Rates for Placement and Related Services

0900-511.10 | Revision Date: 01/03/23

Overview

This policy guide provides a listing of rates for the AFDC-FC rates, including Resource Family (RF) rates, Level of Care (LOC) RF rates, Kinship Guardianship (Kin-GAP) Adoption Assistance Program (AAP)A mandatory statewide program that provides financial support to families in order to facilitate the adoption of children who would otherwise be in long-term foster care. The intent of this program is to remove limited financial resources as a barrier to adoption. rates, Foster Family Agency (FFA)A non-profit organization licensed by the State of California to recruit, certify, train, and provide professional support to foster parents. rates, Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) rates, Supervised Independent Living Program (SILP) rates, rates for Intensive Services, Infant Supplement/Whole Family Foster Home rates, Transitional Housing Placement Nonminor Dependent (THP-NMD) Rates, Dual Agency rates (including Rates for AAP), and Emergency Placement Stipend.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Policy

Basic Rate

Dual Agency Rates

Foster Family Agency (FFA) Age Based Rates

Specialized Care Increment (SCI)

Level of Care (LOC) RF Rates

Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP) Rate

Wraparound Rates

Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) Rates

Expectant Parent Payment (EPP)

Infant Supplement and Whole Family Foster Home (WFFH)

Reimbursement to Funeral Home

Nonrelated Legal Guardian & KinGAP

Transitional Housing Placement - Nonminor Depdenent (THP - NMD)

THP-NMD Housing Supplement NMDS (Non-Custodial) by Counties with a THP-NMD Program

Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) Rates

Out-of-State Group Home Rates

Emergency Placement Stipend

Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) Basic Rates

COVID-19 Static Criteria

Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC)

Helpful Links

Referenced Policy Guides/FYIs

Statutes

Version Summary

This policy guide was updated from the 05/03/22 version per All County Letter (ACL) 22-59 and 22-64 to provide the adjusted schedules of rates that reflect the California Necessities Index (CNI) increase of 6.63 percent for fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 effective July 1, 2022.

POLICY

Effective July 1, 2022, eligible out-of-home care placements received a CNI increase and all new rates are reflected throughout this policy .

Basic Rate

Applicable to Home Based Family Care (HBFC), which includes Resource Families (RFs), Licensed Foster Family Homes (FFHs), Relatives (including Approved RelativeFor the purpose of placement and foster care payments: An adult who is related to the child by blood, adoption or affinity within the fifth degree of kinship, including stepparents, stepsiblings, and all relatives whose status is preceded by the words, "great," "great-great" or "grand" or the spouse of any of these persons even if the marriage was terminated by death or dissolution. Caregiver (ARC), non-relative extended family members (NREFMs), Dual Agency Placements, Tribally Approved Homes (TAH), Guardianships established through Juvenile Court, Probate Guardianships, Kinship Guardian Assistance Payment Program and Non-Minor Dependents (NMDs) residing in a HBFC family setting. For FFAs, see below.

Effective July 1, 2022, the basic rate is $1129.

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Dual Agency Rates

The CNI increase is not applied to the dual agency supplemental rate. For more information on Dual Agency rates, refer to PG 0900-511.12, Dual Agency Rates.

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Foster Family Agency (FFA) Age Based Rates

Specialized Care Increment (SCI)

All SCIs are entirely for the Resource Family therefore, any Foster Family Agency (FFA) receiving a SCI on behalf of a child/youth placed in one of their homes shall forward the entire SCI to the Resource Family.

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Level of Care (LOC) RF Rates

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Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program (STRTP)

Effective July 1, 2022, the new STRTP rate is $15,281.

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Wraparound

Rate:

FED: $7,641

NON/FED: $15,281

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Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) Rates

ISFC RF Rate: $2,946

Total Rate: $6,628

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Expectant Parent Payment

Effective January 1, 2022, WIC 11465(e) authorizes a payment to be made directly to an expectant minor or NMD, approximately three (3) months prior to the minor/NMD’s due date. Prior to automation, this payment will be issued as a lump sum of $2,700; once automation has been finalized, an amount equivalent to the home-based foster care infant supplement will be paid monthly for the final three (3) months of a minor/NMD’s pregnancy. The payment will be the same regardless of placement type, and it will be paid directly to the expectant minor/NMD.

Infant Supplement and Whole Family Foster Home (WFFH)

Children who are living with a teen parent in a Whole Family Foster Home (WFFH) are eligible for the Infant Supplement provided in an FFH, FFA and RFA home as reflected below. The infant supplement remains the same and standardizes the infant supplement rate for all non-dependent children placed with their dependent parent.

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Reimbursement to Funeral Home

The county shall reimburse the resource parent(s) for the cost of the funeral expenses up to the amount of $7500 for a child receiving foster care at the time of their death.

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Nonrelated Legal Guardianship (NRLG) & KinGAP

Rates effective based on when dependency was dismissed (KinGAP) or guardianship established (NRLG including Probate). NRLGs established in probate court are eligible for the Basic Level Rate only.

As of April 1, 2021, NRLG (dependency) and Kin-GAP are eligible for all LOC rate levels per ACL 21-17. Please refer to the LOC RF Rates Table above.

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Transitional Housing Placement - Nonminor Dependent (THP-NMD)

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THP-NMD Housing Supplement NMDS (Non-Custodial) by Counties with a THP-NMD Program

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THP-NMD Housing Supplement for Youth Who Are Custodial Parents by Counties with a THP-NMD Program

Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) Rates

Effective July 1, 2022, all NMDs in SILPs receive the Basic Rate $1129 plus the applicable clothing allowance. NMDs in SILPs are not eligible to receive SCI rates. Parenting NMDs can receive the Infant Supplement when residing in a SILP. In addition to the Basic Rate and Infant Supplement, parenting NMDs are eligible to receive an additional $200 per month, after completion and approval of a Parenting Support Plan (PSP) with an identified responsible adult mentor and determination by the county agency that the identified responsible adult meets specified criteria. For more information on SILPs, refer to the Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) policy guide.

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Out-of-State Group Home Rates

The rate paid for California group home placements made out-of-state is the rate established by the rate-setting authority of the other state; however, the rate paid cannot exceed the current FY STRTP rate. The county cannot claim federal financial participation for any rate amount exceeding the current STRTP rate or exceeding the rate determined by the rate-setting authority of the state in which the facility is located.

Emergency Placement Stipend

A monthly emergency placement stipend of $400/child is available for relatives and NREFM for a maximum of three (3) months.

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Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) Basic Rates

The 2007 Foster Family Home (FFH) rate structure is to be used for initial AAP agreements signed on or after October 1, 1992 through December 31, 2007, and the adoption finalized before May 27, 2011. Effective July 1, 2022, the 6.63 percent CNI increase applied to the 2007 FFH rate structure is reflected in Tables A, A-1 and A-2.

Table A

Table A-1

Table A-2

The 2008 FFH rate structure is to be used for initial AAP agreements signed on or after January 1, 2008 through May 27, 2011, and the adoption finalized on or before May 27, 2011. Effective July 1, 2022, the 6.63 percent CNI increase applied to the 2008 FFH rate structure is reflected in Tables B, B-1 and B-2.

Table B

Table B-1

Table B-2

The statewide rate structure is to be used for initial AAP agreements signed and the adoption finalized on or after May 27, 2011 through December 31, 2016. Effective July 1, 2022, the 6.63 percent CNI increase applied to the statewide rate structure is reflected in Table C.

Table C

The rate structure to be used for initial AAP agreements signed on or after January 1, 2017 includes the statewide Resource Family (RF) basic level through LOC 4 rate. Refer to ACL 21-54, dated June 16, 2021 for the implementation date of the AAP LOC Protocol to be used to determine the child’s eligibility for the RF basic level through LOC 4 rate. Effective July 1, 2022, the 6.63 percent CNI increase applied to the statewide RF basic level through LOC 4 rate structure is reflected in Table D.

Table D

Initial AAP agreements signed on or after January 1, 2017 with an RF Basic Level Rate, may be renegotiated based on a reassessment of the child’s needs and the circumstances of the adoptive parent(s) to the LOC rate 2, 3 or 4. Refer to ACL 21-54 for the implementation date of the AAP LOC Protocol to be used to determine the child’s eligible LOC rate.

For Initial AAP agreements signed prior to January 1, 2017 with an AAP basic rate based on the statewide structure effective May 27, 2011 that have been renegotiated to the RF Basic Level Rate between January 1, 2017 and August 2, 2018, the amended agreement will remain in effect until terminated or an amended agreement is signed. If there is a benefit renegotiation based on a reassessment at a later date, the child will remain eligible to receive the RF Basic Level Rate.

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COVID-19 Static Criteria

According to ACL 21-17, COVID-19 has been added to the Static Criteria list of chronic indicators. The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) would like to clarify that COVID-19 as Static Criteria is permanent, can be used anytime during a placement, and is ongoing past December 31, 2021, when the temporary authorization of higher rates for placements impacted by COVID-19 ended per ACL 22-05.

The COVID-19 Static Rate may be paid whenever the child/NMD has contracted COVID-19, tests positive, and/or is displaying continuing illness and/or side effects of COVID-19 and requires additional care and supervison for the duration of their illness. Documentation such as a positive COVID-19 test or a letter from a physician is sufficient to obtain the Static Rate.

Existing Static Criteria/Static Rate timeframes still apply wherein the child/NMD can receive the Static Rate for COVID-19 up to 60 days, with an additional 60 days (not to exceed 120), upon approval. This policy only applies to a child/NMD contracting COVID-19 and does not include another member of the household.

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Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC)

In accordance with WIC section 11461.3, and SB 354 (Chapter 687, Statutes of 2021) a relative caregiver is now eligible to receive ARC payments, if the placement is authorized by the juvenile court and the relative has been denied approval as a resource family (RF). There will be no new aid codes affiliated with this change, and counties are asked to continue using existing ARC aid codes in accordance with current practice. Please refer to ACL 22-33 for further information.

Effective January 1, 2022, AB 153 (2021) expanded the ARC program to make out-of-state children and NMDs eligible for ARC benefits. Please refer to ACL 21-141, ACL 21-141E, and ACL 22-52 for further information.

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HELPFUL LINKS

Referenced Policy Guides/FYIs

0100-510.40, Services for for Minor and Nonminor (NMD) Parents

0100-560.40, Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP)SILP is a supervised and approved placement that is part of the Extended Foster Care program. SILP is a flexible and the least restrictive placement setting. It can include: an apartment (alone or with roommates); shared living situations; room and board arrangements; room rented from a landlord, friend or relative, or former caregiver; or college dorms.

0900-511.12, Dual Agency Rates

0900-522.00, Home-Based Family Care (HBFC) Level of Care (LOC) Rate Determination / Re-determination

0900-522.10, Specialized Care Increment (SCI)A rate paid in addition to the basic care rate for the care of children/youth with special needs. – D-Rate

0900-522.11, Specialized Care Increment (SCI) – F-Rate

FYI 18-09, Implementation of the Home-Based Family Care (HBFC) Level of Care (LOC)Rate Determination Protocol

Statutes

All County Letter (ACL) 22-64 - Adoption Assistance Program (AAP) Rates

ACL 22-59 - Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care and Home-Based Family Care California Necessities Index Increases and Other Rate Increases

ACL 16-79 - Information regarding the CCR Home-Based Family Care (HBFC) and STRTP rates structure and conversion process from the old rate structure to the new rate structure

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