Kinship (KPI)

Kinship Care refers to a temporary or permanent arrangement in which a relative or any non-relative adult who has a long-standing relationship or bond with the child and/or family, has taken over the full-time, substitute care of a child whose parents are unable or unwilling to do so. Kinship Care includes those relationships established through an informal arrangement, legal custody or guardianship order, a relative foster care placement or kinship adoption. Regardless of the type of kinship care arrangement, the kinship caregivers’ voluntary commitment to devote their lives to the children in their care is a courageous, life-changing decision.

Kinship care represents the most desirable out-of-home placement option for children who cannot live with their parents. It offers the greatest level of stability by allowing children to maintain their sense of belonging and enhances their ability to identify with their family’s culture and traditions.

Kinship Permanency Incentive Program

The Kinship Permanency Incentive (KPI) program was created to support children in the homes of family or friends who have committed to caring for them when birth parents cannot. KPI provides time-limited incentive payments to families caring for their kin. Eligible kinship caregivers will receive an initial payment to defray costs of initial placement and may receive subsequent payments at six-month intervals to support the stability of the child’s placement in the home. The maximum incentive amount may not exceed six payments and will not be provided for longer than thirty-six consecutive months. KPI payments are in addition to Ohio Works First (OWF) cash assistance received for the child.

Eligibility requirements for Ohio’s Kinship Permanency Incentive Program include:

• The court must have awarded legal custody or guardianship of the child on or after July 1, 2005 to the kinship caregiver, based on the best interest of the child.
• The public children services agency must have completed the Relative or Non-Relative Substitute Placement Approval Process, inclusive of a criminal background check, as well as completion of an application form.
• The gross income of the caregiver’s family, including the child, may not exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.

For more information on resources available to kinship caregivers, please contact us at (419) 898-3688.

Information from Ohio.gov