Foster Child, Custodian or Kinship - You don't get a choice if you're related to the child.
Tennessee law sucks! When we took over our granddaughter at age 4 months, we had to go through all the foster care crap - missing work for meetings, court, home studies, Resource Parent classes, medication training etc. Once we did that and would quality for foster child board payments, the judge gave us custody forcing us to exit her from state foster custody. They didn't even allow us to take guardianship because we were kin. Now they didn't have to provide support for our grandchild. We get medical (TN Care - if you can find a doctor to take her) and $140 a month for food. We are also required to report to the state annually.
Now we find out they won't even help with adoption. We need to adopt to draw Social Security for her when I retire and after our deaths. Social Security (the feds) doesn't recognize custodial relationships degreed by the state. She can't even inherit from us unless she is in our will. So while the state says, eh you're related so assume all the responsibility including financial for this little person, the feds say - eh not a relationship forget that kid.
We can exit custody only through adoption or if someone files a complaint and the State takes her into the system again. The chances are we wouldn't get her back if that happened. Only if the state has custody would someone get help with adoption and support.
Why does this suck - well custodial grands are older. At a time when other people are empty nest and socking money away to retire, we are supporting a grandchild. The USDA says that to take care of a 10 year old, these are the costs for family with an income of less than $62000.00 and one child.
First Child's Estimated Annual Costs | Age of Child: 10 |
Housing Food Transportation Clothing Health CareChild Care and Education Other Tota
$11,650
Interestingly, there is no lower income rage to choose on the site. So while this money is going to support the child, less money goes to retirement accounts. That means you get to live on Social Security and have even less money when you can't work any longer. However, you can't draw Social Security on a child you have custody of like you can with a birth or adopted child. If you do what's right to take care of the child, you are penalized all along the road financially.
This shouldn't be allowed.
Every which way you turn, you are financially penalized. If we had allowed her to go into the system, she would not have had the stability or care and would likely been a greater burden on the State system. But the foster parents who had her would have received $9219.90 a year plus food stamps and medical care. I figure that ten times 10 years, the state owes us $92199.00 plus food stamps that they would have paid non kin foster parents. That would have made a huge difference in our lives and in opportunities for her. Baring that, we should have to lay out even more money to adopt just to get the feds to recognize the relationship the state established. The estimate is ~ $10,000.00 to do an uncontested adoption from the attorney we contacted. All the work is done already, we just need to transfer the title on this kid!
I know life isn't fair but the government should be or at least consistent from State to federal. Now who knows an attorney that doesn't charge $300.00 and hour to do adoptions? Prefer free over cheap.
Rant over! for now.
