Items that have been deleted can be seen by clicking the Deleted link. 8.3B TITLE IV-E, Foster Care Maintenance Payments Program, Payments
1.Under title IV-E, how is the term "foster care maintenance payments" defined?
(Updated 09/01/2009) 3.Please clarify how funds may be disbursed for allowable child care. 1. Question: Under title IV-E, how is the term "foster care maintenance payments" defined? Show History Answer: Under title IV-E, the term "foster care maintenance payments" is defined (in section 475(4) of the Social Security Act) as: "...payments to cover the cost of (and the cost of providing) food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a child's personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to a child and reasonable travel to the child's home for visitation and reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement. In the case of institutional care, such term shall include the reasonable costs of administration and operation of such institution as are necessarily required to provide the items described in the preceding sentence."
The cost items listed in the first sentence apply equally to family foster care and institutional foster care. The costs of providing the items may include costs such as local transportation necessary for either a foster parent or institution to provide the items. However, allowable costs do not include reimbursement in the nature of salary for the exercise by the foster family of ordinary parental duties.
The second sentence applies only to institutional foster care. The reasonable costs of administration and operation necessary to provide the items only for children served under title IV-E foster care are allowable elements in payments to child care institutions. Since these costs are limited types of activities and apply only to title IV-E children, the costs of foster care in institutions will have to be allocated along two lines: (1) the allocation of costs, for purposes of Federal financial participation (FFP), based on allowable cost items and activities; and (2) the allocation of costs based on the proportion of children in the institution receiving foster care under title IV-E for those allowable elements compared to children whose care is paid under other programs.
The establishment of a cost allocation system for institutions, as well as for the title IV-E agency itself, is a title IV-E agency-responsibility and is a necessary precursor to the title IV-E agency?s ability to claim FFP for allowable institutional foster care costs.
Answer: Title IV-E precludes payments made directly to the child or turned over to him by another agency for the purpose of meeting independent living costs. The eligibility of a child for title IV-E is based in part on the fact that he is placed in a family foster home or child care institution as a result of a court determination or voluntary agreement (section 472 (a)(2)(A) and (C) of the Social Security Act (the Act)). Federal financial participation is limited to foster care maintenance payments made on behalf of a child described in section 472 (a) of the Act who is in a foster family home or in a child care institution (section 472 (b)). Both "foster family home" and "child care institution" are defined in section 472 (c). Title IV-E does not include "independent living" in these definitions, and it is not considered foster care within the meaning of the Act. Title IV-B may be an alternative source of funding for these independent living programs. Since independent living is not considered foster care, the limitations found in section 424(c) of title IV-B to foster care payments would not apply.
Answer: States may include the cost of allowable child care in the basic foster care maintenance payment or may make a separate maintenance payment directly to the licensed provider. For example, if, in a particular foster family, both parents work, the State may include the cost of child care in the maintenance payment made to that family or may pay the licensed provider directly. Regardless of the payment method chosen, the State must be able to provide documentation to verify allowable expenditures.
Answer: No. Nothing in statute or regulation prohibits a State from providing child care for working parents in some but not all jurisdictions. Daily supervision is one of the components of a foster care maintenance payment, and licensed child care is an allowable element of daily supervision in certain circumstances (see the definition of foster care maintenance payments in 45 CFR ?1355.20). A State has the discretion to choose the way in which it will provide daily supervision, including whether or not to provide child care in the title IV-E foster care maintenance payment for some or all working foster parents.
Answer: Yes. The Fair Access Foster Care Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-113), which took effect on November 22, 2005, amended section 472(b) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the prohibition against making foster care maintenance payments through a for-profit entity.
Answer: Prior to the finalization of adoption, title IV-E eligible children in adoptive homes may receive foster care maintenance payments if the home is licensed for foster care. This practice is necessary to prevent a gap in medical care and/or support for foster children who have been placed for adoption but are ineligible for IV-E subsidy until the adoption assistance agreement is signed.
Answer: Yes. The State may provide a full month's title IV-E foster care maintenance payment to the licensed provider if the brief absence does not exceed 14 days and the child's placement continues with the same provider. Otherwise, the State must prorate its claims if the child is absent from the placement for more than a reasonable brief period.
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