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What Benefits Do Foster Parents Receive In Georgia?
Fostering a child is a rewarding experience that comes with its unique challenges and responsibilities.
If you are considering becoming a foster parent you may be wondering, “What benefits do foster parents receive in Georgia?”
The answer is that Georgia provides numerous resources to foster parents, such as healthcare rights, assistance with training and support for a child’s healthcare needs, and financial reimbursements of costs.
The provision of healthcare rights for their foster children is definitely a key benefit foster parents receive in Georgia.
These healthcare rights ensure that all foster children have access to necessary medical and mental health services.
This includes regular check-ups, emergency care, dental and vision care, immunizations, mental health services, and specialized treatments if needed.
Moreover, foster parents are offered training and support to help manage the unique health needs of foster children.
This includes understanding the impact of trauma on a child’s health, navigating the healthcare system, and advocating for a child’s health needs.
What Services and Support do Foster Parents and Foster Children Receive?
In Georgia, foster parents and their foster children receive a wide range of services and supports.
One of those we’ve touched on previously – the healthcare rights for the foster children – which includes access to providers trained or experienced in treating individuals with complex special needs.
This ensures that foster children, who often come from difficult backgrounds, receive the necessary medical attention they require.
Foster parents also have the opportunity to work directly with county DFCS offices or private child placing agencies (CPAs).
These entities provide contracts for foster care, offering additional support and resources to foster families.
Furthermore, foster parents caring for three or more sibling children in DFCS custody are entitled to a per child sibling supplement, providing extra financial support.
The state’s Comprehensive Child and Family Assessment (CCFA) program also plays a crucial role in determining the specific needs of each child. Based on these assessments, appropriate healthcare services and support can be provided.
It’s important to note that this healthcare coverage continues even if the foster child moves to a different foster home within the state.
How Much Money do Foster Parents Receive in GA?
The financial aspect is an essential consideration for many potential foster parents.
In Georgia, foster parents receive a monthly stipend known as a ‘per diem.’
This payment is made according to the “Head in the Bed” rule, meaning if a foster child spends the night in your home, you receive the per diem for that day.
Payments are typically made via direct deposit on the 15th of each month.
Moreover, foster parents who are caring for needy families may qualify for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF).
This includes a monthly payment plus Medicaid insurance coverage for the child.
Alongside these financial benefits, foster children are covered under the state’s health insurance, Georgia’s version of Medicaid.
This includes any behavioral or mental health support the child may need.
Final Thoughts
The state of Georgia offers numerous benefits to foster parents, ranging from financial stipends to medical coverage and supportive resources.
These are designed to ensure that every foster child receives the best possible care and that foster parents are adequately supported in this noble endeavor.
Comments 4
Estoy pensando ser padre de crianza padre foster,pero casi no hablo ingles,mi esposo si bastante mas
Author
Hi Veronica – thank you for your comment! I do not speak good Spanish, so I used Google translate to help me understand your comment – hopefully I understood it correctly!
Basically, you’d like to be a foster parent, but you do not speak much English, yet your husband does speak English (or at least more English). If it’s in Georgia (I am only licensed to practice law in Georgia, so I don’t know about other states), then you do need to have someone in the home who speaks English and can translate for the child, if they speak English. If it’s in another state, you can check with the foster care state agency in your state to ask them if you need to speak English or not to foster.
Hope this helps! -Kira
Does it seem that children are being trafficked between States? Why would the State not work with the Foster parents and allow them to keep the children whom they have been caring for (3 or more years). Instead they will remove them to new homes in another State. Isn’t this traumatic for the children? Is there some thought that these children belong to the State so they can do with them whatever they please?
Author
Hi Rocky, thank you for your comment! I do not know if this is something that is happening or not – I would think that you could contact your State Attorney General’s Office, to see if this is something that is going on. I do know that, if the State has custody of the children, then they are in the role of “parent” and can do what they believe is “best” for the children – whether that is true or not for any given circumstance may be different. But from a constitutional standpoint, if the State has had to intervene and obtain custody of a child, then they are able to keep or transport them – whether this is wrong or right is a different topic, but it is my understanding of the current state of affairs. Hope this helps!