2021 National Foster Care Month 
Children's Bureau Message

Written by Taffy Compain, National Foster Care Specialist, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children’s Bureau 

This year, the Children’s Bureau recognizes National Foster Care Month through the initiative and its theme “Foster Care as a Support to Families, Not a Substitute for Parents,” as part of an ongoing effort to promote meaningful family engagement, support, and empowerment. Throughout this 3-year effort, we have highlighted the importance of family well-being, partnerships between birth and resource parents, collaborations with local communities, and parent engagement in the selection of services as key factors in strengthening families. 

Today, we continue our focus on supporting and strengthening families by looking at ways the child welfare system and the legal community can authentically engage youth in permanency planning and support the development of meaningful connections to promote truly strengthening families. Building on what we've heard from youth in care and adults formally in care over the past few years, “permanency” in their eyes is not only about legal permanency. It's also about relational permanency— the family, friends, kin, caregivers, and mentors that youth are connected to, and other individuals in the lives of youth who can provide a sense of belonging and support. We encourage child welfare systems and facilitate the development of strategies that will help those relationships flourish over time, providing a sense of family to young people leaving care. 

Ideally, the best foster care system would be one that is not needed. Current efforts to fund and support prevention services are critical to addressing families in need before they must be involved with foster care. For those circumstances where foster care is necessary, we must create the expectation that the purpose of foster care is to support families to remain safely together over time. We need to redefine the roles of resource families to be supporters to parents. We also have to commit to serving children and youth in foster care within their own communities and in the context of their families and their important connections.

On behalf of the Children’s Bureau, thank you for being part of the fabric that strives to reunite families and bring lasting, stable permanency to the children, youth, and young adults served through foster care.

TAX QUESTIONS

At this time of year, the Family Services Division typically receives many inquiries about how caregivers should handle whether or not to claim the foster child/ children in their care as dependents.  The division responds with “ we are not tax professionals and we cannot provide that kind of advice to you… “ This last year has created additional questions related to the federal stimulus money that was awarded based on who claimed the child in tax year 2019.   We asked our attorney's general to provide some clarification.  The following CARES Act FAQ provides additional information. 

FAQs: CARES Act economic stimulus payments for children in foster care
 
In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed, which includes an advanced payment of a new refundable tax credit for the 2020 tax year. The payment, commonly known as a federal stimulus payment, is being distributed based on tax returns filed for 2019 (If 2019 returns have not been filed, the 2018 return will be used.) This may impact families with children who currently are, or have been, in foster care during the applicable filing years.
 
Information provided below in the general answers to frequently asked questions is not to be considered legal tax advice. Individuals are encouraged to consult with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or a certified tax professional with questions regarding specific circumstances. The IRS is providing additional guidance on its economic impact payment information center, which is updated periodically.
 
Can foster parents claim foster children as dependents?
 
The IRS has an interactive tax assistance tool to help determine who may be claimed as a dependent. Foster parents may claim foster children as dependents if they meet requirements as a “qualifying child,” when a child lived with a family for more than six months of the year (there are exceptions for children who were born or died during the year).
 
Is the social service agency legally required to provide foster parents with a qualifying child’s Social Security number so they may claim them as a dependent?
 
Vermont does not have a statutory requirement for legally responsible social service agencies to provide a child’s Social Security number to foster parents. If a legally responsible agency does not provide foster parents with information to claim a child as a dependent, they may bring this to the attention of the court during a review hearing or consult with an attorney and/or tax professional for options.
 
For children who are or have been in foster care, who will get the stimulus payment?
The IRS will determine who receives the stimulus payment for a qualifying child who is under age 17 for all of 2019 (meaning they must not have turned age 17 during 2019). For the advance stimulus payment, this is based on who most recently claimed the child as a dependent on either 2019 or 2018 returns.
What if a child was in foster care in 2019 and their foster parent claimed them, but they are now reunified with their parent?
 
The IRS will determine who receives stimulus payments for qualifying children. The IRS uses information from the most recent tax return to calculate advance stimulus payments for qualifying individuals/families. There is no clear guidance from the IRS on what to do in this situation. The refundable tax credit will be applied to 2020 tax returns filed in 2021; parents can claim a child for additional credit on their 2020 tax return if they did not receive the advance stimulus payment.
 
Can parents claim the stimulus payment for their child if their child is in residential treatment?
 
If families were eligible to claim children as dependents on their 2019 taxes, and children did not turn age 17 in 2019, families should receive the stimulus payment.
 
Who receives the stimulus payment for children under guardianship who reside in an adoptive or kinship placement, but an adoption or permanent guardianship has not finalized?
 
The IRS will determine who receives the stimulus payment for a qualifying child. Advance stimulus payments are based on who most recently claimed the child, based on either 2019 or 2018 returns.
 
Who will receive the stimulus payment if a family finalized an adoption or permanent guardianship  in 2019?
 
Families who finalized an adoption in 2019 and had their child/ren residing in their home for six or more months, are eligible to claim the child as a qualifying dependent and will receive the advance stimulus payment. It is recommended that these families consult with their tax advisor regarding filing their taxes. Families who finalized an adoption should contact: ahs.dcffsdadoptionpermanencyprogram@vermont.gov  for necessary documentation requested by their tax advisor. If a child lived with their family for more than six months of the year, whether in foster care or legal permanency, they may claim the child as a dependent, making the family eligible for the stimulus payment.
 
If a child has had a permanency guardianship with a relative, who would receive the payment? (In this case, parental rights are still intact, however the court has determined that the child/ren are unable to remain in the legal and physical care of their parents).
 
The IRS will determine who is eligible to claim a qualifying child as a dependent, and therefore who will receive the stimulus payment. Advance stimulus payments are based on who most recently claimed the child based on either 2019 or 2018 returns.
Will families who finalize an adoption or permanency guardianship in 2020 be able to claim the stimulus payment for their child/ren?
 
When 2020 tax returns are filed, the IRS will determine stimulus payments based on who was eligible to claim a qualifying child in 2020. Parents can claim a child for additional credit on their 2020 tax return if they were eligible for a stimulus payment in 2020 but did not receive an advance stimulus payment based on their filling in 2018 or 2019.
 
Does the stimulus payment affect any other benefits that a child is receiving? These would be benefits such as Supplemental Security Income, Retirement, Survivors, and Disability Insurance, Black Lung, etc.
 
The stimulus payment is treated like other refundable credits and is not considered income. It should not affect other benefits a child is receiving. Consult with a financial advisor or Social Security Administration for additional information.
 

 

Each year we are pleased to partner with Vermont State Parks to offer families the opportunity to enjoy our beautiful lakes, mountains, and wilderness areas.  With 55 developed state parks, each offering high-quality opportunities for outdoor recreation compatible with the conservation of Vermont’s natural resources and aesthetics, Vermont State Parks provides environmental education and information and supports the economies and values of local communities. Additionally, state parks promote, operate, and maintain a large and complex system of conserved lands, as well as both historic and modern facilities that are enjoyed by over half a million visitors every year. Vermont State Parks works towards ensuring a safe, welcoming, and inclusive place for staff, volunteers, and visitors.

"We are incredibly grateful for the Vermont State Park Pass we have received in past years and the children have used it to spend lots of time exploring nature, hiking, finding bugs, swimming, learning about rocks, and how mountains are formed. This past year especially when there were so few options for kids to do that felt safe during the pandemic having access to all the State Parks was a huge gift."

Our thanks to Vermont Parks Forever.  VPF was founded in 2013 to enhance and protect the Vermont State Parks through charitable and private support. To achieve these goals, they collaborate with Vermont residents, parks visitors, and state government to improve Vermont's State parks for the benefit of residents and visitors alike.

Through the generosity of Vermont Parks Forever, children and youth in foster care receive a summer pass to parks for free. Additional punch passes are purchased to distribute among families so all can enjoy our state parks. We appreciate and wish to acknowledge Vermont Parks Forever for their generosity!

For more information and to get your state parks pass, contact your district office Resource Coordinator who can provide details and access to passes.  

Summer will soon be here and that means it's summer camp time!

The Legislative Camp Fund was developed for the purpose of supporting children and youth who are in the custody of the state of Vermont to attend a summer camp.  Each year, districts are assigned an amount of money from this fund for use for that fiscal year.  The amounts are based upon the percentage of children and youth in custody in that district at the beginning of that fiscal year. 

Summer Camps can be expensive, and it may not be possible for some foster and kin families to support the total cost.  Many camps offer scholarships, and we ask that scholarships are applied for first.  There may be other avenues for sources of funding for certain camps.  Once the available sources of funding are exhausted and applied to the total bill, a request can be submitted to request additional funding from the Legislative Camp fund.  The limited Legislative Camp fund is distributed first come first serve.

To apply for camp funding, notify your Resource Coordinator.  An invoice, accompanied by a W-9 from the camp must be submitted to your Resource Coordinator.  The RC will forward your request to the Foster/Kin Care Manager for processing. 

Do you have ideas for how to make improvements to the caregiver’s experience of the foster care system?
 

The Foster Parent Workgroup is reconvening.  The workgroup was initially established in 2017, to support a sustained focus on creating better experiences for children in care.   Through this work, Family Services commits to partnering with foster parents to enhance collaboration and promote improvements to Vermont’s child welfare system.
 
The workgroup will meet virtually every other month starting April 29, 10 am -12 pm.  We recognize that no date or time will work perfectly for everyone and we are committed to providing opportunities for those who cannot make the meetings to participate in other ways.  This group will welcome the participation of all caregivers, Family Services District Staff, and other interested partners. 

Schedule of Future Meetings:
6/24/21    10-12
8/26 /21   10-12
10/28/21   10-12
12/16/21   10-12
 
Foster Parent Workgroup Re-Launch
April 29, 2021 10-12am
Microsoft Teams
 
Workgroup Charge: establish a permanent foster parent workgroup that will focus on the goal of creating better experiences for children in care. Through this work, DCF will partner with foster parents to enhance collaboration, and promote improvements to Vermont’s child protective services system. The working group will expand ongoing workgroup membership to include DCF/FSD district office staff and additional foster parent voices from throughout the state.” 

The RPC+ course lasts for 10 weeks -- with some work for participants to do on their own at home between classes -- such as watching a video or reading a short article.
 
Questions?   Contact: Amy.Bielawski-Branch@uvm.edu  802-578-0426 
 
Classes are for kin, foster, and adoptive caregivers.

 

We appreciate every Vermont community and individual for all the ways you support children and youth in foster care throughout Vermont.  If you would like to learn more about ways that you or your organization can support a child in foster care, our Recruitment & Retention Specialists and Resource Coordinators would love to work with you!
 Here's how:   Contact your District Office Recruitment & Retention Specialist and Resource Coordinator at:  https://dcf.vermont.gov/fsd/contact-us/districts


This month we want to thank our community partners who have provided generous support in honor and recognition of our foster care providers.  From time to time, you may see one or more of their company logos/brands here.  Thank you!!!  

For all newsletter inquiries, please contact:
Mary.Collins@vermont.gov 

Are you a foster care provider who would be willing to speak with the press?  If so, we would LOVE to hear from you. From time-to-time, the Commissioner's office receives requests for interviews. Perhaps your story may be one we could share? For more information, contact: 
Luciana.DiRuocco@vermont.gov.