Specialized Care Increment (SCI) in extended foster care

Q: My question is about the Specialized Care Increment. If a youth receives a SCI in their placement as a minor, are they able to continue to receive it as a non-minor dependent participating in extended foster care?

A:  Yes. Non-minor dependents who were eligible for a Specialized Care Increment remain eligible for it as participants in extended foster care if they are placed in a foster family home or with a relative caregiver placement. SCI is not available in THP-Plus FC, placements through a Foster Family Agency (although, NMDs placed through an FFA may be eligible for the Intensive Treatment Foster Care rate), Group Home placements, or in Supervised Independent Living Placement.

Eligibility for the Supervised Independent Living Placement

Q: Are there any categories of non-minor dependents that cannot live in a Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP)?

A: There are not any categories of non-minor dependents that are prohibited from living in a SILP setting. In general, placement in a SILP is based on an assessment of the developmental readiness of the young adult. (All County Letter 11‐77)

Those youth receiving extended Kin‐GAP benefits, extended AAP benefits or extended AFDC‐FC benefits as a nondependent with a non‐related legal guardian are not eligible for a SILP or THP‐Plus Foster care (or any other kind of foster care placement) because they are not in foster care. These youth may live in a college dorm as long as the former guardians or adoptive parent(s) maintain the support of the youth. These youth cannot receive the payment directly since these placements are not considered a SILP placement. (All County Letter 11‐69; All County Letter 11‐77)

Extended foster care eligibility: attending school as a participation condition

Q:  My foster child will be turning 18 in the summer and wants to attend community college. Will that qualify him to be eligible for extended foster care?

A:  In order to be eligible for extended foster care, a youth must meet with one of five participation criteria. One of the five criteria is being enrolled in an institution which provides postsecondary or vocational education. In order to satisfy the criteria, a nonminor dependent must be enrolled at least half-time. In most institutions, including the California public college and university systems, this will consist of enrollment in at least six semester course units or quarter course equivalent.  As stated in ACL 11-69 on page 10, “a nonminor dependent on summer break from school is still considered participating as long as they are enrolled for the following semester.”  (Scheduled school breaks do not affect the eligibility status of nonminor dependents). There is more information about the post-secondary or vocational education participation criterion starting on page 23 of ACL 11-69.

Unaccompanied Refugee Minors Program

Q: Are refugee children who are placed into the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program and receive refugee foster care services and benefits eligible for extended foster care?

A: AB 12/212 does not have any effect on children in the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program.  AB 12 concerns foster care benefits in the AFDC-FC program.  AFDC-FC is paid for children who are in state foster care and is administered by the state.  URM is a federal program.  Children in the URM program do not receive AFDC-FC.