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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Seventh Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
kinship foster care stipend; increase
Purpose
Requires, beginning January 1, 2027, the Department of Child Safety (DCS) to provide a kinship foster care parent with a stipend of $400 per month for each child placed with the parent, increasing by $100 each year until January 1, 2029.
Background
The placement of a child who is in DCS custody is determined by the best interests of the child, and DCS must establish kinship foster care services for a child who has been removed from the child's home. A kinship foster care parent may be eligible to receive the following financial services for the child: 1) full foster care benefits, including payment if the kinship foster care parent becomes a licensed foster care home; and 2) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Cash Assistance payments. DCS provides maintenance payments to licensed foster families for the care of children in out-of-home care. DCS sets foster care rates and determines eligibility for special rates (A.R.S. § 8-514.03).
An unlicensed kinship foster care parent will receive monthly reimbursement from DCS. At the end of each month, the parent will confirm the number of days the child was in their home. The reimbursement includes a diaper allowance, if applicable, the personal and clothing allowances and the kinship stipend (DCS).
Laws 2022, Chapter 329 appropriated monies from the state General Fund (state GF) in FY 2023 to DCS to provide a kinship foster care parent with a stipend of $300 per month for each child placed with the foster care parent. The Legislature intended that the one-time appropriation be considered ongoing funding in future years. The stipend increase has since been added to the Baseline budget as an ongoing expenditure (JLBC).
In 2025, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) published a fiscal note on S.B. 1490, a near identical measure to S.B. 1602, which estimated that the bill would generate a state General Fund cost of $2.2 million in the first fiscal year of implementation, $6.5 million in the second year and $10.8 million in the third year, before realizing the full phase-in cost of $12.9 million in future fiscal years (JLBC Fiscal Note).
Provisions
1. Requires DCS to provide a kinship foster care parent with a monthly stipend for each child placed with the parent in at least the following amounts:
a) $400, effective January 1, 2027;
b) $500, effective January 1, 2028; and
c) $600, effective January 1, 2029.
2. Makes technical changes.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the Appropriations, Transportation & Technology Committee
· Advances the date the stipend reaches $600 per month from January 1, 2030, to January 1, 2029.
Senate Action
HHS 2/19/26 DP 7-0-0
ATT 2/25/26 DP 10-0-0
Prepared by Senate Research
February 25, 2026
MM/SDR/hk