1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; establishing a kinship 
  1.3             caregiver support program; requiring a report; 
  1.4             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.5             chapter 256E. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [256E.20] [KINSHIP CAREGIVER SUPPORT PROGRAM.] 
  1.8      Subdivision 1.  [DEFINITIONS.] For the purpose of this 
  1.9   section, "kinship caregiver" means: 
  1.10     (1) any of the following persons caring for a minor child 
  1.11  who is related to the child by blood, marriage, or adoption:  
  1.12  grandparent, great-grandparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, 
  1.13  stepsister, niece, nephew, uncle, great-uncle, aunt, or 
  1.14  great-aunt; or 
  1.15     (2) a person caring for a minor child who is an important 
  1.16  friend of the child and with whom the child has had significant 
  1.17  contact. 
  1.18     Subd. 2.  [KINSHIP CAREGIVER SUPPORT GRANTS.] (a) A county 
  1.19  may establish a program to assist kinship caregivers in 
  1.20  providing care to minor kinship children in their care by making 
  1.21  one-time support grants available to kinship caregivers.  The 
  1.22  county may use community social service aids received under this 
  1.23  chapter, federal allocations received under this chapter, or 
  1.24  other money which the county may make available to fund support 
  1.25  grants for this program.  
  2.1      (b) A county may award a grant of up to $2,500 to a kinship 
  2.2   caregiver who: 
  2.3      (1) is providing care to one or more kinship children who 
  2.4   reside with the kinship caregiver; 
  2.5      (2) requests financial assistance in meeting a portion of 
  2.6   the costs incurred in caring for the kinship child or children; 
  2.7   and 
  2.8      (3) is not receiving foster care maintenance payments for 
  2.9   the care being provided to the kinship child or children. 
  2.10     In determining the amount of a support grant, the county 
  2.11  must take into consideration the circumstances of the kinship 
  2.12  caregiver and the needs of the kinship child or children being 
  2.13  cared for. 
  2.14     (c) A county must not deny a support grant to a kinship 
  2.15  caregiver solely on the basis that a child-only AFDC grant 
  2.16  payment is made on behalf of the kinship child. 
  2.17     (d) If a kinship caregiver accepts a support grant, and 
  2.18  later becomes a relative foster care provider for the kinship 
  2.19  child or children, the kinship caregiver must repay the amount 
  2.20  of the support grant, plus interest in an amount that is equal 
  2.21  to the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for urban 
  2.22  households (CPI-U) for the most recent 12-month period, to the 
  2.23  county.  The county and the caregiver must agree upon a 
  2.24  repayment schedule, but in no case may the kinship caregiver 
  2.25  take more than one year to repay the support grant amount. 
  2.26     Subd. 3.  [DISTRIBUTION OF KINSHIP CAREGIVER 
  2.27  INFORMATION.] A county must give a copy of the informational 
  2.28  brochure developed under Laws 1995, chapter 207, article 4, 
  2.29  section 42, to a kinship caregiver or potential kinship 
  2.30  caregiver who is inquiring about assistance in caring for 
  2.31  kinship children. 
  2.32     Subd. 4.  [DATA COLLECTION AND WAITING LIST REQUIRED.] Each 
  2.33  county that awards grants under this section must keep a written 
  2.34  record and report to the commissioner the number of kinship 
  2.35  caregivers who have applied for a support grant under this 
  2.36  section and the number of kinship caregivers who have received a 
  3.1   support grant.  A kinship caregiver that appears to be eligible 
  3.2   for the program must be put on a waiting list if funds for a 
  3.3   support grant are not immediately available. 
  3.4      Sec. 2.  [REPORT ON KINSHIP GRANT PROGRAM.] 
  3.5      The commissioner of human services must report to the 
  3.6   legislature by February 15, 1997, on the implementation of the 
  3.7   grant program under Minnesota Statutes, section 257.068.  The 
  3.8   report must provide information on the number of kinship 
  3.9   caregivers who received grants under the program, the average 
  3.10  and range of grant amounts awarded, the purposes to which the 
  3.11  kinship caregiver intended to use the grants, the number of 
  3.12  grant recipients for whose kinship child an AFDC child-only 
  3.13  grant is received, and the extent to which grant recipients 
  3.14  later apply for relative foster care maintenance payments.  The 
  3.15  report must also present information on the satisfaction of 
  3.16  kinship caregivers and county social service agencies with the 
  3.17  program, and other information which the commissioner finds is 
  3.18  relevant to an evaluation of the program.