According to federal regulations at 45 CFR 1355.20, "Foster care means 24-hour substitute care for children placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the [state or tribal] agency has placement and care responsibility. This includes but is not limited to, placements in foster family homes, foster homes or relatives, group homes, emergency shelters, residential facilities, child care institutions, and preadoptive homes. A child is in foster care in accordance with this definition regardless of whether the foster care facility is licensed and payments are made by the State, Tribal or local agency for the care of the child, whether adoption subsidy payments are being made prior to the finalization of an adoption, or whether there is Federal matching of any payments that are made."
Receipt of foster care maintenance payments is not required for a child to be considered "in foster care" under this definition/ Thus, children placed with a relative or in another non-licensed out-of-home placement, with respect to whom foster care maintenance payments are not being provided, may be considered to be "in foster care" according to this definition if they are also under the placement and care of the state or tribal agency.
This definition of "foster care" is contained in regulations implementing titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act. However, because the federal regulations implementing titles IV-B and IV-E require state and tribal title IV-E agencies to agree to certain program requirements for all children in foster care, this definition applies to all foster care provided in a state or tribe, even that which is provided without federal participation.
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