OLR Report 2011-R-0371 looks at whether the state is taking full advantage of funding available under the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, specifically as the act permits states to use federal funds in their subsidized guardianship programs.
The state has just recently received federal approval to use Title IV-E (foster care and adoption services) money for its relative guardianship program. While it has run this program since 1997, it could not use IV-E funds until the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 authorized it. The legislature amended its guardianship law to comport with the 2008 act.
The 2008 act also requires states to notify adult relatives when children are removed from their homes due to suspected abuse or neglect; Connecticut law satisfies this requirement as well.
For more infomation, read the whole report.
