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Thousands of Kinship Foster Parents Receive Pandemic Relief

Thank you to Governor Ducey, DES Director Michael Wisehart, and DCS Director Mike Faust for directing over $9 million in COVID relief to ensure that foster children placed with kin have the supports they need to weather the public health crisis. The Pandemic Emergency Assistance Funds are being distributed to more than 3,000 relatives who care for over 5,000 foster children. Eligible caregivers will receive a one-time stipend of $1,800 per child.

CAA also thanks Arizona Grandparent Ambassadors and Kinship Caregivers for its partnership in advocating for the relief funds and is grateful to Representative Joanne Osborne who helped negotiate for this money and to Senator Lela Alston who tirelessly advocates for kinship families in the legislature.

Relatives play a critical role in Arizona’s child welfare system, stepping up to care for more than 50% of the state’s foster children. However, because relative caregivers typically step in at a time of family crisis and don’t plan to become foster parents, the vast majority are not licensed which means that they receive just $75 a month for each child in their care—far less than the $641 that is provided when a child is placed with a licensed foster parent. COVID-19 has stretched the already thin resources of many of these families to the breaking point and this relief will provide crucial help to kinship foster families.

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Governor Hobbs Signs Bill Eliminating Administrative Fees in Juvenile Court 

Persistence pays off! On May 26th, after 3 years of advocacy, Governor Hobbs eliminated the burdensome administrative fees routinely levied on children involved in the juvenile court system when she signed SB 1197 into law.  No longer will youth and their families be charged administrative fees for…

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Fostering Youth Transitions Report Released During National Foster Care Month

Permanent families and supportive adult connections, stable housing and postsecondary education remain beyond reach for too many young people with foster care experience, according to Fostering Youth Transitions 2023: State and National Data to Drive Foster Care Advocacy, a data brief released by the…

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State budget has small key wins for AZ children & families, BUT more needs to be done

Children’s Action Alliance’s annual legislative agenda is designed to assure the necessary community conditions exist so all Arizona families have equitable access to high-quality education, health care, child well-being, services, and economic opportunities. Our agenda is advanced through...