no

Yes. You or another relative may be able to get kinship foster care payments to assist with the care of your grandchildren if they are legally placed in foster care with you.

Kinship foster care payments include money for food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a child’s personal needs, and liability insurance for the child. The children are also eligible for supportive services such as counseling. Payments are made for each individual child in the care of the foster parent.

The amounts of the payments differ from county to county and depend on the age of the children, where the children live, and whether the children have any special needs.

The only way you would get Foster payments is if the state takes the kids and then places them in your care. If you are given temporary custody from the parents, then you are not their foster parent. You are just their legal guardian.

You may be able to get help from Human Services.(welfare and food stamps, possibly even cash every month) if your income is low enough and you show them that you have gained custody of the kids.

Good Luck!

If I am not mistaken, a child with downs syndrome would be considered “handicapped”, and I believe he/she would be entitled to social security benifits. If you have legal custody, I think you would be able to get help from the state, by the child getting SSI checks. I know if you are the legal guardian of the children you will be able to get Earned income credit on your income taxes, but I don’t think they qualify as foster children because they are blood relatives. You don’t want to turn them over to the state, because who’s to say you would get them back? You say your income isn’t so good, paycheck to paycheck, and that could prevent that. Check with your social security office, and no shame in getting food stamps or anything else from the Human Services Dept. in your town. If you need help that’s why its there. And, just a personal note: You say ya’ll are going to Foster parents class. Why? If you are going to take on other kids for the monthly check, that is wrong.

I don’t actually know about the foster care payments, but I do know that Federal law mandates that the child with Down syndrome is entitled to therapy, regardless of ability to pay and he/she should be getting as much of it as possible. Contact your local chapter of ARC or your state’s Department of Developmental Disabilities to get that started if he isn’t alerady getting therapy. Also, the law says that the therapy has to be provided in the least-restrictive environment, which in your case might be the home, so the therapists will come to you. When he turns 3, the scholl district must provide this assistance, but it is a good idea to get a good solid program of therapy established now so that it can be carried forward.

Good luck and God bless you for caring about these kids!