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State of Wisconsin |
Release 24-01 |
7 CFR 273.1(b)(4)
A foster person is a child who has been placed in the home of a relative or other person by a federal, state, or local government foster care program. A foster care provider is the person providing foster care for a foster child. Include a foster care child in the food unit only when the primary person or foster care provider asks that the foster care child be included. The foster care child may belong only to the food unit they receive the foster care and meals from.
A foster care child cannot participate in FoodShare independently of the foster care.
A change in placement, such as a trial reunification, comes at the order of a court. Once a reunification or new placement has been made, the foster child would no longer be a part of the original foster care provider’s food unit and the exiting foster child’s eligibility should be redetermined based on their new circumstances.
| Example 1 | Martino is a foster care provider and has court ordered placement of Carlos. Martino applied for FoodShare. Martino can choose to include or exclude from Carlos the FoodShare assistance group. However, since Martino is the foster care provider, Carlos cannot receive FoodShare as his own FoodShare assistance group or as a part of any other FoodShare assistance groups. |
| Example 2 | Sheila, Carlos’ parent, contacts the agency and provides documentation that Carlos has been placed back in the home under a trial reunification. Carlos must now be included in Sheila’s FoodShare assistance group since an order of the court placed Carlos back with a parent. |
Money paid for the care of a foster care child is income of the child, not the foster care provider.
Count the foster care child’s income only if the foster care child is in the food unit.
A subsidized guardianship payment is equivalent to a foster care payment and is to be counted the same.
Kinship care is an out of home placement program for children. Kinship care and foster care are separate and distinct programs. Kinship care placements are always with an adult that has a relationship with the child and their family, such relatives and close family friends. Kinship providers cannot exclude the kinship care child from their FoodShare assistance group. Additionally, there are two types of kinship care placements: court ordered and voluntary.
Court ordered kinship care is where a court has mandated placement of the child(ren) into a kinship provider’s home. In this circumstance, the placed child(ren) must be included in the kinship provider’s FoodShare assistance group. When the child(ren) reunify with their parent(s) or a new court-order places them elsewhere, agencies must redetermine the kinship provider’s FoodShare based upon the new circumstances. This is true for trial reunifications, permanent reunifications, and new placements.
| Example 3 | Ariel applies for FoodShare and reports and provides a court order proving that she has court ordered kinship care placement of her niece and nephew, Brittany and Cameron. The worker processes the application and sees that both children are currently receiving FoodShare on their mother, Diana’s, case. Brittany and Cameron will be added to Ariel’s assistance group and removed from Diana’s, regardless if Ariel’s application is approved or denied. |
Voluntary Kinship Care is not court ordered, and the child(ren) may be moving back and forth between two or more households. When it is unclear which household has primary placement, agencies must apply the Joint or Shared Physical Custody of Children policy to determine which FoodShare assistance group to include the child(ren) in (see Section 3.2.1.1 Joint or Shared Physical Custody of Children).
| Example 4 | Georgia applies for FoodShare and reports that her child, Frank, lives in the household part-time. During the FoodShare interview, Georgia explains that Frank stays with her on the weekends, or two days a week, and that there is a voluntary kinship care placement for Frank with his grandparent, Ezekiel. Ezekiel has an open FoodShare case with Frank included in the assistance group. Frank remains on Ezekiel’s FoodShare case and is not added to Georgia’s FoodShare assistance group. |
A kinship care provider is a relative who is providing care for the child(ren) in the kinship placement. Money paid for the care of a child or children in a kinship care placement is income of the child(ren), not the provider.
This page last updated in Release Number: 23-01
Release Date: 04/17/2023
Effective Date: 04/17/2023
Notice: The content within this manual is the sole responsibility of the State of Wisconsin's Department of Health Services (DHS). This site will link to sites outside of DHS where appropriate. DHS is in no way responsible for the content of sites outside of DHS.
Publication Number: P-16001