Sec. 07.02.29.03. General Requirements

A. Both the child and the relative caregiver shall meet the eligibility requirements stated in Regulations .04 and .05 of this chapter, respectively; and

(1) The child shall be placed with the relative caregiver for at least the last 6 consecutive months prior to the establishment of a guardianship assistance; and

(2) The relative caregiver home shall be approved as a resource home or kinship care home for the last 6 consecutive months in which the child resided with the relative caregiver.

B. The local department shall negotiate and enter into a binding guardianship assistance agreement with the proposed relative caregiver prior to the court decree of custody and guardianship to the relative caregiver.

C. The effective date of the guardianship assistance payment shall be the date the court awards custody and guardianship to the relative caregiver.

D. Guardianship assistance program participation may not be:

(1) Transferred to a person who is not a party to the guardianship assistance agreement including the spouse of the relative guardian who has chosen not to be a party to the agreement or the guardianship; or

(2) Applied retroactively to a time prior to the execution of the guardianship assistance agreement and guardianship decree of the court.