(a) An individual who is appointed as a guardian of a child or children by the Superior Court or Probate Court and who is not a recipient of subsidized guardianship subsidies under section 17a-126 or foster care payments from the Department of Children and Families shall, within available appropriations, be eligible to apply for grants under the Kinship Fund and Grandparents and Relatives Respite Fund administered by the Probate Court Administrator.

(b) The Probate Court Administrator may designate one or more Probate Courts to administer grants from the Kinship Fund and Grandparents and Relatives Respite Fund and may transfer grant funds to such courts at such times and in such amounts as the administrator determines necessary to ensure the efficient processing of grants from all eligible applicants. Each such court shall establish and maintain separate checking accounts to hold and manage grant funds for the Kinship Fund and the Grandparents and Relatives Respite Fund. The accounts shall be in the name of the court at a financial institution, as defined in section 36a-330. The court shall deposit into the respective accounts all grant funds transferred from the administrator and disburse from the accounts all grants approved by the court. The court shall not commingle grant funds with funds from any other source. The provisions of section 4-33 shall not apply to the management of grant funds under this section.

(P.A. 08-97, S. 1; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5, S. 22; P.A. 13-247, S. 48; P.A. 14-103, S. 7; P.A. 15-217, S. 19; P.A. 18-45, S. 1.)

History: P.A. 08-97 effective July 1, 2008; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5 added Department of Social Services as funds administrator, effective October 5, 2009; Sec. 17a-50a transferred to Sec. 17b-751a in 2010; P.A. 13-247 deleted reference to Children's Trust Fund Council, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 14-103 substituted Probate Court Administrator for Department of Social Services as fund administrator and added Probate Court re appointment of grandparent or other relative caregiver as guardian, effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-217 designated existing provisions as Subsec. (a) and added Subsec. (b) re transfer of grant funds by Probate Court Administrator to one or more Probate Courts, effective July 2, 2015; P.A. 18-45 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “A grandparent or other relative caregiver” with “An individual” and by making a technical change.