This page describes what happens and what you'll need to do when the child or youth first comes to live with you.

What to expect

In the first days of your kinship child's placement, there’s a lot that happens. Here’s what to expect:

• If the child or youth is in an emergency placement, there will be a Family Team Decision Making (FTDM) meeting within 72 hours. This meeting is an opportunity to learn more about the reasons the child or youth is experiencing foster care. We strongly encourage you to attend this meeting if possible!
• If the child or youth is in an emergency placement, there will be a court "shelter care hearing" within 72 hours. Read more about the different kinds of hearings in the brochure "Dependency Court Process for Caregivers."
• A caseworker will visit you and your kinship child during their first week with you.
• A medical insurance coverage card will be mailed to you. You can also ask the caseworker to look up the young person's Provider One or Apple Health Core Connections identification number in FamLink.
• The child or youth will have family time visits with their parents and siblings. Support your kinship child's connection to their parent or parents, and siblings by following the court and the caseworker's instructions about family time.

What to do

There are a few things you'll need to do after your kinship child is placed in your home:

• Keep your kinship child enrolled in and attending the school they were in when they lived with their parent(s). If you believe a new school needs to be discussed, please talk with your kinship child's caseworker.
• Schedule a dental exam if a child has one or more teeth. Within the first 30 calendar days of placement, you must contact a dentist and make an appointment for an initial dental examination. The exam must occur within the first 60 days of placement.

• Schedule an initial medical appointment using one of the following options:

  Option 1:

  • Schedule an initial health screen within the first five days of placement AND
  • Schedule an EPSDT or Well Child exam within 30 days of coming into care.

  Option 2:

  • Schedule an EPSDT or Well-Child exam within the first five days of placement.
• Keep track of transportation expenses on the Caregiver Monthly Transportation Reimbursement form and turn in complete forms to the child or youth's caseworker.
• Set up any necessary child care. Connect with Child Care Aware of Washington for help locating child care near you.
• Tell the caseworker about any unplanned parent-child contact, such as phone calls, unexpected visits, etc.
• Share with the caseworker any concerns you may have about the child, such as abuse, neglect, medical, behavioral, developmental, or educational issues.
• To keep the child or youth in your care, you'll also need to complete the steps listed here. DCYF will guide you through these steps:
  • Get fingerprinted for background checks.
  • Get a walkthrough of your home.
  • Complete a home study application.
  • Meet with licensing workers for home study visits and interviews.

Ongoing considerations

Financial support

• Non-Needy Child-Only TANF: TANF is an important financial resource that provides a monthly payment to unlicensed caregivers for eligible children in their care. We strongly encourage you to apply.

  Apply for TANF online, by phone at 877-501-2233, or at your local Community Services Office. While you may be asked for information about your income, your TANF eligibility will not be based on your income because you are a kinship caregiver. If you are applying in person or calling to ask questions about TANF, be sure to let the person you are speaking with know that you are an unlicensed kinship caregiver.

• Monthly foster care payments for licensed caregivers: These are the greatest long-term financial support for kinship caregivers. When you meet the requirements to care for the child or youth, you'll be meeting most of the requirements to get these payments. You'll also need to agree to fulfill the roles and responsibilities for kinship caregivers. If you successfully complete this process and meet the requirements, you can get a kinship caregiver license and get monthly payments.

Support

You are a family member as well as a kinship caregiver; juggling these roles may be challenging. You may feel sad or dissapointed about why your kinship child needed to be placed in your care. You may need to use new or different parenting approaches with your kinship child. These feelings and experiences are normal. Consider attending a support group where you can meet other kinship caregivers who share similar experiences. Visit the Alliance CaRES website to learn more.

Parents

You may be saying to yourself, "But I want these kids to go home to their parent(s). This isn't supposed to be a long-term placement." We support you in wanting your kinship child to go home. In fact, reunification is our first and primary goal, but we know that sometimes a parent may need more support or time to learn new behaviors. Even if you think your kinship child will be placed with you for a short period of time, we encourage you to get licensed and begin benefiting from the support available.