In order to receive Title IV-E payments (foster care maintenance or adoption assistance), the child must be a citizen of the United States or a qualified alien as defined in 8 USC §1641External Link. If a child does not meet the U.S. citizenship or qualified alien status requirement in the month of the removal, the child cannot subsequently become IV-E eligible if they later obtain U.S. citizenship or a qualifying alien immigration status. In addition, the Title IV-E state plan requires states to have procedures to verify the citizenship or immigration status of foster care children.

8 USC §1611External Link

42 USC §671(a)(27)External Link

8 USC §1613External Link

Verification

The eligibility specialist must review the foster care application and supporting documentation to verify the child’s U.S. citizenship or qualified alien status.

Staff verifies U.S. citizenship with either of the following:

• U.S. certificate of birth.
• A Texas Department of State Health Services Vital Statics birth record printout for children born in Texas.

Note: If a child is born out of state, staff submits a request to order the birth certificate through the VitalChek website through his or her regional foster care eligibility specialist/VitalChek liaison

When a birth certificate or the child’s birth record cannot be located in the BVS data base, staff uses the documents listed in Appendix 1000-2: Additional Acceptable U.S. Citizenship Verification Documents in descending order to confirm citizenship.

Staff verifies qualified alien status with a:

• Permanent Resident Card (I-551).
• Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Document, which is issued when the child is granted asylum. The Form I-94 should have a stamp showing that asylum was granted under Section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
• Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Document for refugees admitted under section 207 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
• Form I-94 Arrival/departure card with a stamp showing parole at any time as a Cuban/Haitian Entrant.

If the child possesses other U.S. immigration documentation besides the above documents, staff contacts the Federal/State Support Unit or his or her regional Immigration Specialist for a determination on the child’s immigration status.

Evaluative Conclusion

The caseworker may choose the Evaluative Conclusion option on the Foster Care Assistance Application in IMPACT to determine that a child is a U.S. citizen. The caseworker must document on the application the reason for using this option based on either of the following criteria:

• A document proving the child’s birth in the U.S. (medical, insurance, or school record) that was created before the date of removal.
• A credible person with knowledge of the family’s history who states that the child was born in the U.S.

If an Evaluative Conclusion is used for U.S. citizenship, the eligibility specialist certifies the child’s foster care assistance for six months. When recording the child’s initial eligibility determination in IMPACT, the eligibility specialist sets the review date to six months from the eligibility start date. At the six-month review, the eligibility specialist must verify that the agency has obtained a U.S. birth certificate or other documentation of U.S. citizenship.

For the six-month review, the eligibility specialist takes the following steps:

• If documentation verifying the child’s U.S. citizenship status is found, the child’s citizenship and eligibility status remain unchanged.
• If no documentation is received verifying the child’s U.S. citizenship status, or if it has been established that the child is not a U.S. citizen, the eligibility specialist does the following:
  • Changes the child’s eligibility status to state-paid eligible effective to the initial eligibility start date.
  • Changes the child’s citizenship status in IMPACT to Undetermined Status.
  • Notifies the caseworker of the citizenship status change.