STATE OF NEVADA - Division of Child and Family Services

Relatives who care for their kin typically receive funds from the State in two ways. They become licensed foster care
providers and receive payment through the States’ child protective services agency. The State is then reimbursed for
these payments through the Title IV-E program. The reimbursement rate for Nevada is 52.6%. Relatives who are unable
to become a licensed relative foster family or who care for a child who has not gone through Child Protective Services
(CPS) can receive a TANF child-only grant from the state’s welfare agency. The State has continued to see a rise in the
number of children placed with relatives, therefore the ability to support relatives financially while achieving permanency
for children is something Nevada has been exploring through programs for relative and kinship care while establishing
feasibility with our current budget crisis.
To assist relatives who care for children in out-of-home placements, Nevada has a Non-Needy Relative Caregiver Kinship
Care Program. The Division of Welfare and Supportive Services currently administers the Kinship Care Program which
went into effect on October 1, 2001. Since that time children living with a relative Non-Needy Caretaker (NNCT) may
receive a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) payment allowance which is a percentage of the State of
Nevada foster care rate. NNCT is defined as relative caretakers who are not requesting assistance for themselves. In
order for a relative caretaker to be eligible for this program they must be 62 or older; be a non-parent; be a non-needy
caretaker; be caring for the child who is related (up to the 5 th degree as described in the Division of Welfare and
Supportive Services Eligibility and Payment Manual) by blood, adoption or marriage for at least six months; file for Nevada
court approval of legal guardianship; comply with court imposed requirements; relative household members must have
combined income below 275% of the federal poverty level; and the child must meet the age, citizenship and resource
eligibility requirements. There is an exception to the age requirement due to undue hardship and a wavier can be provided
under certain circumstances. According to the Eligibility and Payments Manual provided by the Division of Welfare and
Supportive Services (04/09), current payment rates for the Kinship Care Programs are $534.00 per month for each child,
age 12 years and younger; and, $616.00 per month for each child age 13 and older. The Kinship Care Program also
makes available certain other services such as legal assistance to obtain guardianship, child care, transportation for
certain situations and respite care.
In order for Nevada to implement this new option, a statutory change will be necessary, similar to the language included in
statute related to Adoption Subsidies. Nevada is currently conducting a fiscal analysis on this option and will be making a
decision by the end of August 2010 on whether a bill will be submitted for the 2011 legislative session. The benefit to the
GAP program is that it would allow licensed relatives to move to a guardianship placement and still be compensated for
caring for the child. This may be a favored alternative for children who will have no plan of reunification or adoption and
there is a strong bond between the child and the relative. This would allow children to move into a permanent placement
rather than remaining in foster care and not achieving permanency.
Keeping children with family members sustains their connection to their family roots; usually they are in close proximity to
other relatives, including siblings, which allows them to receive family support that is unavailable or infrequent with non-kin
placements. Additionally, relative foster placements may be beneficial as they may minimize trauma by providing the
child with a sense of family support. The impact on Nevada caseloads may decrease due to permanency achievement,
which is an added benefit of this program. Figure 09 shows the caseload sizes of caseworkers serving children in out-ofhome
care placements from July 1, 2009 through March 31, 2010. The chart shows that despite the fact that relative
placements have become the most prevalent placement type in Nevada; caseloads for workers have remained consistent
over time. The GAP program may assist in decreasing the time a foster child remains on a worker’s caseload.
Nevada APSR – SFY 2010
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