If a Mississippi grandmother takes in her grandchild without going through CPS, can she get state supportive services payments under Section 43-15-17?

Plain-English summary

Chancellor Margaret Alfonso of the Eighth Chancery District presides over guardianship clinics where indigent relatives ask for custody orders to enroll a child they are caring for in school or to get medical treatment. The relatives often live on Social Security alone. The chancellor asked: do these relatives qualify for supportive services payments under Section 43-15-17 if the child has not been in CPS custody and CPS has not placed the child with them?

The AG said no. Section 43-15-17 has three subsections:

• (1) gives CPS general authorization to make supportive services payments "to facilitate either the return of children to their natural parents or their adoption."
• (2) governs foster care payments: monthly payments for room and board, clothing, allowance, and personal needs for children CPS placed in foster care. Foster parents must be licensed and complete training.
• (3) governs kinship care: monthly payments to a relative caring for a child "placed by the Department of Child Protection Services" with the relative. The relative must complete foster care training to receive monthly payments; an exemption from training does not preserve payment eligibility. Payments require legislative appropriation.

Both subsections (2) and (3) limit payments to CPS placements. So a child who has never been in CPS custody, never been placed with the relative by CPS, does not generate eligibility under Section 43-15-17.

The relative still has options to get a custody order through chancery (which is what the guardianship clinic provides). That order lets the relative enroll the child in school and get medical care. But the financial supportive services from the state's child welfare program flow through the CPS pathway, not through private chancery actions.

The AG noted that Section 43-15-17 was amended by House Bill No. 1387 of the 2025 Regular Session, effective July 1, 2025. The amendments included modernization of the kinship-care provisions but did not change the CPS-placement requirement.

Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(i) lets the youth court waive foster care training for an appropriate relative placement. But Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(ii) bars a training-exempt relative from receiving "board payments, foster care payments, kinship care payments, therapeutic care payments, or any other monthly payments from the department to assist in the care of the child." So the training-waiver path comes with a payments trade-off.

What this means for you

For grandparents and other relatives caring for a child

The opinion holds that "supportive services payments as provided for in Section 43-15-17 are not available to indigent relatives with a child in their care if the child has not been placed with the relative by CPS." It reaches that by reading subsections (2) (foster care) and (3) (kinship care) as both limiting payments to CPS placements. The opinion's background notes the chancery guardianship clinics the chancellor described exist "to assist indigent relatives obtain custody orders," which are "necessary to enroll a child in school or obtain medical treatment"; the opinion does not address any other benefit programs.

For chancellors, CPS caseworkers, and family law attorneys

The opinion's distinction is between a CPS placement and a private chancery guardianship. Under § 43-15-17(3), kinship-care payments run to a relative "for a child placed by the Department of Child Protection Services," and the relative must complete foster care training. The opinion adds that a relative exempt from foster care training is not eligible for monthly payments (citing § 43-15-13(6)(b)(i)-(ii)), and that § 43-15-17(3) allows payments to continue "after the department relinquishes legal custody of the child to the relative if the relative has complied with foster care training requirements," subject to legislative appropriation.

For state legislators

The opinion notes that House Bill No. 1387 (2025) amended § 43-15-17 effective July 1, 2025, but reads the amendment as leaving the CPS-placement requirement in place. It does not recommend any further change.

Common questions

Can I get monthly payments from the state for a grandchild I am raising? Under Section 43-15-17, the opinion says only if CPS placed the child with you. Without a CPS placement, the opinion concludes the answer is no. It does not address other benefit programs.

What does "placed by CPS" mean?
A formal placement decision by the Department of Child Protection Services after taking the child into custody (with or without a court order, depending on the circumstances), and assigning the child to your home. A private chancery guardianship initiated by the relative is not a CPS placement.

Can I get a custody order without going through CPS?
Yes, through chancery court. Many counties run guardianship clinics for this purpose. The order solves immediate practical problems (school, medical care) but does not bring CPS funding.

Do I have to complete foster care training to get kinship care payments? Yes, generally. The training requirement applies to kinship care under Section 43-15-17(3). The youth court can waive the training under Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(i), but Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(ii) says a training-exempt relative is not eligible for monthly payments.

Can I receive payments after the court relinquishes legal custody to me? Yes, under Section 43-15-17(3), but only if you have complied with foster care training requirements.

What did House Bill 1387 (2025) change?
It amended Section 43-15-17 effective July 1, 2025. The amendments updated kinship care provisions but did not change the CPS-placement requirement that limits eligibility.

Background and statutory framework

Section 43-15-17(1) gives CPS general supportive services authority "to facilitate either the return of children to their natural parents or their adoption, depending upon and contingent upon the availability of the Department of Child Protection Services securing or having sufficient funds."

Section 43-15-17(2) governs foster care:

For those children placed in foster care by Child Protection Services, the department shall make monthly payments for the support of these children's room and board, clothing, allowance and personal needs.

Foster parents must be licensed and complete training.

Section 43-15-17(3) governs kinship care:

For a child placed by the Department of Child Protection Services in the care of any adult related by blood, marriage, or adoption within the third degree or who makes up the family support system of the child, including adults related beyond the third degrees, godparents, friends of the family, or other adults who have a strong familial bond with the child, unless a child is placed in the care of a relative who is exempt from foster care training requirements, the department shall make monthly payments to defray the relative's expense of furnishing room and board.

The statute specifies that payments may continue after CPS relinquishes legal custody if the relative has complied with foster care training requirements. Payments are subject to legislative appropriation.

Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(i) lets the youth court waive foster care training "for an appropriate relative placement." Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(ii) bars a training-exempt relative from receiving "board payments, foster care payments, kinship care payments, therapeutic care payments, or any other monthly payments from the department to assist in the care of the child."

House Bill No. 1387 of the 2025 Regular Session amended Section 43-15-17 effective July 1, 2025.

Citations

• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(i) (youth court waiver of foster care training for relative placement)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(ii) (training-exempt relative not eligible for monthly payments)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-17 (authorized supportive services payments)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-17(1) (CPS general authorization for supportive services)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-17(2) (foster care monthly payments and training requirements)
• Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-17(3) (kinship care monthly payments to CPS-placed relatives)
• 2025 Miss. House Bill No. 1387 (amendments effective July 1, 2025)

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/divisions/opinions-and-policy/recent-opinions/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygenerallynnfitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/M.-Alfonso-July-11-2025-Mississippi-Code-Annotated-Section-43-15-17.pdf

Original opinion text

July 11, 2025
The Honorable Margaret Alfonso
Chancery Court Judge, Eighth District
Post Office Box 1446
Gulfport, Mississippi 39502
Re:

Mississippi Code Annotated Section 43-15-17

Dear Chancellor Alfonso:
The Office of the Attorney General has received your request for an official opinion. Background According to your request, you preside over guardianship clinics, which are held to assist indigent relatives obtain custody orders for children in their care. These orders are necessary to enroll a child in school or obtain medical treatment for a child. Frequently, the only source of income for relatives is Social Security. Questions Presented

1. Would supportive services payments be available to indigent relatives with a child in their care
   if the child has not been in Child Protection Services ("CPS") custody and has not been placed with the relative by Youth Court or CPS?
2. Are supportive services payments only available if a child has been in CPS custody, the
   placement is granted durable legal custody, and the relative has complied with foster care training requirements? Brief Response

3. Supportive services payments, as provided for in Mississippi Code Annotated Section 43-15-17, are not available to indigent relatives with a child in their care if the child has not been
   placed with the relative by CPS.

4. Please see response to question one. To receive supportive services payments from CPS, a
   child must be placed in the individual's home by CPS, and the individual accepting the placement must complete foster care training requirements. Applicable Law and Discussion Section 43-15-17 addresses authorized supportive services payments and provides in part:

(1) The Department of Child Protection Services is authorized to make such payments as may be appropriate for supportive services to facilitate either the return of children to their natural parents or their adoption, depending upon and contingent upon the availability of the Department of Child Protection Services securing or having sufficient funds to render this supportive service. . . .

(2) For those children placed in foster care by Child Protection Services, the department shall make monthly payments for the support of these children's room and board, clothing, allowance and personal needs. . . . [I]n order for foster parents to receive the monthly payments authorized under this subsection (2), the Department of Child Protection Services shall require foster care placements to be licensed as foster care homes and shall require prospective foster parents to satisfactorily complete an appropriate training program that emphasizes the goal of the foster care program to provide stable foster placement until a permanency outcome is achieved.

(3) For a child placed by the Department of Child Protection Services in the care of any adult related by blood, marriage, or adoption within the third degree or who makes up the family support system of the child, including adults related beyond the third degrees, godparents, friends of the family, or other adults who have a strong familial bond with the child, unless a child is placed in the care of a relative who is exempt from foster care training requirements, the department shall make monthly payments to defray the relative's expense of furnishing room and board. . . . The department may continue to make those payments to the relative after the department relinquishes legal custody of the child to the relative if the relative has complied with foster care training requirements. Any such payments for relative care shall be subject to specific appropriation therefor by the Legislature.

(emphasis added).[1]
You ask if supportive services payments would be available to indigent relatives with a child in their care if the child has not been in CPS custody and has not been placed with the relative by Youth Court or CPS. Section 43-15-17(1) provides CPS with general authorization to make payments as "appropriate for supportive services to facilitate either the return of children to their natural parents or their adoption." Subsections (2) and (3) break down the duties of CPS and the requirements for those individuals receiving supportive services payments when taking in a child through foster or kinship care. As shown, both Subsections (2) (foster care) and (3) (kinship care) limit the application of such payments to CPS placements. Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that supportive services payments as provided for in Section 43-15-17 are not available to indigent relatives with a child in their care if the child has not been placed with the relative by CPS. You next ask if supportive services payments are only available if a child has been in CPS custody, the placement is granted durable legal custody, and the relative has complied with foster care training requirements. As stated supra, to receive supportive services payments from CPS, a child must be placed in an individual's home by CPS. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-17(2)-(3). Further, the individual accepting the placement must complete foster care training requirements. Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-17(2). CPS is not required to make supportive services payments to relatives under Section 43-15-17(3) when "a child is placed in the care of a relative who is exempt from foster care training requirements."[2] Finally, Section 43-15-17(3) provides that relatives may receive supportive services payments both before and "after the department relinquishes legal custody of the child to the relative if the relative has complied with foster care training requirements." If this office may be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, LYNN FITCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL By:

/s/ Maggie Kate Bobo
Maggie Kate Bobo
Special Assistant Attorney General

[1] Section 43-15-17 was amended by House Bill No. 1387 of the 2025 Regular Legislative Session. These amendments became effective July 1, 2025.

[2] See Miss. Code Ann. § 43-15-13(6)(b)(i) ("The court may waive foster care training for an appropriate relative placement.") and (6)(b)(ii) ("A relative exempted from foster care training is not eligible for board payments, foster care payments, kinship care payments, therapeutic care payments, or any other monthly payments from the department to assist in the care of the child.").