Sec. 17a-126. Subsidized guardianship program.
Sec. 17a-126. Subsidized guardianship program. (a) As used in this section,
"relative caregiver" means a person who is caring for a child related to such person
because the parent of the child has died or become otherwise unable to care for the
child for reasons that make reunification with the parent not a viable option within
the foreseeable future and "commissioner" means the Commissioner of Children and
Families.
(b) The Commissioner of Children and Families shall establish a program of subsidized guardianship for the benefit of children in the care or custody of the commissioner
who are living with relative caregivers and who have been in foster care or certified
relative care for not less than eighteen months. The commissioner, within available
appropriations, shall establish a program of subsidized guardianship for the benefit of
children in the care or custody of the commissioner who are living with relative caregivers and who have been in foster care or certified relative care for not less than six but
not more than eighteen months. A relative caregiver may request a guardianship subsidy
from the commissioner. If adoption of the child by the relative caregiver is an option,
the commissioner shall counsel the caregiver about the advantages and disadvantages
of adoption and subsidized guardianship so that the decision by the relative caregiver
to request a subsidized guardianship may be a fully informed one.
(c) If a relative caregiver who is receiving a guardianship subsidy for a related
child is also caring for the child's sibling who is not related to the caregiver, (1) the
commissioner shall provide a guardianship subsidy to such relative caregiver if the
sibling has been in foster care for not less than eighteen months, and (2) the commissioner
shall, within available appropriations, provide a guardianship subsidy to such relative
caregiver if the sibling has been in foster care for not less than six months but not
more than eighteen months. For purposes of this subsection, "child's sibling" includes
a stepbrother, stepsister, a half-brother or a half-sister.
(d) The commissioner shall provide the following subsidies under the subsidized
guardianship program in accordance with this section and the regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (e) of this section: (1) A special-need subsidy, which shall be a lump
sum payment for one-time expenses resulting from the assumption of care of the child
when no other resource is available to pay for such expense; and (2) a medical subsidy
comparable to the medical subsidy to children in the subsidized adoption program if
the child lacks private health insurance. The subsidized guardianship program shall also
provide a monthly subsidy on behalf of the child payable to the relative caregiver that
shall be equal to the prevailing foster care rate. The commissioner may establish an
asset test for eligibility under the program.
(e) The commissioner shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, implementing the subsidized guardianship program established under this section. Such regulations shall require, as a prerequisite to payment of a guardianship subsidy for the benefit
of a minor child, that a home study report be filed with the court having jurisdiction of
the case of the minor not later than fifteen days after the date of the request for a subsidy,
provided no such report shall be required to be filed if a report has previously been
provided to the court or if the caregiver has been determined to be a certified relative
caregiver by the commissioner. The regulations shall also establish a procedure comparable to that for the subsidized adoption program to determine the types and amounts
of subsidy to be granted by the commissioner as provided in subsection (d) of this section,
for annual review of the subsidy as provided in subsection (f) of this section and for
appeal from decisions by the commissioner denying, modifying or terminating such
subsidies.
(f) The guardianship subsidy provided under this section shall continue until the
child reaches the age of eighteen or the age of twenty-one if such child is in full time
attendance at a secondary school, technical school or college or is in a state accredited job
training program. Annually, the subsidized guardian shall submit to the commissioner a
sworn statement that the child is still living with and receiving support from the guardian.
The parent of any child receiving assistance through the subsidized guardianship program shall remain liable for the support of the child as required by the general statutes.
(g) A guardianship subsidy shall not be included in the calculation of household
income in determining eligibility for benefits of the relative caregiver of the subsidized
child or other persons living within the household of the relative caregiver.
(h) Payments for guardianship subsidies shall be made from moneys available from
any source to the commissioner for child welfare purposes. The commissioner shall
develop and implement a plan that: (1) Maximizes use of the subsidized guardianship
program to decrease the number of children in the legal custody of the Commissioner
of Children and Families and to reduce the number of children who would otherwise
be placed into foster care when there is a family member willing to provide care; (2)
maximizes federal reimbursement for the costs of the subsidized guardianship program,
provided whatever federal maximization method is employed shall not result in the
relative caregiver of a child being subject to work requirements as a condition of receipt
of benefits for the child or the benefits restricted in time or scope other than as specified
in subsection (c) of this section; and (3) ensures necessary transfers of funds between
agencies and interagency coordination in program implementation. The Commissioner
of Children and Families shall seek all federal waivers as are necessary and appropriate
to implement this plan.
(P.A. 97-272, S. 7, 9; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1, S. 90, 121; P.A. 99-251, S. 1, 2; P.A. 05-254, S. 1; P.A. 07-174, S. 1;
June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5, S. 38.)
History: P.A. 97-272, S. 7 effective July 1, 1997 (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (e) the nonexistent word "chid" was
replaced editorially by the Revisors with "child" to correct a typographical error); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 98-1 made a technical
change in Subsec. (a), effective June 24, 1998; P.A. 99-251 amended Subsec. (b) by making children living with relatives
who have been in foster or certified relative care for less than 18 months eligible for a subsidy and amended Subsec. (d)
by deleting an obsolete reference to the date by which regulations have to be adopted, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 05-254
lowered threshold from not less than twelve to not less than 6 months for children living with relative caregivers and who
have been in foster care or certified relative care in Subsec. (b); P.A. 07-174 amended Subsec. (b) by making subsidized
guardianship program mandatory rather than permissive for children who have been in foster care or certified relative care
for not less than six but not more than eighteen months, added new Subsec. (c) making siblings of children living with
relative caregivers eligible for subsidy, redesignated existing Subsecs. (c) to (g) as Subsecs. (d) to (h), substituted "commissioner" for "subsidized guardianship program" and replaced "for the benefit of any child in the care of a relative caregiver
who has been appointed the guardian or coguardian of the child by any court of competent jurisdiction" with "under the
subsidized guardianship program in accordance with this section and the regulations adopted pursuant to subsection (e)
of this section" in Subsec. (d), and substituted "not later than fifteen days after the date of the request" for "within fifteen
days of the request" in Subsec. (e); June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-5 made technical changes in Subsec. (e).