SB 1602 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - Second Regular Session

kinship foster care stipend; increase

Arizona's SB 1602 increases monthly stipends for kinship foster parents caring for children in state custody. The bill raises the stipend to $400 per child monthly for 2026-2027, $500 for 2027-2028, and $600 starting in 2029. This directly affects relatives or individuals with significant relationships who provide foster care for children removed from their homes. The increase applies to the existing stipend program under Arizona law, supplementing other financial benefits like full foster care payments or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. The bill amends Section 8-514.03 of Arizona Revised Statutes to implement these specific, time-bound payment amounts.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 3, 2026 Last action Mar 25, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version Senate Engrossed Version (03/11/2026) · 3 edits · Mar 11, 2026
MINOR
The bill was reformatted from an introduced draft to a Senate engrossed version, updating the official title and session details. The substantive policy content regarding kinship foster care requirements, eligibility, and the monthly stipend schedule remains unchanged, though a minor typo in the text regarding future applications was corrected.
TECHNICAL

The document structure was updated to reflect the official Senate Engrossed Version, including changes to the reference title, bill number, and legislative session headers.

A minor grammatical error was corrected in Section F, changing 'making application APPLYING FOR' to 'making application applying for' to improve readability.

The effective date for the third tier of the monthly stipend was adjusted from 'December 31, 2029' to 'December 31, 2028' in the final version.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 11, 2026

How they voted

260
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 30
Mar 11, 2026
D Democratic13
12 Yea 1
92% Yea
R Republican17
14 Yea 3
82% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
11
Key actions
5
Committee
1
Amendments
3
Mar 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
DP
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
PASSED
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Upper · Passed
DPA
upper
Feb 24, 2026
Upper · Passed
DPA
upper
Feb 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
DPA
upper
1 primary · 13 co-sponsors

Sponsors