Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 0250 - Children's Services
Subtitle 0250-07 - Social Services Division
Chapter 0250-07-14 - Relative Caregiver Program
Section 0250-07-14-.02 - DEFINITIONS

(1) "Case File" means the file maintained by the Relative Caregiver Program Provider on each participating family in the Relative Caregiver Program.

(2) "Department" or "DCS" means the Department of Children's Services.

(3) "Eligible Children" means the children under the age of 18 who meet eligibility criteria to participate in the Relative Caregiver Program or the Relative Caregiver Stipend Program.

(4) "Family Needs Assessment" means the needs assessment tools used to assess family needs during client intake.

(5) "Family Needs Scale" means the standardized, Likert scale used for measuring family need during client intake.

(6) "Foster Care Board Rate" means the regular board payment rate as determined by DCS for the payment to foster parents providing residential care to children in state custody.

(7) "Household Income" means the income calculated using the guidelines for participating in the Relative Caregiver Program and Relative Caregiver Stipend Program.

(8) "Relative Caregiver" or "Caregiver" means an individual within a first, second, or third degree of relationship to the parent, or the stepparent of the child. This child must be under the relative caregiver's primary care, control, guidance, and supervision. Relationship is established by blood, marriage, or adoption.

(9) "Relative Caregiver Participant," "RCP Participant," or "Participant" means the relative caregiver and family participating in the Relative Caregiver Program or the Relative Caregiver Stipend Program.

(10) "Relative Caregiver Program" or "RCP" means the program created and operated by DCS pursuant to T.C.A. § 37-1-186, 2022 Tennessee Laws Pub. Ch. 785, and these rules.

(11) "Relative Caregiver Program Provider," "Relative Caregiver Provider," "RCP Provider," or "Provider" means a provider that DCS contracts with to operate and implement the Relative Caregiver Program and/or Relative Caregiver Stipend Program.

(12) "Relative Caregiver Stipend Program," "Stipend Program," "Relative Caregiver Stipend," or "Stipend" means the program defined by 2022 Tennessee Laws Pub. Ch. 785 and is a subset of the Relative Caregiver Program.

(13) "Size of Family Unit" means the number of persons considered when determining the baseline household income amount listed in the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The relative caregiver, the spouse of the relative caregiver, and adult children of the relative caregiver who are living in the same home as the relative caregiver should be counted to determine the size of the family unit.

(14) "Service Plan" means the plan developed as a result of the family needs assessment which outlines the services that will be made available to the child(ren) and the relative caregiver(s).