RESOURCES

Kinship caregivers working with Protective Services are linked with agency kinship staff who can assist with service identification and referrals, and work directly with casework staff associated with the family’s open Protective Services case.

Various organizations, providers, churches and other community programs offer services for kinship caregivers and families.  Protective Services kinship staff can assist with identifying and locating those services and opportunities.

BENEFITS AND ELIGIBILITY

Kinship caregivers may be eligible to receive financial assistance from various available resources, depending on a number of factors.  Examples include the Ohio Works First (OWF) assistance for relatives caring for children and the Kinship Permanency Incentive Program (KPIP).

Protective Services staff and kinship caregivers work with Fairfield County Job and Family Services to assist in determining eligibility and applying for these benefits.  Family members caring for a relative child, who is placed in the relative’s legal custody, do not need to have an open case with Protective Services to be eligible for KPIP. 

To be eligible for KPIP, a kinship caregiver must have:
• Legal custody or guardianship of the child on or after July 1, 2005, 
AND
• A gross family income of less than 300 percent of the federal poverty guideline.