Kinship care in Ohio covers any arrangement where a relative or close family friend raises a child whose parents can’t, and the state recognizes three legal paths — informal care, court-ordered legal custody, and kinship foster care — each tied to a different mix of financial support, medical coverage, and decision-making authority. The path you’re on determines whether a school will accept your signature, whether Medicaid is automatic, and whether you qualify for monthly payments. Most of the programs run through your county Department of Job and Family Services or the public children services agency (PCSA), with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth overseeing the kinship and foster side of the system.
The Three Legal Statuses and Why They Matter
Informal kinship care is the most common starting point: a parent hands the child off to a relative without any court involvement. It works until it doesn’t. The day you need to enroll the child in school, consent to surgery, or apply for benefits, the lack of paperwork becomes a problem. Schools and hospitals can refuse to accept your authority when you have nothing in writing.
Legal custody is a juvenile court order that transfers physical care and the right to make decisions about residence, education, and medical treatment to you. Parents may keep residual rights such as visitation, but you hold day-to-day authority, and the court order is recognized by every institution you’ll deal with. Filing fees typically run $150 to $200, and you’ll need to show the arrangement serves the child’s best interest.
Kinship foster care applies when a PCSA has taken custody of the child and placed the child with you. You go through a home assessment and background checks (including fingerprinting for every adult in the household and child abuse registry checks), but you skip the full foster certification required of non-relative foster parents.1Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Understanding the Kinship Process: A Step-by-Step Roadmap This status involves more oversight than legal custody but opens the door to supports — including automatic Medicaid for the child and the Kinship Support Program — that caregivers outside the child welfare system can’t reach.
Legal Documents for Grandparents Caring Informally
If you’re a grandparent and court isn’t the right move yet, Ohio law gives you two documents that cover most daily problems. Both are limited to grandparents; aunts, uncles, and family friends cannot use either one.
Caretaker Authorization Affidavit
A grandparent can sign a caretaker authorization affidavit when the child is living with them and they’ve made reasonable attempts to locate and contact both parents without success. Once signed, it authorizes the grandparent to exercise physical custody and control, enroll the child in school, consent to school-related matters, and consent to medical, psychological, or dental treatment.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3109.65 – Caretaker Authorization Affidavit You don’t need to try to locate a father whose paternity hasn’t been established or a parent whose rights have been terminated. The affidavit must be executed under Section 3109.67.3Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3109.67 – Execution of Caretaker Authorization Affidavit
Grandparent Power of Attorney
The grandparent power of attorney works only when the parent is cooperative, because the parent, guardian, or custodian is the one who creates and signs it. It grants the grandparent authority over the child’s care, school enrollment, and medical treatment. It does not transfer legal custody, cannot authorize marriage or adoption consent, and doesn’t affect the parent’s rights in any future custody proceeding.4Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3109.52 – Power of Attorney for Residential Grandparent It’s borrowed authority, useful for school and doctor visits, not a permanent arrangement.
Cash Assistance and Kinship Payments
Ohio Works First Child-Only Cases
Ohio Works First (OWF) provides monthly cash assistance, and kinship caregivers can apply for a “child-only” case in which only the child is in the assistance group. Your own income isn’t counted. You can opt yourself in, but if you do, your income will be considered and may reduce or eliminate the benefit.5Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:1-23-10 – Ohio Works First Assistance Group Determination
The child has to live with a “specified relative,” which Ohio defines to include grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, first cousins, stepparents, stepsiblings, and the spouses or former spouses of any of those relatives.6Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 5107.02 – Ohio Works First Definitions Close family friends who don’t fit the definition can’t qualify. Apply through your county DJFS using form JFS 07200, the combined application for cash, food, and medical assistance.
Kinship Support Program (KSP)
KSP pays $10.20 per day for each child placed in your home — roughly $306 a month — for up to six months from the date of placement.7Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5180:3-13-18.2 – Kinship Support Program The catch: KSP is only available when the child is in the temporary, permanent, or legal custody of a PCSA. Purely informal arrangements don’t qualify, and certified foster parents are excluded because the program is aimed at the gap between informal care and full certification. The caseworker initiates payment through the state’s child welfare information system once eligibility is confirmed.
Kinship Permanency Incentive (KPI)
KPI rewards long-term commitment. You qualify if you obtained legal custody or guardianship through a court order issued on or after July 1, 2005, and your family’s gross income is at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. The program pays up to eight incentive payments spaced six months apart, lasting no longer than 48 consecutive months.8Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Kinship The current income thresholds and payment amounts are set each state fiscal year by procedure letter — for SFY 2026, the two-person limit is $63,450 and the four-person limit is $96,450, with increases for larger households.9Ohio Department of Children and Youth. Procedure Letter 17 – Kinship Permanency Incentive Program Income Guidelines and Payment Amounts for State Fiscal Year 2026
KPI payments stack on top of any OWF cash assistance the child already receives. Apply using form JFS 01501, submitted with your custody or guardianship order to the PCSA in your county.10Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5180:2-40-04 – Kinship Permanency Incentive Program
Medicaid for the Child
Children in PCSA custody get Medicaid automatically — the caseworker handles it, and you don’t file anything separate. For children in informal care or under legal custody obtained outside the child welfare system, you apply through your county DJFS on the same JFS 07200 used for OWF.
One trap to watch: if you include a child receiving KSP in your household for Medicaid purposes, those payments count as unearned income. The extra income can push the household over the eligibility threshold and knock other members off Medicaid. You get to decide whether to include the kinship child in your household count, so run the numbers before you check the box.
Applying: Where to Go and How Long It Takes
Different programs, different agencies. OWF and Medicaid go to your county DJFS, online through benefits.ohio.gov, by mail, or in person (hand-delivery gets you a date-stamped receipt). KPI goes to your county PCSA. KSP is initiated by the caseworker already on the child’s case — you work with them rather than filing a separate application.
You’ll generally need Social Security numbers for household members, proof of the child’s identity, and documentation of your relationship. For KPI, the custody or guardianship order is required and can be obtained from the clerk of court that issued it.11Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Application for Kinship Permanency Incentive
OWF eligibility must be determined within 30 days of application, and no more than 45 days can pass between the application date and either the issuance of benefits or a notice of approval or denial.12Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 5101:1-2-01 – Application Processing Time Frames KSP and KPI aren’t governed by the same rule, and timing varies by county workload.
If You’re Denied
You can appeal through the ODJFS Bureau of State Hearings. File through the SHARE portal (available around the clock) or by phone at 866-635-3748.13Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. State Hearing Access to Records Electronically (SHARE) A hearing officer listens to both sides, reviews the facts, and decides whether the Administrative Code rules were applied correctly. Agencies do make mistakes; a denial is not the end of the matter.
Claiming the Child on Your Taxes
Kinship caregivers who meet IRS requirements can claim the child as a dependent and take the Child Tax Credit. The child generally must be under 17 at year’s end, related to you in a qualifying way (grandchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings, and foster children all count), have lived with you more than half the year, not have provided more than half their own support, and have a Social Security number valid for employment.14Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit
An unrelated family friend may still qualify if the child lived with them the full year as a member of the household, but the rules get stricter, and a tax professional is worth the fee. KSP and KPI payments are also worth asking about, since how they’re treated can shift your return.
Where to Get Free Help
OhioKAN (Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator) offers one-on-one coaching to kinship and adoptive families across all 88 counties, with referrals and resources tailored to where you live. Reach them at ohiokan.ohio.gov.15Kinnect. Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN)
Ohio Legal Help (ohiolegalhelp.org) runs an interactive Kinship Caregiver Action Plan that walks you through legal options, links to the right forms, and connects you with local legal aid. Many legal aid offices handle kinship custody cases at no cost for families who qualify financially, which matters because custody filings in juvenile court often need an attorney and most kinship caregivers can’t easily afford one.