Requirements

Requirements

EAS 45-203.611(c) and 45-302.241

The child must meet all general requirements. NRLGs have the same interview and cooperation requirements as parents, and a SAWS 2 Plus is required at the initial application. Guardians who do not cooperate with the county will not be paid state AFDC-FC. 

 

Chlid/Medical Support

Family Code 17552, EAS 43-105, MPP 31-503
All parents are required by law to contribute to their children's support. This requirement continues if the child is placed in a legal guardianship (excluding Kin-GAP) and receives financial assistance from the county. In this case, the local child support agency (LCSA) collects reimbursement from the parents. 

Usually, youth in Juvenile Court NDNRLGs are former foster care youth who have been placed in guardianship as another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA). As such, SWs supervise these cases and may determine good cause for child support purposes. Probate Guardianships are not supervised by SWs, and therefore, SWs would not make good cause assessments. Until further state guidance is provided, Eligibility Workers will not send any child support referrals for Probate cases.

 

LGs will complete the CW 2.1 NA and CW 2.1Q for each parent. For more information, refer to Overview. 

Residency

The county of residency is the county with payment responsibility. Therefore, if the child’s guardian moves to another county but remains within California and there is no ongoing dependency in Santa Clara County, the worker must initiate an ICT as the county with payment responsibility has changed. Likewise, when a legal guardian in another county moves to Santa Clara County (SCC), the case should be transferred to and ICT must be accepted by SCC.

Each state has its own guardianship regulations and may not recognize a guardianship established in another state. Effective July 27, 2017, ACL 17-82 states that children residing in California with an NRLG whose guardianship was issued by a court of another state may now be eligible for AFDC-FC. The guardianship must be registered in California and as of the date of registration, the guardianship is enforceable in the same manner as a guardianship issued by a California court under the Probate Code or WIC. The registered guardianship orders are eligible for AFDC-FC as of the date of the registration or the date of application, whichever is later, and assuming all other eligibility conditions are met.

Note: If legal guardianship is granted in California and the guardian(s) moves to another state, the county will stop making foster care payments effective the date the LG moves. In addition, the other state is not required by law to offer the same assistance.

Funding Options

Federal AFDC-FC Eligibility

Federal AFDC-FC may be issued (whether or not the LG is related) if the legal guardianship case has dependency attached. In this situation, a dependency order must be in effect stating that the Social Services Agency is vested with the care, control, and custody of the minor.

Note: When the dependency order is dismissed, and the LG is a relative, the child LOSES BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE eligibility for the AFDC-FC program. Children living with NRLGs lose federal eligibility when the dependency order is dismissed. If otherwise eligible, payment can be made from the State AFDC-FC program, which requires an aid code change.

State AFDC-FC Eligibility

State AFDC-FC may be issued for an otherwise eligible child placed with a non-related legal guardian. Children placed with relatives are not eligible for state AFDC-FC. A child does not need to be a dependent of the court to receive state AFDC-FC.

Rates

There are three rate tiers for Non-Related Legal Guardianship cases.

  • Tier I is based on NRLG cases (including Probate cases) where guardianship was established prior to May 1, 2011. These are age-based rates.
  • Tier II is based on NRLG cases (including Probate cases) where guardianship was established on or after May 1, 2011 through December 31, 2016. These are age-based rates.
  • Tier III is based on NRLG cases (NOT Probate cases) where guardianship was established on or after January 1, 2017. NRLGs established in Juvenile Court may receive LOC rates. Probate guardianships are paid the LOC Basic rate.

Refer to Special Needs and Specialized Rates and Santa Clara County Foster Care Rates Chart form (SCD 2405) for information on Special Needs and Specialized Rates.

Note: Probate NRLG  cases established on or after January 1, 2017, are only eligible for the LOC Basic Level rate.

Forms and Documentation (Non-Dependent Cases)

The LG of a non-dependent child must clear eligibility with BOTH the EW and the SW before payment can be made. When there is no dependency, service requirements, payment instructions, and assignment of a SW must still be made. Therefore, the SW must provide Foster Care Eligibility a completed Foster Child's Data Record and AFDC-FC Certification form (SOC 158A).

Exception: Probate cases are not supervised by SWs.

LG Intake Packet

Clerical mails the intake packet to the LG with the documents below:

  •  The Contact Information Notice form (SCD 2547). This cover letter includes the Intake EW's name, phone number, and instructions for the LG to contact the EW to schedule an appointment if they choose to do so
  • Initial Application for CalFresh, Cash Aid and/or Medi-Cal/Health Care Programs form (SAWS 2 Plus)
  • Notice of Language Services form (GEN 1365)
  • Notice and Agreement for Child, Spousal and Medical Support form (CW 2.1 NA)
  • Support Questionnaire form (CA 2.1Q)
  • Voter Registration - Would You Like to Vote? form (SCD 508)
  • Lump Sum form (SCD 836)
  • Know Your Rights form (PUB 13)
  • Sworn Statement of the Caretaker Relative to Establish Relationship form (SCD 1383 FC)

During Triage/Intake

The forms listed above are reviewed during the Intake process. Other forms completed and documentation collected at this point may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Letters of Guardianship or court order for legal guardianship (JV-330)
  • Social Security Card (request SCD 196 or MC 194)
  • Request for Birth/Income/Resource Verification
  • Child Welfare Intake for Non-Dependent Children with Guardians form (SCD/SCZ 1489A)

Note: SWs supervise Juvenile Court NDNRLGs. As such, the assigned SW may complete a Child Support-Good Cause Claim for Noncooperation form (CW 51) at either intake or RRR.

Redeterminations (RRR)

When there is no dependency, a SW may not be assigned to complete the FC 2 for the legal guardian of a non-dependent child. In this instance, the legal guardian is required to cooperate with service requirements and RRR. If the legal guardian fails to cooperate in completing the RE, the AFDC-FC payment must be suspended.

The forms below are part of the NDNRLG RRR packet for minor children.

  • Notice of Foster Care Redetermination for Non-Dependent Non-Related Legal Guardianship (NDNRLG) form (SCD 2493).
  • Statement of Facts Supporting Eligibility for AFDC-Foster Care (form FC 2). Guardians complete this form listing only the legal parent’s income and resources. The guardian's income and resources should not be listed.
  • CW 2.1. Use only if there is new or additional information regarding the absent parent.
  • SCD 508
  • SCD 836
  • PUB 13
  • GEN 1365

 

The forms below are part of the Non-Minor NDNRLG RRR packet:

  •  Statement of Facts Supporting Eligibility for AFDC-Extended Foster Care (EFC) form (FC 2NM). The non-minor should complete this form listing only their income and resources. The form should not include any income and resources of the legal guardian.
  •  Application for Cal-Fresh, Cash Aid, and/or Medi-Cal/Health Care Programs form (SAWS 2 Plus).  This form is only required when the legal guardian is the case payee. The form should only include the non-minor’s information and should not include any income and resources of the legal guardian.
  • Notice of Redetermination for Non-Minor Non-Dependent Non-Related Legal Guardianship (NDNRLG) form (SCD 2625).
  • SCD 508. This form is intended for the payee.
  • SCD 836
  • PUB 13
  • GEN 1365

Unaccompanied Minors (UM)

Unaccompanied Minors lose UM status when the caretaker is a legal guardian.

Processing Legal Guardianship Cases

Cases without dependency attached will follow the non-dependent LG workflow.

Related Topics

Definition