Ky.gov
Effective: 10/15/2024

G3.9 IV-E Maintenance Payments and Expenditures

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, allows for reimbursement to be made to children who meet the eligibility standards outlined in SOP G3.2 Title IV-E Eligibility and Reimbursability. While some children are eligible to receive reimbursement for foster care maintenance, others are eligible for reimbursement for administrative expenditures only. 

Foster care maintenance reimbursements include (section 475(4)(A)):
  • Food;
  • Clothing;
  • Shelter;
  • Daily supervision;
  • School supplies;
  • A child’s personal incidentals;
  • Liability insurance for the child;
  • Reasonable travel to the child’s home for visitation; and
  • Reasonable travel for the child to remain in the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement. 
Administrative expenditure (personnel time and agency resources) reimbursements include (45 CFR 1356.60(c)(2)(i-x)): 

  • Referral to services;
  • Preparation for and participation in judicial determinations;
  • Placement of the child;
  • Development of the case plan;
  • Case reviews;
  • Case management and supervision;
  • Recruitment and licensing of foster homes and institutions;
  • Rate setting;
  • A proportionate share of related agency overhead; and
  • Costs related to data collection.​



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Practice Guidance

Procedure

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The children's benefits worker (CBW) authorizes foster care maintenance payments to be made on behalf of an eligible child when the child is:
  1. In the approved foster home of an individual, whether the payments are made to the individual or a public or private child placement (PCP)or private child care (PCC) agency;
  2. In a licensed child care institution, whether the payments are made to the institution or a public or private child placement or child-caring agency (section 472(b)(1)&(2)); or 1
  3. The child of a minor parent in foster care (see related information for more detail) (section 475(4)(B)).
  4. Placed with a parent in a licensed residential family-based treatment facility for substance abuse for up to twelve (12) months in accordance with requirements in sections 472(j) and 472(a)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act.  Agencies may also claim administrative costs during the 12 month period consistent with 45 CFR 1356.60(c) for the administration of the Title IV-E program, which includes such things as case management. A licensed residential family-based treatment facility for substance abuse is not a child care institution (CCI) as defined in section 472(c) of the Act. While the facility must be licensed, there is no requirement that it meet the Title IV-E licensing and background check requirements for a CCI.  


​Contingencies and Clarifications

  1. ​Kentucky does not claim administrative costs on unapproved or unlicensed placements (section 472 (1)(1)).
  2. When a child moves from an approved or licensed placement to an unallowable placement, the eligible child’s status is changed to non-reimbursable (section 472 (i)(1)(B).
  3. If a child is in an approved/licensed home for one day during a calendar month, Kentucky claims the entire month  (section 472(i)(1)(B)).
  4. Agencies may also claim administrative costs during the twelve (12) month period consistent with 45 CFR 1356.60(c) for the administration of the Title IV-E program, which includes such things as case management. A licensed residential family-based treatment facility for substance abuse is not a child care institution (CCI) as defined in section 472(c) of the Act. While the facility must be licensed, there is no requirement that it meet the Title IV-E licensing and background check requirements for a CCI.​

Related Information

Foster care maintenance payments made on behalf of a child placed in a foster home or child care institution, who is the parent of a son or daughter in the same home or institution, must include amounts that are necessary to cover costs incurred on behalf of the child’s son or daughter. These costs must be limited to funds used for items described in the definition of foster care maintenance payments (see definition in the introduction) (section 475(4)(B)).​



​Footnotes

  1. ​​The payments stated in procedures 1 and 2 are limited to include only those items that are included in the term “foster care maintenance payments.”



Documents

Revisions