Arizona kinship care is the arrangement under which a grandparent, other relative, or close family friend raises a child who cannot stay with their parents, with the Department of Child Safety required by A.R.S. § 8-514 to try kinship placement before turning to a non-relative foster home.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-514 – Placement in Foster Homes If DCS has called you, or you are stepping in on your own, the three things you need to sort out are whether you qualify, how to get legal authority over the child, and what financial support you can draw on.
Who DCS Will Place a Child With
Arizona defines “relative” as a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling or half-sibling, aunt, uncle, or first cousin.2Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-501 – Definitions Those are the people DCS contacts first. The statutes also allow placement with “a person who has a significant relationship with the child,” which in practice covers godparents, longtime family friends, coaches, or teachers.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-514.03 – Kinship Foster Care; Requirements; Investigation DCS calls these caregivers “fictive kin.”
When a child is removed from the home, DCS has to work down a fixed order of preference: a parent first, then a grandparent, then extended family or someone with a significant relationship, then a licensed non-relative foster home, and only then group or residential care. Non-relative placement is a last resort, not a default. A separate placement preference applies to Native American children under the Indian Child Welfare Act and Arizona law, prioritizing extended family and tribe-approved homes.1Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-514 – Placement in Foster Homes
Kinship care itself takes two forms. Informal arrangements, where parents hand a child to a relative without court involvement, work for short-term situations but leave the caregiver without authority to enroll the child in school or consent to medical treatment. Formal kinship care begins when DCS removes a child through a dependency proceeding and places that child with an approved kinship caregiver. The legal framework and the financial support described below apply to the formal path.
Getting Legal Authority Over the Child
Without a court order, schools, doctors, and insurance companies can refuse to deal with you. Arizona offers three main pathways to fix that, and the right one depends on whether DCS is involved and how permanent the arrangement needs to be.
Title 14 Guardianship When DCS Is Not Involved
If DCS is not in the picture and you are stepping in voluntarily, you can petition for guardianship under Title 14. A court may appoint you if the appointment serves the child’s best interests and one of three conditions is met: every living parent consents, parental rights have already been terminated, or the child is at least sixteen and no parent is willing or able to fulfill parental duties.4Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-5204 – Court Appointment of Guardian of Minor The consent requirement trips people up. The statute requires the consent of each living parent. If one parent consents and the other objects, this route is closed unless you can meet one of the other conditions.
A Title 14 guardian gains authority over housing, medical care, and schooling. Parental rights are not terminated, and parents may keep visitation as the court allows. That makes guardianship less adversarial than adoption, which is why many families prefer it when parents are struggling but the relationship should be preserved.
Temporary Orders for Fast Action
When you need legal authority right away, Arizona allows motions for temporary legal decision-making and parenting time under A.R.S. § 25-404.5Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 25-404 – Temporary Orders Separately, a temporary guardianship for a minor can be established under A.R.S. § 14-5207 in an emergency. A temporary guardian has the same powers as a regular guardian, but the appointment lasts no longer than six months unless a judge extends it for good cause.6Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 14-5207 – Temporary Guardian of Minor If you need more time, you’ll have to file for a permanent appointment.
Permanent Guardianship Through Juvenile Court
If a child has been adjudicated dependent and reunification is no longer realistic, any party to the dependency case can file for permanent guardianship under Title 8.7Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-872 – Permanent Guardianship; Procedure The court will grant it if it serves the child’s best interests, the child has been with you for at least nine months (waivable for good cause), and DCS’s reunification efforts have proved unproductive.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-871 – Permanent Guardianship of a Child
A permanent guardian receives the rights and responsibilities of a guardian of a minor under A.R.S. § 14-5209, as modified by the court’s decree.8Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-871 – Permanent Guardianship of a Child Parental rights are not terminated, which distinguishes permanent guardianship from adoption. For many kinship caregivers this is the long-term outcome when parents cannot resume care but the family wants to avoid termination.
What DCS Checks Before Placing the Child
DCS screening moves faster than standard foster home licensing, but it is not light. Every adult 18 or older living in your home must submit fingerprints for a state and federal criminal background check through DPS and the FBI, and DCS runs its own central registry checks for any history of child abuse or neglect.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-514.03 – Kinship Foster Care; Requirements; Investigation You must be at least 18.
DCS then conducts one or more home visits and interviews you to decide whether the home can meet the child’s health and safety needs. The agency may also interview other household members and review references, though neither step is strictly required by statute. If DCS decides placement isn’t in the child’s best interest, it must send written notice within 15 business days with the specific reason for denial and instructions on how to appeal.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-514.03 – Kinship Foster Care; Requirements; Investigation
Once the child is placed, your DCS caseworker develops a case plan. The initial goal is almost always reunification. If that fails, the case moves toward permanent guardianship or adoption, and kinship caregivers get preference for both.
How Much You’ll Be Paid
The money question has one dominant variable: whether you become a licensed foster parent. The two tracks pay very differently.
Unlicensed Kinship Caregivers
Unlicensed caregivers whose household income is below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level can receive the Kinship Foster Caregiver Stipend of $75 per month per child, plus diaper and clothing allowances where applicable.9Arizona Legislature. Arizona State Senate Fact Sheet for SB 1544 You should also apply for “child-only” Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance through the Department of Economic Security. DCS encourages every unlicensed caregiver to apply, and because the benefit covers only the child, your own income isn’t counted the way it would be for a standard TANF application.10Arizona Department of Child Safety. Applying for Child-Only Cash Assistance (TANF)
At $75 a month, the stipend was designed as a supplement, not a livable support payment. Most kinship caregivers absorb significant costs out of pocket.
Licensed Kinship Foster Parents
If you become a licensed foster parent, you receive the same daily foster care rate as any non-relative foster home.11Arizona Department of Child Safety. Kinship Care As of December 2025, the basic daily rates including clothing and personal allowances run roughly:
- Ages 0-2: $22 to $25 per day
- Ages 3-5: around $21 per day
- Ages 6-11: around $32 per day
- Ages 12-18+: around $44 per day
Children with higher needs qualify for special rates that can reach $48 to $71 per day depending on the level of care required.12Arizona Department of Child Safety. Child Placement Rates and Special Allowances Approval Matrix At the basic rate, a licensed caregiver for a teenager receives roughly $1,300 per month compared to $75 unlicensed. That is why DCS encourages licensing, though you’ll have to complete additional training and a home study.
Once you are licensed, the child is no longer eligible for child-only TANF. The foster care payment replaces both the kinship stipend and TANF.13Arizona Department of Economic Security. FAA Policy Manual – Kinship Child Only Screening
Health Coverage, Respite, and Other Services
Every child in formal DCS care receives medical and behavioral health coverage through the Mercy Care DCS Comprehensive Health Plan, which operates under Arizona’s AHCCCS Medicaid program. This coverage follows the child whether you are licensed or not, so medical costs should not be a reason to turn down a kinship placement.
Arizona law also requires DCS to provide or refer kinship caregivers to non-financial support services, including case management, child day care assistance, housing search and relocation help, and parenting skills training.3Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 8-514.03 – Kinship Foster Care; Requirements; Investigation Your caseworker has to tell you what is available and help with applications. If you decline a service, you sign a statement acknowledging the declination, but that doesn’t prevent you from applying later.
Respite care is the benefit kinship caregivers most often miss. Unlicensed kinship caregivers can receive up to 300 hours (about 12.5 days) of respite foster care per fiscal year, arranged through DCS Placement Administration with a licensed foster parent, with up to five additional days available for emergencies.14Arizona Department of Child Safety. Respite Care for Children in Out-of-Home Care Ask for it through your caseworker before you are worn out, not after.
Taxes and Social Security
If you provide more than half of the child’s financial support and the child lives with you more than half the year, you can generally claim the child as a qualifying dependent on your federal return. The IRS relationship test covers siblings, nieces, nephews, and foster children placed by an authorized agency, so grandparents, aunts, and uncles raising a relative’s child usually qualify.15Internal Revenue Service. Dependents That opens the door to the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit if you have earned income, and the dependent care credit for child care expenses. If you formally adopt a child from DCS care, the federal Adoption Tax Credit allows a credit of up to $17,280 per eligible child for 2025, adjusted annually for inflation.16Internal Revenue Service. Notable Changes to the Adoption Credit The credit phases out at higher incomes but covers most kinship adoptions, since adopting from foster care typically involves little or no out-of-pocket expense.
If the child is eligible for Social Security survivor benefits or Supplemental Security Income because of a deceased or disabled parent, you can apply to become the child’s representative payee through the Social Security Administration. The payee manages the monthly benefits and must spend them on the child’s current needs: food, housing, clothing, and medical care.17Social Security Administration. A Guide for Representative Payees A power of attorney is not a substitute. These benefits exist independently of DCS payments and TANF, so if you suspect the child may be entitled to anything on a parent’s work record, contact your local SSA office early.