Wisconsin program
Support when a relative or like-kin caregiver raises a child (Kinship Care)
Financial support for a qualifying relative or like-kin caregiver raising a child.
What it is
Financial support for a qualifying relative or like-kin caregiver raising a child.
A relative or like-kin caregiver raising a child may have a separate support route. The county or tribal child welfare agency reviews the arrangement. Temporary help with hospital visits does not establish eligibility.
Eligibility rules
- A qualifying relative or like-kin caregiver may be considered when the child is living in an arrangement that meets Wisconsin's Kinship Care rules. Helping a parent during treatment is not by itself enough; the county or tribal agency reviews the actual placement.
What you get
- Financial support for an eligible kinship caregiver.
- The county or tribal agency can confirm the current payment amount, how often it is paid and when an approved payment would start.
If you decide to apply
- Your social worker can help you decide whether to talk with the county or tribal child welfare agency about the living arrangement.
- Have information about who is raising the child and any custody documents ready.
Your county or tribal child welfare agency · Official page ↗
Good to know
The agency needs to review the caring arrangement before a payment can be relied on.
Other details
- The county or tribal child welfare agency is the place to discuss eligibility and payment terms.
- The county or tribal agency checks the placement, the child's needs, background and cooperation requirements, any required custody or court documents and the financial rules. Your social worker can help confirm whether this is a child-only payment, whose income counts and the current payment amount and period before the family relies on it.
Official sources
“Could Kinship Care support the person raising our child, what conditions apply, and could you help with the agency review?”
Why I’m asking: I want the person raising our child to understand the support and its conditions.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask the agency about kinship care and get the amount and the period in writing.
Your social worker
The hospital social worker can make the introduction to the county agency.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The county or tribal child welfare agency.
- Ask your social worker
- “I am the grandparent raising this child. Can we ask the county about kinship care, and get the rate and the period in writing?”
How to apply
First step: Ring the county child welfare agency, ask about kinship care, and ask for the rate and the period in writing.
- Ask the county agency about kinship care and get the rate and the period in writing.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the county child welfare agency about kinship care for the child.
What to gather
- Proof of the relationship to the child
- Who lives at home
- Any court or placement papers
How long: No published timescale; ask the county agency.
What a yes looks like
A kinship care payment set up with the county, with the amount confirmed in writing.
What a no looks like, and the next move
The county says the placement does not fit. Ask which condition was not met and what would.
Watch out
- The page posts the rate but not the period, so get it in writing before counting on it.
- The relative-or-like-kin scope applies from January 1, 2025. The county or tribal agency confirms the placement conditions and payment period.
- This is separate from any foster care payment.
Dates that change this
2026-01-01: Posted 2026 rate: $384. The review did not verify the payment period or exact effective date; the agency confirms these before the family budgets for it. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
Posted 2026 rate: $384. The review did not verify the payment period or exact effective date; the agency confirms these before the family budgets for it.
- $384 — Posted 2026 rate: $384. The review did not verify the payment period or exact effective date; the agency confirms these before the family budgets for it.
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Who
- A qualifying relative or like-kin caregiver raising the child in an eligible living arrangement; temporary help during treatment alone does not establish eligibility.
- Rate
- Posted 2026 rate: $384. The review did not verify the payment period or exact effective date; the agency confirms these before the family budgets for it.
- Unknowns
- eligibility conditions, the start date of the rate, and the child-only rules
The trap: The page posts the rate but does not say the period it covers, so ask the agency to confirm in writing whether $384 is monthly before you count on it.
Where I read this
- DCF: Kinship Care — Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, read September 10, 2026