(Revised 8/15/06 ML #3025)
Foster care maintenance payment is a program for the payment of foster care supported by federal, state, and county funds for dependent children who are living in licensed foster family homes, foster care group homes, residential child care facilities, or residential treatment facilities (only those eligible to receive foster care payment). Foster care maintenance means payments to cover the cost of (and the cost of providing) food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a child’s personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to a child, and reasonable travel to the child’s home for visitation. In residential care, reasonable costs of administration are included. (In addition to maintenance payments, certain administrative and service payments are also allowable.) Hereafter in this chapter when the shorter terms "foster care payment" or "maintenance payments" are used, it means the foster care maintenance payment program.