Kincare - for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and other Kinship relatives

CHANGING TIMES

2011-04-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Dear friends of Kinship care, The times they are a-changing, Bob Dylan wrote to us so many years ago. The times are indeed changing for me personally. This is the last blog on kinship care issues for awhile. I will keep the site up a few months so folks can access the archive. But updates will not be forthcoming. Therefore I implore any of you who follow this site to please look to your local resources for direction on your kinship concerns. Over the years we have developed many online and personal friendships concerning this vital issue. Some of those resources have a great deal to offer regionally. Please get on mailing lists, go to conferences or participate in webinars. These folks have been consistent with kinship concerns and are your friends as well as mine. Particularly: Michigan - Kinship Care Education Center, www.kinship.edu, e-mail kinship@msu.edu based at Michigan State University, the Center is working hard to make connections for Michigan caregivers and service providers statewide. Michigan folks should contact the center to get on the e-mail list, and participate in programs. Prevention Network www.preventionnetwork.org has on board the hardest working communicator, Luanne Beaudry. Luanne is specifically with the Parent Awareness Month Campaign that provides tons of material and contacts to fine resources for all parents, kinship caregivers, and those who work with families. Get on the mailing list and you will be surprised how much is available to strengthen families not only in Michigan, but nationally as well: pamcampaign@preventionnetwork.org Illinois - Barb Schwartz, Kinship director for the State of Illinois, DHS, is a bountiful servant to the kinship cause. She and her staff help make connections, provide programs, and general support to kinship caregivers and service providers. Get on this treasured mailing list: Barb.Schwartz@Illinois.gov Ohio - particularly northern Ohio grandparents raising grandchildren and other kinship care providers can find a plethora of resources and active support groups with the Area Office On Aging of Ohio. To receive their excellent newsletter, contact: aooa@areaofficeonaging.com Florida - Very special friends for central Florida kinship caregivers covering several counties is Kids Central INc. These folks have established a number of support groups, programs that extend to many concerns for kinship families and they put on a fantastic conference every year in September. Check the website for contacts: www.kidscentralinc.org Generations United is a strong advocate for intergenerational programs including kinship care. They also offer a great conference, webinars, and alerts for legislative information that affects kinship families. Study the website, then sign up for the newsletter alerts, better yet for a small membership cost you can join this special group - www.gu.org I am sorry to leave you at this point in the kinship care movement. You or your friends can still get the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents from www.chicagoroadpublishing.com or from Amazon.com. Affectionately, Tita (Helene)

KINSHIP CARE - MORE RESOURCES!

2011-03-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

NOTE:ADDITIONAL KINSHIP CARE RESOURCES

From March Gateway newsletter - e-lert
2011 National Child Abuse Prevention Website From: e-lert_admin@childwelfare.gov

Visit the 2011 National Child Abuse Prevention Month website to help you prepare for Prevention Month in April.

The site features:

Strengthening Families and Communities: 2011 Resource Guide Tip sheets that address particular parenting concerns and questions—in English and Spanish—to distribute to parents and caregivers.
A calendar for April full of activities that relate to the Five Protective Factors.
Child Abuse Prevention Month widgets to post on your website.
A video that shows how Child Welfare Information Gateway connects professionals with information and resources on preventing child abuse and neglect www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth

Adoption Web Sections

We have made additions to the Adoption section of our website. Find updated resources and materials throughout the section, including:

Ethical Issues in Adoption: www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adopt_ethics
Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice: www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/postplacement
Social Media in Adoption Recruitment: www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/preplacement/social_media.cfm

FROM MICHIGAN LEAGUE FOR HUMAN SERVICES Newsletter,
Factually Speaking

This week marks the first anniversary of the signing of the landmark legislation known as the Affordable Care Act. This law was nearly a century in the making and, when fully implemented, will provide millions of Americans access to health care coverage that was not previously available to them.

In its first year, the Affordable Care Act has made a difference in the lives of thousands of Michiganians. To celebrate, the Michigan Consumers for Healthcare Advancement Coalition is hosting celebrations around the state to highlight the benefits gained by residents during the first year. The “birthday celebrations” began in Grand Rapids on Monday, move to Kalamazoo on Tuesday, the State Capitol on Wednesday, Saginaw on Thursday, and culminate in Dearborn on Friday, with the attendance of U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a long-time advocate for health care for all Americans.

Here’s what we’re celebrating during this week:
• Children cannot be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, such as asthma.
• Adults with pre-existing conditions who have been uninsured for six months can purchase federally subsidized, comprehensive coverage for conditions such as cancer or diabetes. Individuals with cancer diagnoses have been able to access life-saving treatments. Information is available at http://www.HIPMichigan.org .
• Young adults, up to age 26, can remain on or re-enroll in their parents’ employer-sponsored insurance without being a student or an IRS-defined dependent. This provision allows comprehensive coverage for young adults who might otherwise be uninsured as they work to establish themselves in their careers, or begin working in jobs that do not offer health care coverage.
• Senior citizens are enjoying several new provisions under the law. In 2010, those who entered the Medicare Part D “donut hole” received a cash payment of $250 to help with their drug costs. In 2011, seniors who enter the “donut hole,” will receive a 50 percent discount on their brand name drugs. In addition, all seniors on Medicare can now receive recommended preventive service screenings at no cost.
• Health insurance companies for the first time have required percentages (80 percent to 85 percent) of the premiums they collect that must be spent on medical care and quality improvements. If the requirement is not met, companies must provide rebates to their customers.
• Lifetime limits on benefits cannot be imposed, and coverage cannot be cancelled just because a person gets sick.

These are just of few of the benefits available now because of the Affordable Care Act. There are many others with more to be implemented over the next three years. One of the key future benefits of the law is the expansion of Medicaid to individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of poverty ($14,500 per year for an individual). This future benefit will provide new coverage to an estimated 400,000 – 500,000 individuals.

Another future benefit is the creation of a health insurance exchange, sometimes called an “Expedia of health insurance,” in which individuals will be able to compare and purchase affordable coverage with possible subsidies (depending on family income), limits on out-of-pocket costs, as well as guaranteed coverage regardless of pre-existing conditions for adults. There is much to look forward to.
Please join us in celebrating this historic law.
– Jan Hudson
www.mlhs.org

Thanks to Luanne for these important items:
Luanne Beaudry, MS, CPC-RParenting Awareness Michigan Coordinator, Prevention Network517.393.6890 ext 12, www.preventionnetwork.org www.facebook.com/pages/Parenting-Awareness-Michigan/344643609571

2011-03-22T04:25:00.000-07:00

Recently I humbly accepted a friend's offer to read her memoir of a childhood in foster care. Though I have known her for years and knew many of the incidents in her foster care life, I was deeply reminded of the impact such childhood experiences have had on the many decisions and directions in the rest of her life. Her foster care experiences varied considerably from devestating to kindness. Devestating included humiliation, intimidation and sometimes brutal beatings. She was separated from siblings who were also in varied situations in their own foster care. She was full of questions that were never taken seriously and grew up trying desperately to understand the cause of all this chaos.

What effect can we expect from such extremes in the critical development of children into adults? You guessed it - when children are brutalized, terrorized, or constantly intimidated - they have a strong likelihood of growing up angry. For some of her brothers, very angry. Next month, April, is Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to really reflect and take some action on how we, as a society, look at the miracle of childhood and how it affects our collective future. We want to prevent (costly) crime? Prevent child abuse.

When I first took the job in Child Abuse Prevention many years ago, the concept was mind boggling. I had to put a note in front of my desk - "How can we prevent child abuse?" - and made myself try to answer the question. Child abuse, child neglect, are often brought on by other painful social concerns such as substance abuse, which is often brought on by childhood damage to those magnificent little brains - it's a vicious circle. We have to look at the bigger picture of our society. And as witnessed by the excellent manuscript I just read, we have to stop complicating the issue by placing children from one harm to another. We can fix this. We have to.

You wonderful kinship caregivers and service providers may be interested in some of these good resources to help make the place a better one in which to grow up healthy.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. April 12 in Michigan is Prevention Awareness Day. www.childrenstrustfund.org

May 3 is National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day. Lots of activities check http://www.samhsa.gov/children/national.aspx
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is offering the Road to Recovery Program: Preventind and Early Interventionf or Substance Use and Mental Health Problems. Excellent presentations on helping teens.

Highly recommended websites on early intervention: http://timetoact.drugfree.org/?tr=y&auid=7875375
http://timetogethelp.drugfree.org/?tr=y&auid=7875376 (this one got a A+++ from Barb Schwartz, Relatives Raising Children Program, Illinois - thanks, Barb)

Relative Caregiving: what you need to know from the Michigan Department of Human Services available online at http://michigan.gov/documents/dhs/DHS-Pub-114_346655_7.pdf
That from Kinship Care Education Center of Michigan in their wonderful eKinnections newsletter, kinship@msu.edu

Also from eKinnections:
Michigan Association for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Families (MAFAK) annual conference April 29-May 2 in Lansing. More info at www.mafak.msu.edu

Area Agency on Aging Association's annual conference May 25 and 26 in East Lansing on the challenges faced by kinship families and what AAA's can do to support kinship families in their communities. More info http://mi-seniors.net/annual_conference.html

Resources for public education on kinship care from Penn State University Extension:
http://www.extension.org/pages/Conducting_a_Kinship_Family_Retreat and http://www.extension.org/pages/Grandparents_Raising_Grandchildren_-_Doubly_Stressed_Triply_Blessed

Head Start in Mid-Michigan is starting a Proud Parents 6-week interactive learning experiences for couples on child raising issues in Lansing Michigan, April 11. For more info Sharon Rogers at 517-999-2730, ext. 114 or Derrick Gilliam, Fatherhood specialist, 517-999-2730.

Calendars fill up fast so you Florida folks may want to flip those pages and mark the calendar now for the annual excellent Mid-Florida conference from Kids Central Inc in Ocala for Kinship caregivers and service providers - September 30 - October 1. We will update you with more information in the summer, www.kidscentralinc.org .

Other conferences or resources in your area please contact us at info@chicagoroadpublishing.com

And of course you can pick up A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children at www.chicagoroadpublish.com or through Amazon.com . Thank you to all who respond to this blog, www.kincare.blogspot.com If you check often and spread the word, the resources will be available to more and more families.

Be kind to each other.
Affectionately,Tita

Grandparents, Relatives Check these resources

2011-03-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

Think 2020. What kind of country do we want to have as we move more deeply into the millenium? We could have greater struggles with our social problems because in the early years of the millenium we refused to take care of business.Or we could have a bright future because we know the importance of a healthy society with physically and mentally healthy children. Our economic troubles today unfortunately were borne out of a greed that permeated the first decade. Sadly to correct the problems we seem to be bent on denying the health of the future. The key word these days is cut. Cut spending, cut social programs, cut until we bleed to death.
It doesn't have to be this way. A collaborative focus on priorities with a vision to a designated future, say 2020, might just prove to be far more productive than slashing ourselves in a bloody self-flagellation.

Some of the resources and events following are an excellent place to help cure our vision problem. Please check out these possibilities for kinship programs, and especially support for the children - all of the children.

CWLA Conference
The Child Welfare League of America will confer with service providers and caregivers on March 27 through March 30 in the U.S. Capitol area (Hyatt Regency in Arlington VA to be specific). Over 60 workshops and many events including a pre conference Kinship Summit Sunday March 27. Register on line at state2011@cwla.org or check out the website, www.cwla.org. If you register by this Friday, March 4 you can be entered for a free airline ticket drawing.

Generations United, www.gu.org
The Generations United alerts are providing up to date information on what's at stake for children, youth and grandfamilies, especially on the current assault on the Social Security program. GU tells us that 6.5 million children are protected by social security, the largest service program to children in the country. Go to the website to sign up for alerts.

e-Adolescence Newsletter
VALUABLE RESOURCE: the State Adolesence Health Resource Center currently centered at the University of Minnesota serving the country provided a valuable list of resources in their February 2011 newsletter. Such items as - A Portrait of 4 Generations, 2010; Juvenile justice systems reports; After school research/resources; Teen families; Teens in school - a New York State response to chronic absences; tons of health resources and research for teens; Children in low-income and the impact on their school success; mentoring. Please, please check this terrific list of resources. Ask for an online copy from boche001@umn.edu .

As always Thanks for some of those contacts from Luanne Beaudry of Prevention Network/Parenting Awareness Month (PAM), pamcampaign@prenventionnetwork.org or call for materials 517-393-6890 .

Parenting Tip Sheets
Thanks to Barb Schwartz, Illinois Relatives Rasing children Program for the following resource: Tip Sheets such as Bonding with baby, Dealing with Temper Tantrums, Teen parents, Raising your grandchild, Military families free from http://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/preventionmonth.

Northern Ohio Kinship Tips
The Kinship Navigator Program Newsletter from Northern Ohio always has excellent tips on an aspect of relative care. Check http://areaofficeonaging.com/kinship.pdf.

And as always there is a great deal of information in the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents, www.chicagoroadpublishing.com or from Amazon.com

That's it from here. Live in the present, but keep your eye on the future.
Tita

Kinship Care and Substance Abuse

2011-02-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

Last week I got a sweet telephone call from Helen Love, producer of The Senior
Solution, a weekly 0ne-hour radio program from Detroit Area Agency on Aging. In an interview, she wanted me to discuss issues facing kinship caregivers based on items in my book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children. Paul Bridgewater, President & CEO of the Detroit
Agency on Aging is the host and interviewer of the show. Paul and his wife are also grandparents raising a grandchild.
The show, which airs on WGPR, 107.5 FM in Detroit, gave me an opportunity to review the book that I had worked so hard to bring to fruition. I am pleased to say that the information holds up well. .. so far. But the experience of reviewing guides for kinship families also brought home, again, the reality of why children are living with relatives that are not their parents. So often it is drugs, alcohol or some other addiction that interferes with parenting. It is true that death or debilitating health issues contribute to some families resulting in kinship care. But the truth is too many children come to their relative families because their own parents are suffering the consequences of substance abuse.
I think alot about this problem in our society. On one hand we are bombarded with images of alcohol use. We laugh at drunkenness. We giggle about use of illegal substances.
We have built a huge tolerance to the use of drugs, legal and illegal. We cannot bring ourselves to stretch our thinking beyond what we see and tolerate - such as the terrible killings as a result of marketing illegal drugs, or the tremendous cost to all of us in almost any area of addressing the issue. In the 1920s we learned that prohibition of alcohol created problems greater than the original pain to individuals, much like we are experiencing today in the crimes that prohibited drugs bring.
Deeper thinking on the subject brings up all sorts of considerations. We will have to face this issue someday. In the mean time, where children are concerned, the consequences of legal or illegal substances have a tremendous affect on families often leaving children to live with relatives or in the foster care of strangers.
Much of the following news updates deal with these issues for all families. I hope some of you will find the information helpful. For relative caregivers, you are the port in the storm for most of the children. God bless you all.

1. In Michigan Recovering Oriented System of Care (ROSC) has published 16 Guiding Principles of the organization. To read the newsletter from this Department of Community Health check www.michigan.gov/mdch-bsaas.

2. Kinship caregivers and all families with young drivers may want to check the
excellent Safety Network Newsletter. Lots of information and guidelines. Check the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, Lynn Sutfin, sutfin@michigan.gov.

3. Webinar February 9 2-3:30 for human service providers, Achieving Excellence and Innovation in Family, School, and Community Engagement from the U.S. Department of Education. For information or to register for this national program on collaboration contact
Lacy Wood, lacy.wood@sedl.org or 800-476-6861.

4. Check out Parent Action for Healthy Kids information at
www.parentactionforhealthykids.org.

5. Michigan Fatherhood Coalition will be having its 9th Annual Conference for Dads and Service Providers, February 18 in Howell, Michigan. $45, scholarships available. Contact Duane Wilson, wilsond6@michigan.gov.

6. Throughout February and March Michigan Department of Health and Human Services will
be recruiting for 500 "highly qualified graduates" in human services to serve in Children's
Protective Services, Foster Care, Adoption, and licensing for juvenile homes. Contact Sarah
Davis for more information: daviss11@michigan.gov.
Thanks to Luanne Beaudry from Prevention Network (parenting awareness month - PAM) for all of the above information, www.preventionnetwork.org.

Illinois
To attend the annual Conference on Community-Based Aging Services in Springfield, IL,
March 10 (which has significant info for kinship services) contact Maureen.squires@illinois.gov.

IEP Meeting Tips
The February online newsletter of northern Ohio kinship care services has an excellent article on preparing for IEP meetings with your special education student. IEP is the process for Independent Educational Plan which brings a number of service providers together to help devise an educational plan for the success of each student, especially those in special education. This is a very helpful article: www.areaofficeonaging.com/Kinship.pdf .
Thank you Arcelia Parsons for continued work with grandfamilies.

Mentor Training
Community Skills for Mentors is an on-going training program from Brookdale Foundation
and the National Mentoring Center. Check the website for this valuable training at
http://talkingitthrough.educationnorthwest.org . For more from Brookdale Foundation check
the website www.brookdalefoundation.org.

Grandfamilies
Generations United recently received a grant from Brookdale Foundation for the National Center on Grandparents website. Go to Generations United, www.gu.org, and check the
Grandfamilies tab on the left column for more information.
Tell us your news at info@chicagoroadpublishing.com. Check www.chicagoroadpublishing.com for more information about A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other
Relatives As Parents, or order the book from Amazon.com.

That's it for today. whew!
Tita

KINSHIP INFORMATION EVERY TWO WEEKS

2011-01-23T16:38:00.000-08:00

Well, approximately every two weeks. Since we have moved into this new means of communication regarding grandparents raising grandchildren and other kinship news, we recommend that folks who are kinship caregivers of children or working in kinship care check back here every couple of weeks. Better yet become a follower of the blog so that you will be notified when new blogs are posted.
New updates as of January 20:

GRANTS AVAILABLE
The Prevention Network in Michigan has substance abuse prevention grants available up to $1500. The grants are available to any volunteer community group in Michigan working on substance abuse prevention within their community.Those interested in applying should first contact Kelly Oginsky, Grant Coordinator, at 800-968-4968 or kellyo@preventionnetwork.org to discuss eligibility.

NO GREATER LOSS - Guidebook to today's Grandparents Rights
Neil Taft is author of the new book discussing grandparent rights whether raising grandchildren or seeking visitation with grandchildren from resisting parents. Neil covers a number of points for supporting grandparents rights including the complete U.S. Supreme Court Troxel v. Granville proceedings document that he says "serves as the standard by which grandparents rights are currently measured in the courts."
Neil manages the website for grandparents rights, www.CaringGrandparents.com . Check the website for more information about the book.

NEW YORK GRANDPARENTS LEGAL RESOURCE
Sharyn O'Mara sent a reminder notice that the Law Firm of Wisselman, Harounian & Associates, P.C. of Great Neck, New York are active in grandparents rights and grandparents visitation and custody cases. Contact Sharyn at 516-773-8300 or sharyn@lawjaw.com. Check their website for information www.lawjaw.com.

A KINSHIP GUIDE TO RESCUING CHILDREN UPDATE
The guidebook for grandparents raising grandchildren and other relatives as parents that we published is still available at www.chicagoroadpublishing.com A Special Sale runs until January 31. The book is also available on Amazon.com at the regular retail price.

Let us know your kinship news at info@chicagoroadpublishing.com and sign up to follow this blog. In the meantime keep up the good work you do.
In peace,
Tita

KINSHIP BLOG FOR A NEW BEGINNING

2011-01-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

The Kinship Care blog will be moving into a new more active resource for kinship caregivers, service providers, and researchers by providing updates as information comes our way. We suggest kinship interested folks check the site regularly for new information as the year goes on. Our best wishes to all of you who work so hard on an issue that is often neglected in the mainstream of human services. To send information regarding your announcements either comment or send to info@chicagoroadpublishing.com . Current updates:

DRUG ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SURVEY AVAILABLE
Kinship care is often the consequence of substance abuse and/or mental illness of parents. A valuable survey from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is now available. Check the website for more information: http://oas.samhsa.gov/nsduhLatest.htm . The two reports of important use for researchers and grant writers in this field are:
National Findings Report with national trends and estimates of rates of use, numbers of users, and other measures related to illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products.
Mental Health Findings presents national estimates of the prevalence of past-year mental health disorders and past-year mental health service utilization for youth age 12 to 17 and adults age 18 or older.

ILLINOIS POWER OF ATTORNEY WEBINAR JANUARY 27
Advanced Directives: Understanding options & pitfalls for persons authorizing others to act on their behalves, Webinar Thursday, January 27, 2011, 3pm to 4:30 pm CST
Space is limited. Reserve for the Webinar at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/866758576
Presented by the Prairie State Legal Services, Inc. to discuss sever case studies involving the Powers of Attorney as tools for good or abuse.

MICHIGAN COALITION OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
A major collaborative body that works diligently for children and families in Michigan will hold its annual meeting March 15 in Lansing near the Capitol. Participants are asked to make the date and plan time to meet with legislators after the meeting. To get on the mailing list for more information contact Jane Zehnder-Merrell of the Michigan League for Human Seervices, janezm@milhs.org .

More to come as we all get used to this method of sharing information. For now, take care of yourselves and the children.
Tita

Parents in Prison, Children in Kinship Care

2010-10-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

What comes to your mind when you hear the topic – Incarcerated Parents? We received thought provoking news from Illinois Kinship Care Resources director, Barb Schwartz regarding civic action from the Community Renewal Society in Illinois www.communityrenewalsociety.org .
Through a partnership with Civic Action Network, the annual membership gathering focused on change for the families of incarcerated parents. Choosing key players to attend the gathering including the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) director Gladys Taylor, the Community Renewal Society (CRS) was able to educate and draw action for the benefit of children caught in the web of separation from their parents. Here’s a piece of that report:

“After hearing moving testimony from grandmothers raising their grandchildren due to parental incarceration and church leaders working for change for the 90,000 children in Illinois with an incarcerated parent, Director Taylor committed that IDOC would:
*Maintain no limit on the number of children who can visit a parent at one time
*Ensure that new lockdown procedures accomodate the needs of children who travel long distances to see their parents
*Expand video visitation to all IDOC facilities and allow CRS to review the proposals for companies providing these services to ensure that they meet the needs of families
*Transform visitation spaces into family friendly environments
*Move toward contact visits so children can touch and hug their parents
*Create family programming prior to parental re-entry
*Meet quarterly with CRS and other family advocates to continue to improve services for families. “

Yes, you read that correctly, 90,000 children in Illinois live without one or both parents because of incarceration. How many in your state? What is the impact on the children and the caregivers? Facts stir the conscience - In 2002, for instance, 76% of people in state prisons were convicted of non‐violent crimes, including 31% for drug offenses, and 29% for property offenses. The topic certainly warrants discussion and hopefully a queue from the Community Renewal Society and the Illinois Department of Corrections to make change where we can.
Along with this announcement from Barb Schwartz came three valuable documents especially for those working to understand this significant problem for families whether in kinship care or not.

Browse through the fact sheet from the National Resource Center for Children and Families of the Incarcerated at Family and Corrections Network; www.fcnetwork.org to get a real feel for the extent of the issue.

An article from Social Work Policy is loaded with resources especially for social researchers http://www.socialworkpolicy.org/

For copies of fact sheets or articles regarding the Community Renewal Society’s excellent results on behalf of incarcerated families contact Barb Schwartz of Illinois Kinship Care, Barb.Schwartz@Illinois.gov
Thanks to all involved for the awareness and information on this critical issue.

In peace,

Tita

Strong Families Safe Children not for Kinship Care

2010-06-16T06:07:00.000-07:00

Some Bad News: Strong Families Safe Children money in Michigan will be transferred from communities who depended on the funds for their Kinship Care programs and moved to DHS children’s services.

Consider this about Michigan’s kinship children:
About 8,000 children are in Relative Foster Care.
Yet 183,000 children are in non-parent relative care, 75% of those are living with grandparents, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
That means that 4% of the children living with relatives are being served by Relative Foster Care through DHS, while 96% of children living with relatives are not receiving the extent of services DHS can offer. Maybe you should read that again. It is an important fact for how money is spent on kinship care.

To deal with the disproportionate gap in kinship services, many communities turned to the collaboration efforts of their human services. Strong Families Safe Children, administered by DHS, included a specific criteria to establish kinship care programs. Local administration of the money has been a key to the success of assisting all kinship families through the navigation process of kinship care.

On May 30, 2010, the decision from DHS was made by someone in the tower to cut those funds to community collaboratives and transfer them to DHS foster care – the 4% of relative care. Those communities depending on the core funding from Strong Families Safe Children for all kinship families are now much more likely to see the struggling kinship programs crumble.

Why is kinship care so pushed aside from the mainstream of social programs?
Is it lack of research showing need for services that also include the 96% of kinship families not involved with DHS?
Is it the complicated spread of needs over a wide cross section of our society – legal, education, counseling, health, financial, general navigation through these difficult mine fields?
Is it a lack of advocates in the field to pursue the necessary support? Or a weariness of advocates? In 2007 a strong core of Michigan kinship family advocates worked hard with the legislature to actually pass the Guardianship Assistance bill only to see the proposed funds encumbered by the heavily researched, well-positioned DHS programs (serving 4% of the kinship children).

This is not to say that Relative Foster Care with its wonderful family and children supports should not receive the necessary funds to strengthen the children, but rather to include all kinship families with strong navigational supports for children and caregivers. One frustrated DHS worker lamented as I researched the loss of Strong Families Safe Children funding for community kinship programs, “Strengthening all kinship care families is a vital course of Prevention – assuring that the families are strong and children more likely to find success in school and society.”
This is a very disturbing situation.
Concerned in Michigan
Tita

Free Course for Kinship Care Service Providers

2010-05-22T04:24:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, June 9, I will be teaching a 3-hour course for Michigan State University School of Social Work Continuing Education program. The course is designed to support those in agencies who work with kinship families. The best part is the course is free due to community support AND offers 3 hours Continuing Education Contact Hours credit for participants. But, registration time is critical: June 1! Contact for information and registration: MSU School of Social Work CE at 517-353 3060.

Three goals of the course are:
1. To recognize the difficulties kinship families face.
2. Develop a Navigation Plan and follow-through for families.
3. Strengthen community support for kinship care providers.

I am looking forward to teaching this class again (we had 29 participants in the 2009 course). The subject is a crossover of many community services making us all partners in the support of the children and their caregivers. I will be using A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children and providing a copy for each participant. Not bad for a free continuing education course. I hope to see folks in the class who follow this blog as well as those in Michigan and tri-state services. Remember June 1 deadline for the June 9 class.
Tita

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren - Go Have Fun!

2010-05-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

"Don't Forget to Have Fun" is a popular chapter in the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children (p. 139 to 145). The ideas in the chapter are based on a family study a few years ago. Instead of looking at what's wrong with families struggling with trouble, the study found a few common factors showing up in successful families (families that stick together, raise children that overcome adversity and thrive into adulthood). Some of the factors they found are:

1. Affirmation - family members affirmed each other's presence regularly with a smile or small gestures and giving willing general personal support.

2. Clear expectations - adults in the family identified reasonable expectations for maintaining a supportive household from regular chores to expected conduct outside the home.

3. A process for solving problems - the families worked together to solve problems either through family meetings or regular respectful discussions.

4. Did interesting things together - the families traveled, took classes, talked and generally developed ways to enjoy each other.

5. Tell family stories - keeping history alive even when some of the stories were sad.

6. Seek help - when there was trouble these families reached out to the community of services to get the help they needed.

The chapter goes on to explain some of these points while offering a list of fun things families can do together. Here's one idea:
"If you don't know what adventures are around you, try this: make a 60 mile circle on a map within your home area as the center. All the little towns or neighborhoods in that circle have some great places to visit or stories to tell - zoos, museums, sporting events, nature centers, beaches, parks, specialty shopping including antique stores for collectibles, used book stores, garden shops , libraries, local museums." Now go. Have fun. Life really is good.
Love, Tita

Grandparents, relatives, kinship? Who Cares?

2010-03-17T05:33:00.000-07:00

Six million children care. We hear it all the time - a meth lab blows, parents arrested, three children go to grandparents. But we don't hear what happens then.
Grandparents and other relatives are the forgotten population and in some cases are treated as if they are in the way of some greater activity of our social/legal concerns. What does happen when the relatives take children after a family difficulty? First there is scrambling for comfort in the house - sleeping, bathroom, merging sometimes conflicting family habits. That's the easy part. Then there is the outside world.
If the relative has no legal documentation of care - guardianship especially - they face a litany of daily rejection at the doctor's office, counselors, social services agencies, even the good guys need to have proof that these caregivers have the permission of the parents or the courts to make decisions for the children. Getting guardianship has its own process, like stumbling through an unknown forest, the challenges begin. All nearly four million kinship caregivers in our country know the task of raising related children in today's world is filled with seemingly absurd barriers.
For instance, a teacher in the midwest has agreed happily to take her granddaughter because the mother is unable to raise the child. The parent and the grandmother obtain the guardianship in Family Court. The teacher/grandmother, who has heard horror stories from the kinship caregivers of her students, begins smoothing the path for the care of her own grandchild. She never anticipated the next challenge - health insurance.
The child had chronic asthma issues that required medical attention. The teacher assumed with guardianship for a child living in her home, that she would be covered by her health insurance company. She was denied because the child was not hers by birth or adoption. So she went to the social services agency to file under the "Child only" funds which provided for a Medicaid card for the child. With a sigh of relief, the grandmother, at least had some protection for her little one. She could not take the child to her own doctor, however, who did not accept Medicaid, but had to find another physician in another part of town.
And so the saga began - registering for school, seeking counseling for an emotional ghost haunting the child, and facing her own emotional challenges - loss of friends, loss of personal time, a hidden embarrassment about why her own daughter could not raise the little girl herself.
This was a simple scenario. Some of the cases become so complicated through our social structure rules that resolution becomes impossible. Meanwhile the children grow, trying hard to become a part of the society, feeling guilty for the trouble they perceive they have caused.
Six million children, folks.
Action plan:
This must not be a forgotten issue. As a national community we must incorporate the care issues faced by kinship families into our national agenda. We need knowledgeable kinship resources available in every community and from their experiences we need to document the necessary changes that will strengthen the support of kinship children and their loving caregivers. We can begin by establishing Kinship Navigator programs in every state. State Kinship Navigators would first be charged with establishing regional and local resource centers and through this network no one will be forgotten.
Concerned, Tita

HEALTH CARE FOR KINSHIP KIDS

2010-02-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

SCHIP is the acronym for States Child Health Insurance Program. This valuable federal program is designed to fill the gap in health care coverage for children whose family income is over the eligibility for Medicaid, but too little to afford costly private health insurance. Each State is responsible for the program design and outreach to eligible families. Sadly, with a desperate economy recently you can imagine the odd circumstance of more families needing the insurance while strapped states are not able to inform the public adequately. Consequently, many eligible children and their families have no idea such a help is available to them at a very reasonable cost.

In Michigan, for instance, the SCHIP funds are appropriately called MIChild. For $10 a month per family the children can receive health and dental care including shots and well-baby care, prescription drugs, and dental exams. The coverage is available through a variety of health plans administered by the state.

Here’s the tricky part, but well worth the inconvenience. Though the MIChild website claims the form can be filled out on line, the reality is that families have to go to their local DHS to determine eligibility, that is, income too high for Medicaid. Either program, Medicaid or MIChild are imperative for strengthening children’s health support. Most states participate in the SCHIP funding.

As the health debate continues to blather on in Congress, don’t miss out on what already exists for the children. Check with your local Department of Human Services for the process and necessary papers needed. Good health is the foundation of for a good future.

And take your vitamins.
Love,
Tita

2009-12-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over some grandfamilies have expressed concern about electronics in the hands of their children - cell phones that can do just about anything, cameras of all sizes, and computers. All of these devices put kids online for many reasons. We want the children to be able to use these miraculous tools, but we also want them to be safe and respectful to themselves and others.
Some valuable websites are available for caregivers of children. Briefly check the following regularly:
www.wiredsafety.org - Dr. Parry Aftab manages an exceptional source for parents, grandparents, teachers, law enforcement and all who are involved with the protection of children online. The latest anxiety about children online is sexting, sex talk and pictures. On January 22, Parry will present a panel discussion on a variety of media sites. Go to Wiredsafety for more information and other internet news on kids.
www.isafe.org - funded by those who use the site and launched by Congress, this website is geared toward educators including offers of print copies on internet safety programs.
www.esrb.org - This valuable non-profit, Entertainment Software Rating Board, rates games (and don't we have games!) for student use. Other information is also available about upcoming products from game producers.
www.netlingo.com - is a website for everyone using computers for communications including texting and online social networks. Though much of the site includes everyone, adults and children, there are two important resources - Erin on line talks about protecting children on the web, and the column called Top 50 web lingos every parent should know. These are web codes most often used by children and teens that exclude parents and guardians from the conversation. For instance:
CD9 - Code nine Parents are around
LMIRL - Let's Meet in Real Life
F2F - Face to Face
GNOC - Go Naked on Camera
and some are using numerical codes:
459 or 143 - I Love You
420 - Marijuana
8 - oral sex
Scary as this sounds we need to be aware of what children use the internet for and how to protect them.
The very best way is to talk with your young electronic users . . . often! Not necessarily talking at them, but listening as well. Let them know that nudity on the web, particularly by underage users is being scrutinized in many areas and may result in criminal action even against underage users. Beyond the legal issues, young teens need to know that respect on the internet is very important. No camera shots in the locker room, no participating in suspicious invites on line or in real life. Talk about futures and the global reach of the internet. Employers are increasingly checking on their prospective employees' social use of the internet.
Kinship kids may be vulnerable to shady adventures, but we are finding that kinship children in safe environments with relatives who love them are actually more mature than many children in the general population.
This topic is very serious for all of us. In A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children, we devoted an entire chapter to Children in Today's Electronic World (p.113 to p 126). Topics covered include the good and the bad of the internet world, virtual gaming, cell phones, texting, and one thing seldom mentioned - the cost of these powerful communication devices.
It is indeed a brave new world we face today - exciting, adventures, full of oo's and ah's, but also testing our abilities to be smart and protective of ourselves and our children. Just keep talking and exploring together as we all work for a better world.
Happy New Year,
Tita

Grandparents, Other Relatives As Parents: GET ORGANIZED!

2009-10-22T13:38:00.000-07:00

Looking at that headline I think of the power of group organizing, but that is another topic. This blog is about the topic of individual kinship families getting organized in order to face the complex world of social and legal rules regarding the care of the children.

Kinship care families that are meeting and using the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children, for topic discussions may want to start with "Getting Organized" pages 1-7.
Tip: Try to get a local office supply store or other source to help with expenses of the following products for each member of the group-

Calendars with notation space, easily accessible for the family.
A small bound notebook, like a composition book, journal, or notebook calendar.
A folding file with separate compartments for important papers.
A 3 x 5 type of card that can be carried in a purse or wallet with frequent contact numbers.

Talking Points for the topic of Getting Organized:
We all copy an important telephone number on the back of an envelope, or stuff a receipt in the bottom of a bag. We all lose important papers that require a signature for one situation or another. But when it comes to Relative Care, these casual moments of forgetfulness can cause terrible stress. Many of the kinship caregivers in the group are likely to have a shoulda coulda story or two about misorganizing.

Four items are very valuable to a simpler task of getting organized for the sake of the children and their possible day in court:
A dated notebook log specifically of the kinship care. The log should contain dates of visitation, medical appointments and costs, court actions, social service visits, contact numbers and other items pertaining to the progression of the care, the health and well-being of the child, and other expectations. The log is not a personal journal and should not contain personal feelings about individuals or the situation. The log is often the best evidence in court of the child’s care and future.

Important Papers file. This valuable tool should contain important papers such as child's birth certificate, legal authorization papers for kinship care, child’s medical records, school records, social service records, social security cards, etc. all in separate areas of the folder. The advantage of a single folder for most important papers is the easy grab on the way to appointments. Guard this folder. Make copies to keep in another safe place. Clean the file every few weeks to make sure it is up to date. Participants in a Kinship Care group will have many good suggestions from their own experience to add to the discussion.

The contact card. A simple little card of basic information – social security numbers, contact names and numbers of case workers, etc. Keeping the card in a wallet provides quick and easy access. Kinship caregivers who use an electronic tool to keep track of such things know to keep the little device battery ready and backed up in another source.

The Family Calendar. Kinship families who have not had a child around for awhile find out quickly that a calendar helps keep everyone in the family on track for school events, appointments, and visitations. The calendar is also a good cross-reference for the Log.

Good luck at your meetings. More tips using A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children in kinship care group meetings coming in future blogs. Keep the faith, take your vitamins.
Love,
Tita

Kinship Groups use of A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children

2009-10-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

We have received some wonderful feedback regarding use of the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents. The unique group use of the book has prompted us to develop a tip sheet of sorts on points to cover in various sessions. We will highlight these periodically in the blog and the newsletter on the website, www.chicagoroadpublishing.com . The newsletter, Kinship Care Notes, is published monthly online on the fourth page of the website.

Some things you should know about the book before you start using it in a group. A Kinship Guide focuses on helping families understand what they are up against outside the household – legal issues, social services, schools, medical, etc. There are some excellent in-the-home parenting books for special issues that kinship care providers face everyday. So many families were asking for some sort of guide to get through the maze of social services which is why we wrote the book with that focus.

Let’s imagine a group of kinship families wanting to get together just to talk things out and understand the problems facing them. Start with the logistics:
1. find a suitable place (a church, community center, coffee shop with a private room, senior center, ymca, someone’s living room)
2. get announcements out through local resources including posters and radio or access TV, local news sources – include time, place, and topic
3. bring snacks
4. child care is a tricky one – most groups begin with a friend of a friend or hire a teenager. I’m kind of picky on this one. For a casual initial gathering this may be okay. For get-togethers in a social service place such as a Senior Center or School, it may be necessary to hire a professional who is aware of the trauma many kinship children are experiencing. See page 173 of A Kinship Guide, the section is titled Quality Safe Child Care.
At the First Meeting
Get to know each other. Someone may be a facilitator to help with the initial sharing. Send a sign up sheet around for future contact – name, address, contact numbers including e-mail. The things a kinship group should know for future meetings also includes the topics the families are anxious to learn more about and the proportion of families that are volunteer kinship caregivers or placement caregivers. Some of the ways of dealing with public systems are affected by volunteer or placement.
Closing the First Meeting
The new kinship care group should be sure they have a contact sheet, suggestions on how to improve contact with other families (believe me, there are so many kinship care families in each community that really want to get together, but just don’t know how to begin – so many feel as if they are all alone in this daunting task). The group should also decide time, place for the next meeting and topic.
If groups are following the book (and for our next blog on this issue), I suggest Getting Organized is a great beginning. This is an interesting topic for groups. Someone could check the community for support for some items that everyone in the group to receive: a file folder, calendar, log book, and 3 x 5 cards. Stay tuned. We’ll have fun following A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children with the next tips on Getting Organized.
In the meantime, thank you for all families and service providers for all you do for kinship care.
love,
Tita

Kids Central Inc Does YouTube for Kinship Care

2009-09-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

SHHH . . it is way too quiet these days, especially on kinship care issues. We are receiving fewer notices of events, kinship websites are sitting dormant for months at a time, and the national organizations have been almost silent lately. We know kinship care continues to be a national concern especially in these turbulent times. We know state social program funds are being cut across the country leaving kinship care support in the debris.
Maybe we are in a wait-and-see on the social issues that affect all of our citizens. I hope those of you who are in kinship care are holding on strong – meet up with each other, gather resources wherever you can, and write – write letters and articles to your local media and legislators to keep the issues alive.
In Florida, for instance, concerned child welfare providers are appealing to the voters to say NO to cuts of Title IV E waiver which provides significant funding for kinship programs. See the You Tube appeal on www.kidscentralinc.org
Check your state legislative activity regularly, or to find out who your district legislators are, try www. (your state).gov or simply google the state government.
To keep up with your federal legislators, Generations United, offers the following steps:
How to contact your representatives:
1. Identify Your Member of Congress:
A. Visit www.congress.org
B. Enter your zip code in the "write your officials" box
C. View names and contact information for your members of Congress

2. You can call your Senator directly or be connected through the House Operator (202-225-3121) or Senate Operator (202-224-3121).3. Once connected, identify yourself as a constituent and ask to speak to the Legislative Assistant in charge of national service and education issues.

Keep the faith, kinship friends, you are still not alone.
Tita

Kinship Care Blog Back in Action

2009-08-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

Now, about this delayed blog - I spent a big part of the summer trying to establish a new website for Chicago Road Publishing and the book A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Other Relatives As Parents, www.chicagoroadpublishing.com . It was a bugger of a task that kept me from communicating with you through the blog about the news in Kinship Care. On page four of that website is the newsletter, Kinship Care Notes, which is published monthly and will have a great deal of information from kinship care services all across the country. Be sure to check it often as well as specials on purchasing the book. The blog, www.kincare.blogspot.com will contain updates on urgent news and periodic ramblings from me (Tita) about the issues facing kinship care families. I also have articles appearing on the Detroit Fox 2 News online resource called 50PlusPrime. Check the latest thoughts about the OTHER kinship care – home care for frail adult family members: http://www.50plusprime.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/TNP.showArticle/TNPArticlePK/336393B6-19B9-EB12-B09588337D1B0CB4.cfm . I promise to keep this blog relevant and timely in the months ahead. Thank you so much for your visit. Your feedback is always appreciated. Those of you who are kinship families and those service providers who work with kinship families, your efforts are so valued. You are all unheralded heroes in our world. Thank you.
Affectionately,
Tita

Grandparents, Kinship Care, Relatives As Parents, are the keys

2009-06-05T04:39:00.000-07:00

Grandparents raising grandchildren. Kinship Care. Relatives As Parents. A Kinship Guide. Resources for Grandfamilies. These are all key words used by seekers on the new miracle of web searching. How did you find us? I need to know this because though I am deeply passionate about securing children in healthy families, I am sorely weak in the brave new cyber world. Your comments are so appreciated.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Those state agencies who are applying for Navigator Programs from Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act are due July 6. Though there are segments of this grant emphasizing foster care, the potential piece for statewide kinship navigator programs for all grandfamilies are timely. The full announcement from ACF can be viewed here: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/HHS-2009-ACF-ACYF-CF-0078.html

This piece of the legislation is critical to establishing statewide programs to guide ALL relative caregivers. As we have noted before, much emphasis is placed on Relative Foster Care which accounts for about 150,000 children nationwide, yet the other 5 million children raised in kinship care have just a few strong state programs to help guide them through the mysteries of public systems. Most states have little or no guidance except in regional areas. The consequence is that children are left with minimal resources and adult caregivers exasperated by the challenges.

If you are part of an agency that is able to apply for the Navigator Program funding ($450,000/ 30 grants), encourage your team to work diligently toward July 6. The September 4, 2008 Kincare Blog has an entry on Keys to local Kinship Care Resource Centers. Some ideas there may be helpful. A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children (ISBN 978-0-9801352-0-6) also has a comprehensive section on The Community Kinship Care Resource Center beginning on p. 146.

Best wishes to all of you who work for kinship families and who are kinship families. Every conference I attend, every book talk, every casual encounter with relative caregivers is inspiring and insightful.

Love,
Tita

More Kinship Care Events

2009-04-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

As you will see by some of the events taking place listed below there is a lot of information available for grandparents and other relatives as kinship caregivers. These are timely. If you are in the regional area and interested in a particular program, act quickly to get the best benefit. Many of these programs and newsletters are a model for what can be done anywhere. I hope you check them out.

OHIO
“Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Seminar Presented by: Sr. Suzette Fisher, SND, Ed.S., Double ARC The is Program approved for 1 CEU in Counseling and/or Social Work. Thursday, April 30, 2009, 8:15—9:30 a.m. at the Margaret Hunt Senior Center, Toledo, Ohio 2121 Garden Lake Parkway RSVP to Lorri Esper, Administrative Assistant, 419-725-7042

ILLINOIS
Representative Eddie Washington (Waukegan/Lake County) will be sponsoring a town hall meeting for relatives raising children Monday, May 4, 2009 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Waukegan Park Place Senior Center 414 South Lewis Avenue Waukegan, Il 60085Representative Washington will facilitate the discussion, share information concerning his proposed legislation to assist kinship families and be available to hear your concerns.Representatives from DHS, DCFS and the Dept. on Aging will be available to answer questions and discuss resources. This event is open to relatives raising children as well as providers. Please feel free to contact Barb Schwartz at 217/524-5327 or by email Barb.Schwartz@illinois.gov for further information on the event.

MAINE for all Relative Caregivers
The University of Maine Center on Aging RAPP is conducting a survey of kinship caregivers in rural areas. This survey will be used to help develop a RAPP manual that will help agencies that are starting new RAPP services in rural areas or seeking to expand RAPP services to rural caregivers. The manual will also provide fresh ideas to existing RAPP programs in rural areas. To date, we have gathered feedback from professionals and experts in the field. Now we need help tapping another group of experts - rural caregivers. Please consider assisting with the development of this manual by passing out a survey to your support group members to help us gather information about their rural caregiving experience. The survey can be done individually or as a group. Please contact Melissa Adle at melissa.adle@umit.maine.edu melissa.adle@umit.maine.edu or call (207) 262-7931 and leave a message to participate.Melissa can e-mail a packet that includes an informed consent and information sheet, instructions for group/individual participation, a survey form, and raffle sheet, which you can print. “I appreciate your assistance, and hope you will help us to document the strengths of rural grandfamilies and challenges they face so programs can develop strategies to best meet their needs.”
MICHIGAN
Statewide Kinship Care Professionals Conference Friday, May 29th, 2009, 9:30 a.m.—2:00 p.m., Hannah Community Center, E. Lansing, MI
Registration Due: Mon., May 8th, 2009. Seating is limited
Cost: Free for agency contracting with an Area Agency on Aging; $25.00 for general public. Call 517-355-9600 or e-mail us at kinship@msu.edu to register!
Also: Nominate a candidate for the “Outstanding Kinship Leadership
Award” and prize by Tuesday, May 1. Nominees can include a kinship director, coordinator, and or a support group leader. To nominate a candidate, please e-mail or mail us a half-page paragraph of your nominee’s name, agency, title, years of service, services provided, and why they deserve this recognition . The award will be presented during the Statewide Kinship Service Provider’s Meeting.

NEWSLETTERS
For a good example of Kinship Care communications check out these two:

MICHIGAN
The Spring edition of the kinship Kinnections newsletter for Michigan from Michigan State University School of Social Work, www.kinship.msu.edu this is an excellent form of communication with state wide programs. For more information contact kinship@msu.edu

OHIO
May Kinship News from Area Office on Aging on-line at www.areaofficeonaging.com or contact Judy Paschalis jpaschalis@areaofficeonaging.com

Thank you to all who send information to info@chicagoroadpublishing.com or inquire about the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents, (www.chicagoroadpublishing.com or Amazon.com).
Enjoy the birds,
love,
Tita

KINSHIP CARE - What's Happening In Your State?

2009-03-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

Many excellent events and communications are happening regarding kinship care issues all across our country. Here are a few that have been sent to us. We will try to keep an update of such events as they come to us.
Minnesota
From Sharon Durken of the Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Association (MKCA). We at MKCA are excited and honored to share this news. MKCA has been selected by Brookdale Foundation as one of 6 finalists in competition to receive the first ever national Janet Sainer Award.
The Janet Sainer award seeks to honor the legacy of a special consultant to the Brookdale Foundation Group, where she focused on the issues faced by grandparents and other relatives raising children.
The information should be posted on the Brookdale web-site www.brookdalefoundation.org
With regards,
Sharon
Sharon Durken, Executive Director
Minnesota Kinship Caregivers Assoc. (MKCA)
www.mkca.org

Ohio
Kinship News is now available online from the Area Office on Aging of NW Ohio Newsletter at www.areaofficeonaging.com Area Office on Aging of NW Ohio 2155 Arlington Avenue Toledo OH 43609

Michigan
We all know that substance abuse plays a primary role in the breakdown of families often resulting in kinship care of the children. The Michigan Prevention Association, sponsors of March as Parent Awareness Month (PAM), is holding the Spring Prevention Advocacy Event, Thursday April 2, Room 424 at the Capitol in Lansing. For more information www.yourmpa.org

Illinois
Illinois Task Force on Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children Quarterly Meeting is Tuesday, March 31, 2009, 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Hoogland Center for the Arts 420 South Sixth Street Springfield, IL 62701
Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 25 to Barb Schwartz by phone (217/524-5327) or email Barb.Schwartz@illinois.gov

TWO IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
Kinship Trends Report
Casey Family Programs from the Ann E. Casey Foundation has recently published a valuable report on State Kinship Care Policies for Children That Come to the Attention of Child Welfare Agencies. The full report, Findings from the 2007 Casey Kinship Foster Care Policy Survey by Tiffany Allen, Kerry DeVooght, Rob Geen can be found at
http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2009_02_24_FR_KinshipCare.pdf
Check the Executive Summary page for a good overview. [Thanks to Generations United www.gu.org for notification of the report]

Fostering Connections Reference Guide
New Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 , for use as a resource tool, implementation, and monitoring of compliance of the Fostering Success Bill. The final document has connections from the questions and answers directly to the part of the bill. Contact Stefanie Sprow of Children’s Trust Fund at ssprow@childrensdefense.org to request a copy. [Thanks to Pat Owens of Grandfamilies of America for this information, www.grandfamiliesofamerica.org]

The capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest meaning and significance. Pablo Casals [Thanks Barb S for the timely quote]
Tita

TIMELY RESOURCES FOR KINSHIP CARE

2009-02-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

Listen Up you many millions who are raising relative’s children AND especially kinship care service providers – there is so much happening in kinship care and related issues for securing children with beloved relatives. Here are just a few:

Note the early registration for the National Center on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Symposium in Atlanta Georgia has been extended to February 27, 2009. Go to http://chhs.gsu.edu/nationalcenter/docs/symposium2009.pdf for the registration form and the full brochure of a very impressive line up. This two-day conference, March 10 - 11, offers credit for social service providers. Cost – about $300 for the two days. Alternate contact: Dr. Deborah Whitley, School of Social Work, GSU, (404) 413-1055

Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) National Conference for members is in Washington, DC, February 23-25. www.cwla.org Those attending can pick up a copy of the 2007 Guidelines for Mental Health in Child Welfare For more information about the Guidelines for Mental Health in Child Welfare and the associated Toolkit, contact Lisa Hunter Romanelli at lisa@thereachinstitute.org .

Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2009 Generations United Awards to be presented at the Awards Banquet during the Generations United 15th International Conference July 27 – July 31 at the Hyatt Regency Washington in Washington DC. Neither nominators nor nominees need to be GU Members in order to be considered for an award. The deadline for Award Nominations is March 31, 2009. For more information or to download the nomination form, please visit http://www.gu.org/AwardsNominations.asp.

Social Service Workers – this one is important:
Two new resources on the new Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. The resources include New Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives: Questions and Answers About the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and Top 10 List for Relative Caregivers to Implement Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008.The resources were produced in partnership with Generations United, the Children`s Defense Fund (CDF), the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), and many others.

Applications are available from February 3 to March 31, 2009 online only at http://www.aarpfoundationwlc.org for The AARP Foundation Women's Scholarship Program. The scholarship is open to low-income women 40+. Priority is given to women who are in one of three categories: 1) women raising the children of another family member, 2) those in dead end jobs and 3) those who have been out of the paid workforce for an extended period. The scholarships, which ranged from $500 to $5,000, are to be used for tuition and books are paid directly to the educational institution. For more information contact AARP Foundation Women's Scholarships at 202-434-2110 or visit the website at http://www.aarpfoundationwlc.org.

A wonderful free concept in conferencing: This one is from Barb Schwartz, Social Work in Illinois (Barb.Schwartz@illinois.gov ). If you facilitate a support group for grandparents raising their grandchildren and/or parenting relatives, then please consider participating in our FREE upcoming e-seminar:Online Seminar and Conversation for Support Group Facilitators with Facilitators Barbara Kates and Bette Hoxie Wednesday February 25, 2009 12:00pm-4:00pm EST(11:00am - 3:00pm Central Time) Open to all interested support group leaders/ facilitators. This is a great opportunity to talk with seasoned group facilitators about the nuts and bolts of starting and maintaining a group as well as challenges that arise along the way. This is the first program in a series of e-seminars designed for support group leaders and facilitators who run groups for grandparents raising their grandchildren and/or parenting relatives. Please visit http://www.mainecenteronaging.org/moodle to create an online account and access the e-seminar you would like to join.Those who wish to participate will need a computer with internet access and a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, AOL, etc.). All seminar activities happen online in a message board format (no audio) with no other special equipment or computer programs needed! View the e-conversation series flyer at: http://www.umaine.edu/mainecenteronaging/documents/Facilitatore-seminarfeb2009.pdf
For more information or technical assistance, please contact:Melissa Adle UMaine Center on Aging 207-262-7931 or melissa.adle@umit.maine.edu This series has been made possible through a grant from the Brookdale Foundation.

RFP for Grandparent Programs

2009-02-04T12:43:00.000-08:00

Prepare for the funding –
It’s time, folks. Those of you who work in kinship care and especially at local and state resource centers – time to get all of your data and funding resources together so that you can make a plan for RFP’s (program proposals called Request for Funding) that will be coming your way. Whether it is funds from the Fostering Connections for Navigator programs or a collaborative piece of any stimulus money or foundation requests for funding, you will want to be ready.
Steps you may want to consider for funding requests:
1. Meet with kinship partners for a brain session to discuss a project need – it could be establishing a kinship care resource center or addressing a specific health need project for kinship providers such as caring for HIV babies.
2. Vision - Create a vision of the project in detail – is it a resource center where kinship caregivers can discuss their needs and get one-on-one help, regular meetings, with a library, or a program based on a core of current Best Practices such as Second Time Around curriculum (Linda Dannison, linda.dannison@wmich.edu ). Gather the data of those who will use your program to emphasize the need to funders. Note who will be partners in the project such as the health department, senior center, or ymca. Note the role each partner will play. Clearly plan who will do what including the lead agency and a director or leader of the project.
3. Money – work together to plan for costs of the project – personnel, transportation, supplies, the details you will need to make the project succeed. Have the budget reviewed by all partners. Don’t forget to include in-kind support (volunteers, non-financial agency support such site, printing, secretarial support). Always plan for diminished funding – how will the program expect to continue after this funding is gone?
4. Outcome – What are the expected results of this project and how will they be measured? Could the project have a research piece utilizing local university researchers?
5. Time – Be sure that designated writers of the dream project will be ready to adapt to the call for the RFP formula.
Don’t wait for the RFP call. Your kinship community of workers will want to be ready to respond when money becomes available. For more on establishing a kinship care resource center check the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents at www.chicagoroadpublishing.com .
Good luck,
Tita

GRAMMY HELP IN CALIFORNIA

2009-01-18T09:38:00.000-08:00

This morning’s mail brought a disturbing comment from a grammy in California. I am not sure I should publish the comment and I don’t know how to contact her personally, so I am going to try to comment here. She and her husband have had legal custody of three grandchildren from Virginia for five years. She lives in California. They are raising the children in their elder years without any financial assistance even though the children came through the social services system. I hope she will return to the blog and perhaps catch this post which may also be of help to other families.

Grammy, first I know it doesn’t mean much when you feel so frustrated, but I applaud you and your husband for the support and love you have given these young children. I think you need an ombudsman or some other advocate to help you. Please take a moment to write down what it is you specifically need. Then write down what the barrier is to getting this need. Then consider contacting the Grandparent Project in California at 800-222-1753 or e-mail your question through their website www.seniorlegalhotline.org .

There is an agreement between all 50 states called the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) which may be a tool to get the two states involved to assist you. I know that money is a grave problem and you certainly don’t want to be spending a lot on attorney fees or cross country transportation. Please call the Grandparent Project, a legal resource specializing in issues like these. I hope you will send another comment to the Kincare Blog to let us know if this was helpful.
In the meantime our thoughts are with you on this big issue in your lives.
Tita

KINSHIP HEALTH INSURANCE ISSUES

2009-01-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

When grandparents or other relatives take on the care of a kinship child a number of critical issues appear. One of the most frustrating for many families is health insurance for the child. Unless some legal health coverage arrangements have been documented with the parents, relative caregivers are usually responsible for the health care costs of children in their care.

Children in the Relative Foster Care programs receive Medicaid. That covers about 15% of the children raised in kinship care.

Grandparents who choose to go to their State’s social services agency can apply for one of two types of services:
1. the Child Only Grant which does not scrutinize the caregivers income. Child Only Grant caregivers receive a small amount of support funding and a Medicaid card for the children.
2. public assistance which is funding to eligible (income based) caregivers for managing the household, AND a Medicaid card for the children.
Though financially struggling, grandparents and other caregivers do not choose public assistance because the public agency is required to seek money from the parents to offset the costs. This often causes a great deal of dissension in an already troubled family, a wedge grandparents especially want to avoid.

The Medicaid card is a valuable tool for children because it not only covers medical issues, but also preventive care and in some cases special needs issues.
Other options:
- If a kinship family has a moderate income but the child for some reason is denied Medicaid, most states offer the States Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funded by Congress through a variety of public health programs. For a small amount of money - $5 a month – a basic health insurance can be obtained for low-income working families.
- Families that are not income eligible for such programs often face challenges with their own insurance companies. Most health insurance institutions cover only birth or adopted children in the home – not power of attorney, guardianship, or even court ordered custody.

When relative caregivers assume the care of children who are in need of therapy or serious medical problems they are forced to look at a variety of possible options, none of which come easy. With 6 million children in relative care, most in need of adequate health coverage, this is an issue advocates, legislators, and private insurance providers must consider in the coming year.

Back to work!
Tita

Kinship Care Good Intentions

2008-12-11T03:40:00.000-08:00

This year . . . yep, this year I'm going to do better. That's how it starts - resolutions to old frustrations. One of the goals for the new year is to write new blogs more often - at least once a week - on a timely kinship care topic. Many of you have commented to the blogs with wonderful thoughts and some deep questions, which tells me there is a need for this sharing. Thank you for all your encouragement.
I'm also going to give more talks this year about the issues in A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents, a book I labored over for so long. And we are going to improve the website www.chicagoroadpublishing.com . . . and find a reputable book distributor so that the book will be available in mainline bookstores . . . and we are going to follow up with personal notes to folks . . . clean the desk drawers . . . and bake cookies . . . oh dear, here goes that list again.
When we welcome our new President on January 20, 2009, a child of kinship care, I expect all of us to have our goals posted on the refrigerator and a new energy to accomplish our Good Intentions. For now here is wishing you a loving holiday season filled with peace.
Love,
Tita

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren - Preparing for the Recession

2008-11-17T10:31:00.000-08:00

Though almost everyone is affected by the current economic crisis, there are some specific options relative caregivers should consider. After stretching family needs and dollar saving tips, kinship care families should take time to seriously check their financial resources:
1. In case of impending job loss, caregivers should prepare to register for unemployment benefits as soon as possible.
2. Social Security benefits including possible benefits for the children may need to be reviewed. Issues affecting social security include age, disabilities, and in the case of children – the death of a parent. Contact a social security representative for a review, www.ssa.gov .
3. Discuss financial options for relative caregivers with the local social services office. Social services can provide child only grants, guardianship, subsidized support, foster care, adoption, child care support, parental child support. Beware, however, all of these resources through the local social services have great big IF’s surrounding them. New federal legislation, Fostering Connections, has progressive options for some kinship families, but the rules are still in discussion. In Michigan, for instance, likely eligible families are suggested to hold off on acquiring guardianship because the new support may be for families who will become guardians, not those who already are. Oh my. If a family is already in the child welfare system, a review of the options available may need to be considered. Just because such issues are challenging, families should still investigate changes that could really assist through this current financial crisis.
4. Prepare for taxes and possible benefits as soon as possible this year. Talk with a tax attorney, Legal aid, or other tax preparer about changes in the family including kinship children and income changes to maximize the tax benefits for the family.
5. Check the AARP website for a number of ideas and resources. Especially valuable to kinship care providers is the Directlink service that covers dozens of areas of assistance and even offers some of the forms that can be filled out on line, www.aarp.org Go to Family then Grandparents then Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.
6. Local Kinship Care Resource Centers should plan now to have representatives from these sources share services information to relative caregivers in the region.
It could be tough in the next few months, but by working together we can make the road a little easier.
affectionately,
Tita

WHO IS TO BLAME?

2008-11-01T07:27:00.000-07:00

In a recent discussion with grandparents raising their grandchildren the subject of, hang on, GUILT, came up with some very passionate responses. The dynamics impacting families are huge. Trying to determine who's fault when an adult child makes poor decisions that leads to kinship care of their children is like walking through a dense fog at night. We keep bumping into things that are almost impossible to understand. Why a young person chooses drugs or abandonment or selfabsorption with no room for the responsibilities of a child is very difficult to figure out. Such psychological journeys are individual and time-consuming. In the meantime, children need the safety and securing of a loving environment - now! When grandparents step in to provide the immediate need they are often confronted with the guilt of their own adult child's choices. Guilt is an incideous little devil that can eat away at our most powerful defenses.
The group discussing this dynamic was suddenly comforted by one grandmother's wisdom:
"I don't take credit for my children's accomplishments," she said, "so why should I take the blame for their difficulties?"
Something to think about.
Peace,
Tita

Kinship Care Center Scenario

2008-10-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

Imagine this: you and several other relative caregivers, mostly grandparents, have been meeting at the local senior center with a little help from Senior Center staff. The Senior Center provides space, snacks, and guidance with inviting speakers to come to the group once in a while. From your conversations with each other you know you need to reach out to other kinship families. You know that some of you need specific help with legal or other human service issues, but no one seems to have the time to make such help happen. You know it is time to get specific leadership and a plan to make services happen.
Then you hear about the Brookdale Foundation grant proposals and you think maybe this could be a good launching point for your own local kinship care group.
You and other members of the group make a list of how you see your kinship care support group - your vision of your own local Kinship Care Resource Center with:

Regular meetings with experts offering assistance to kinship families. Topics include registering and helping children in school; making a strong financial plan including a will; dealing with taxes now that your family has expanded; when and how to seek guardianship or other secure authority for the children; dealing with angry or upset little ones; getting appropriate health care.

Newsletters that reach out into your community about issues and resources of interest to kinship families.

Services for relative caregivers such as assistance with social services, legal concerns, respite, counseling, and help with immediate needs.

Someone to work collaboratively with other groups in the community on broader issues such as housing and transportation.

Developing a library of resources for kinship families on a variety of issues including fetal alcohol syndrome, child abuse and neglect, HIV babies, grief, etc

Okay, you all say, the list is long – how are we going to make this happen?
For financial support like the Brookdale Foundation grant you must be a non-profit organization [501(c)(3)]. So you go to the Senior Center, which is already a non-profit, and request that they apply for the grant on behalf of the grandfamilies they are already assisting. You become part of a committee with the Senior Center staff that studies the guidelines from Brookdale Foundation to prepare the grant that will start the Kinship Care Resource Center in your community. You realize that the details of the grant such as matching community funds and a plan to continue the program after the two-year grant is completed are all part of making the Resource Center a valuable entity in the community.
You submit the grant before December 4 and hope that you will be one of 30 groups that are approved.
One of the important gifts of a seed grant, such as the Brookdale Foundation offer, is recognizing that working together in the community strengthens the group and all who support the project.
Learn about the Brookdale Foundation request for proposals at http://www.brookdalefoundation.org/ I hope all small kinship care groups can look at grant opportunities like this to develop an image of the local Kinship Care Resource Center, choose an appropriate non-profit organization to sponsor the Center, hire a coordinator and assure that local relative caregivers are receiving valuable services.

See the September 5 Kincare blog on Kinship Care Resource Centers.

affectionately, Tita

GRANDFAMILIES LEGISLATIVE VICTORY!!

2008-09-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

News from Generations United, www.gu.org
September 22, 2008 the United States Senate unanimously passed the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 sending the bill to the President for his signature. The bill is bi-partisan compromise between the House and Senate that includes many of the provisions of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act. The bill is a significant recognition of the contribution grandparents and other relatives make in raising the nation's children.

Thank you to everyone for all their hard work in making calls, writing letters, and visiting with their legislators to pass this bill through Congress.Your stories brought this issue to life for your Members of Congress and inspired them to act.

The bill will provide supports for grandfamilies by:
Authorizing subsidized guardianship to enable children in the care of grandparents and other relatives to exit foster care into permanency
Establishing Kinship navigator programs to help link relative caregivers both inside and outside of the formal child welfare system to a broad range of services and supports that will help them meet the needs of the children in their care
Requiring notice be given to adult relatives of a child if he or she is placed in foster care
Allowing states in a demonstration program the option to set separate licensing standards for relative foster parents and non-relative foster parents
The bill also supports permanent families by:
Extending direct Title IV-E funding to tribal governments
Reauthorizing the Adoption Incentives Program, a critical tool in helping children become adopted.
Allowing states to receive federal reimbursement for support provided to foster youth up to age 21
Requiring reasonable efforts to keep siblings together
The president still must sign the bill and there will be significant work to implement the bill fully, but it is nonetheless a historic day for grandfamilies.

To see GU`s press release on the Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2008, go to http://www.gu.org/Lette6291248.asp

To read Donna`s blog entry on the Act, go to http://generationsunited.blogspot.com/.

For more information on the Act, go to http://www.gu.org/Polic7231752.asp.
Good news indeed!
love,
Tita

Keys to a local Kinship Resource Center

2008-09-04T17:24:00.000-07:00

Alone. That’s how thousands of kinship families feel. The experiences involved in being a kinship family in communities can certainly make adult caregivers and children in schools feel very different from those they meet daily. Communities that recognize the strength of kinship families can go a long way to embrace and support the Grandfamily efforts to secure the children.
A strong Kinship Care Resource Center in communities can:
- Help families through specific resources in social services, health, counseling, schools.
- Provide gatherings where families can share and learn together.
- Advocate in the community for cross-over services in housing, transportation and other intergenerational planning
- Provide tools and a library of resources on specific issues – social security, teen issues, financial aid, tax issues, medical resources, etc.
What does a strong Kinship Care Resource Center need?
1. Financial and structural support of an umbrella organization such as Senior Center, University program, YMCA, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Intermediate School District, Community Action Agency, the community list is numerous.
Note: Some local Kinship Care groups can become their own entity, but they will need to become a non-profit incorporated organization (Federally 501(c)(3) recognized) in order to be strong enough to survive.
2. A paid coordinator (director, head honcho) that will develop the programming, seek funding and strengthen the Resource Center for years to come.
3. Publicity. A telephone, online, media and personal contact in the community. Kin families are out there but unfortunately many have become suspicious of organizations or they just don’t have the facility to get to the resource that can help them.
4. Money, ok, Funding. A budget that is funded in at least three different ways:
-through the umbrella organization support
-through non-profit grants
-a strong community fundraising plan.
5. Accountability. Built into every program should be a means of financial accounting and policies of conduct that protect the integrity of the Center.
Section III pp 147 to 180 of A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives as Parents discusses the development of establishing a Comprehensive Kinship Care Resource Center in every community. The main keys are Leadership, Determination, and a Community that cares about all of its families.
Now for some news:
The Brookdale Foundation announces the RAPP Local Seed Grant Initiative for 2008-2009. Copies of the RFP guidelines and application forms for the Local Initiative may be downloaded from www.brookdalefoundation.org in September 2008. The deadline for submission of local proposals is December 4, 2008. Up to 30 local agencies will be chosen from throughout the United States to receive a $10,000 grant over a two-year period. Matching support in cash or in-kind will be required of all selected agencies. The sponsoring agency must be a 501(c)(3) entity or have equivalent tax-free status.
Go for it!
Love,
Tita

KINSHIP SERVICE PROVIDERS - GETTING TO KNOW YOU

2008-08-06T12:31:00.000-07:00

What a great experience this outreach has been for both the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children, and the newsletter Kinship Care Notes. As we work to revise mailing lists and answer requests to be included, we are learning that kinship family not only means grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins and older siblings and really good family friends, but also the working community in Kinship Care – the social workers, the area aging representatives, the YM/WCA and Salvation Army committees, the legal aid representatives anxious to provide accurate information to mind-boggling complications of some kinship care situations. Your responses to the most recent Kinship Care Notes e-mail newsletter is downright wonderful.
The next Kinship Care Notes will be sent next week with legislative news, contacts and little informational pieces from A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children.
By the way, anyone interested can check out the book at www.chicagoroadpublishing.com or at booksellers Amazon.com or Abebooks.com . Mid-Michigan folks can buy a copy at either Schuler’s Independent Book Stores in Lansing area.
Any information you may want to share in the newsletters can be sent to info@chicagoroadpublishing.com
I will try hard to keep the blogs more current. There is so much to share with this very special community. In the meantime, keep summering.
Tita

2008-07-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

Ah, summer. I write this on a beautiful Michigan summer day (which changes quickly). Low humidity, birds singing, sunshine and flowers. Not a time to think about (yikes!) SCHOOL! If you are new to kinship care and know the children will be with you in the fall, you probably should start making your lists so there will be a smooth transition.
The list not only includes regular kid stuff (clothes and supplies), but the business of registering. In the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents, the chapter titled “School: A Child’s Full Time Job” divides the task of school preparation into two parts – Registering and Living with School; Educational support from home.
It is the registering of children that requires some thoughtful summer preparation. Here we go:
Call the school system or visit so they can get to know you. Ask about the required paperwork for registering children even if it is a school they have already been attending. Kinship caregivers may need:
Birth certificate
Proof of certain required immunizations
Test results for grade level (from previous school), and
Proof of the kin’s authorization to care for the child such as guardianship papers.
Let’s talk about these items. Often, in the urgency of placement or the disarray of the child’s life with parents, records required for moving smoothly through our society may be lost. Documents like the birth certificate or immunizations will require time to update.
If the children have already attended school, start with the previous system to have records forwarded to the new school. Kin will need official authorization for this request.
If the child is just beginning or previous school records are not available, try another route: for lost birth certificates contact the state Office of Records where the child was born. There may be another step involved here – the child’s social security number (1.800.772.1213, or www.ssa.gov ).
For immunization records, kin could try to contact the doctor or clinic where the early childhood shots were provided. If not, bringing children up-to-date will have to start now in the summer.
Some school systems will only accept court ordered documentation of the kin’s authority – guardianship, temporary child welfare placement, or adoption. Other forms such as Power of Attorney or consent of parents may not be acceptable. Be sure to have this documentation in place before school starts.
Children in relative placement will have the help of the agency to get through the process of registering for school. Children who are with kin at the request of parents may need parent involvement in obtaining the necessary records. We’ll do another blog later on kids and getting ready for school. As you all know, every situation is different. Advocating for the children requires stamina. Take your vitamins.
Love,
Tita

KINSHIP CARE ASSISTANCE ISSUE

2008-06-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

I’m wrestling with an issue regarding kinship care. This week significant legislation passed the House of Representatives in support of kinship care families. House Resolution 6307 called Fostering Connections to Success specifically addresses concerns to kinship foster care families that include funding, services for children aging out of foster care, training for social service workers on the specifics of the funds, and other issues that have been of real concern to relative foster care providers. See an analysis of the bill at http://www.alliance1.org/Public_Policy/welfare/Fostering_Connections.pdf . The next step for this critical piece of legislation is the U.S. Senate.

I strongly support this critical child welfare step to assist kinship care families that are in the child welfare system. What I am wrestling with is the struggles facing the majority of kinship care providers, those who are not in the child welfare system, who are caring for children in their family full time against some terrific odds with little or no help at all.

Approximately fifteen percent of children in kinship care are living with relatives because they have been the victims of child abuse or neglect and placed by the child welfare system with approved and willing relatives, most in Relative Foster Care. All the other relative caregivers in our country have willingly taken children through request of the parents or some other source not in the child welfare system, including military or incarcerated parents. These families struggle with many of the same issues as their colleagues – obtaining guardianship, lack of health insurance protection, working with schools and medical systems, extreme costs involved with raising children in today’s world including child care. Most of the voluntary caregivers (60%) are grandparents who accepted their role of parenting again out of love for the children and a sense of duty to protect the children. One fourth of these grandparent providers are living below the poverty level. I am wrestling with the issue of how our society can address the concerns faced by the families who are not in the child welfare system. Any thoughts about this?

Kids Central, Inc A Strong Kinship Resource Center Model

2008-06-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

As a result of the publication of the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents, I have had the opportunity to speak with a variety of groups. The audiences vary from professionals who work with kinship families, to kinship families themselves, to general bookstore visitors.

Kinship care is multicultural and as traditional for as long as we have walked the earth together. Perhaps that is why our society has an apathetic attitude about kinship care. Yet today’s caregivers, millions of them, are faced with extreme difficulties in their effort to secure the children.

The best way to strengthen families and thereby strengthen communities is to establish Kinship Care Resource Centers (KCRC) in accessible geographic areas. These Resource Centers can be satellites of a larger central group such as a University Extension Department, an aging service, Social Service Agencey, or a family oriented organization such as a YMCA. The KCRC should have just a few critical ingredients – someone who is accessible to families (a paid coordinator who knows the issues and who knows the community) and a structure that will ensure the life of the center in the long term as families grow up and new families come in.

The third section of A Kinship Guide is like a book within a book - step by step ways to establish a Comprehensive Kinship Care Resource Center in the local community, activities that strengthen the Center’s service to families and ways to secure the service in communities.

Kids Central, Inc in Ocala, Florida serves children in many ways from placement services for child maltreatment to age-out services to those young people who age out of foster care but still need a launching transition to their adult life. One impressive area of Kids Central, Inc is the significant outreach to kinship families. In a recent phone call, one staffer told me they just established five more kinship groups in the rural areas. The groups start with an eight week curriculum called Second Time Around that covers many of the basic concerns facing new kinship families. The groups also meet together for support and to break that sense of feeling alone in the task. Families in the groups have a strong link to the kinship care specialist in Ocala for specific needs. Kids Central, Inc is a great model for community support of kinship families. For more information check online www.kiscentralinc.org

Affectionately,
Tita

KINSHIP CARE FOR ELIZABETH

2008-05-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

I often receive responses to the Kincare blog that are not published on the site. Some are like Elizabeth, an aunt who wants her niece to come to her loving home rather than to foster care. There are many dynamics to these questions. The situation of a relative intervening in the removal and placement of a related child depends on many things:
-The State in which the child and the intervening relative live. Every State responds to these issues differently. Most states do participate in an Interstate Compact with other state child welfare departments specifically for these types of cases. The relative must do research on the particular states involved and the process for interstate placement of the children.
-The circumstances of the removal – is the child welfare plan weighty on reunification with the parent or is this a more permanent removal?
-Timing of when the relative finds out about the impending placement. If a child is already placed in foster care, the relative’s plan of intervention will require action with the court involved. If the child has not yet been removed, the relative may be able to work with the child welfare agency that is authorized for the placement.
-Of course, the relative must also be concerned with their own ability to raise the child. The agency will do an investigation of safety for the child in the relative’s home. But also the relative must do some serious soul searching to determine the long haul which includes issues like extra finances for legal, medical, and therapeutic costs. Time to parent, other children in the home and other relatives are to be considered as well.
-The type of arrangement with the child welfare agency managing the case – will the relative be licensed as Kinship Foster Care? Or is the placement with the intention of Guardianship or eventually Adoption?
Sources relatives can use to determine the answers to some of these questions (and there will be many more questions – take your vitamins):
1. Begin with the child welfare workers involved. Be pleasant. Let them know your availability as a relative caregiver. Learn what the situation is and the intentions of the agency regarding reunification.
2. Study the state(s) child welfare policies on placement. Check to see if there is a central Kinship Care resource in the state – often a person in the state department of Health and Human Services is very knowledgeable and advocates for relatives. Ask. If the child welfare department does not have a kinship care advocate, check with a university extension office, AARP in the state, Child Welfare League of America, the statewide Area Agency on Aging, Office of Aging Services, local Senior Center or (see the Resources section of A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children – www.chicagorroadpublishing.com we tried to get a central resource in every state). The senior resources are leaders in the kinship care movement because nearly 2/3rds of providers are grandparents raising grandchildren.
3. Talk to an attorney who specializes in family law to find out what you many need to do to secure a child as a guardian. Before you get too deep into the legal entities be sure you know the costs you may face, the distances that are involved, and of course the timing of the possible placement/reunification.
This is just a beginning. Every State is different in their approach to child welfare, even smaller jurisdictions within states are different from each other. Learning all you can, understanding your own capabilities in raising a possibly troubled child in your own situation, and being able to respond to sudden changes are critical in the early days of considering Kinship Care.
Elizabeth, I cannot answer the specific questions in your situation, but if you write to me with a contact number, I may be able to direct you to sources that can help: info@chicagoroadpublishing.com . Kinship care providers are so dismissed in our society, yet the more than 3 million relative caregivers are, in most cases, the angels to families in trouble. I wish you well in your efforts on the difficult road ahead.
Affectionately,
Tita

Grandparents and Other Relatives Take a Stand at Grand Rally

2008-05-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

More than 1000 grandfamilies put aside their daily tasks to make the trip to our nation's Capitol May 7. That may not mean much to many in this big city who can navigate the subways and buses without hesitation or those who can afford their own drivers to do the navigation. But to families coming from rural America and even bigger towns, getting around Washington D.C. can be an adventure. Yet many with children in tow reached out to be part of the demonstration for awareness of kinship care needs. Six million children in this country depend on our nation's leaders taking the needs of kinship families seriously.
The goal was to encourage legislators to get on board for The Kinship Caregiver Support Act (S. 661 and H.R. 2188). This act would help relatives in many ways:

those with children in foster care to be able to care for them permanently. Federal funds would also help relative guardians receive similar assistance,
require states to notify relatives when children have been removed from the parents,
provide for flexible licensing standards for relative foster care,
establish The Kinship Navigator Program in each state to help link relative caregivers to resources and services for children,
assist relative care for older youth who exit foster care to receive education and training vouchers for college and other independent living services.

Considering the millions of dollars kinship care providers save states in residential care of children, these small costs in the Kinship Caregiver Support Act are a big step forward for millions of children and their relative caregivers.
There are currently 29 sponsors in the Senate and 59 in the House of Representatives. To find out more about S.661 and H.R. 2188 and where your representatives stand contact Generations United www.gu.org or your legislative representative.
There will be many blogs coming up on the big trip for me including a review of an exceptional kinship program in central Florida called Kids Central Inc. Keep checking the blog.
Peace,
Tita

Generations United, AARP, Children’s Defense Fund, Grandfamilies of America, Grandparents for Children’s Rights – A Strong Collaboration

2008-04-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

In the Welcome section of the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children, I expressed my love for a job I once had coordinating community collaboration for the benefit of local families. What a joy it would be to collaborate nationally on a project of significant importance. That is what several organizations have done for grandparents and other relatives as parents to smooth the path to Congress regarding critical kinship issues. In this blog let’s connect to these treasured organizations as they prepare for the Grand Rally 2008, May 7. As you check the sites, explore the pages for all the other good things these groups do.

Children’s Defense Fund – www.childrensdefense.org is the central site for registration to the Grand Rally. Once participants register an e-mail packet of events will be sent that includes maps and information of events surrounding the Rally. Go to the Children’s Defense Fund site then down about four articles to the Third Grand Rally.

National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights – www.grandparentsforchildren.org is assisting with overnight accommodations at the Grand Rally. The website offers a variety of support areas for grands. If visitors join the organization, a free subscription gift to Grand Magazine is offered.

AARP – www.aarp.org is offering advocacy training at the Grand Rally on May 6 and the morning of May 7. On the AARP site you will find a ton of resources for grandparents including group forums where grandparents can “talk” with each other on various topics.

Child Welfare League of America - www.cwla.org is one of the most prolific organizations on the web. With the talk radio show, webinars (training sessions on line), and regular announcements of reports and funding opportunities, CWLA, is a wealth of activity information for child welfare service providers.

Generations United – www.gu.org recognizing the wealth of all ages, the focus of Generations United is to celebrate all ages and to nationally encourage the collaboration of organizations that enrich our lives together. Study this wonderful website. Take a look at Together magazine on line for many articles about what is happening for the generations around the country and the world. I am so pleased that A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children will be recognized in an upcoming issue of Together.

Grandfamilies of America – www.grandfamiliesofamerica.org the only organization for grandparents raising grandchildren full time 24/7. Lots of resources and work toward collaboration with other like groups.

Other Items: A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents is receiving some very nice response. To see an indepth copy of the book go to the website - www.chicagoroadpublishing.com

Happy Spring!
Tita

THE BOOK IS DONE!! SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE ONLINE

2008-03-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

At last, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents is out and on the bookshelves, well some bookshelves. In 216 pages, four sections, the book shares in a loving informational manner the paths to working through the complex issues of securing a kinship family. And I, Helene (Tita), the author, am thrilled at the response so far. The book is listed on Amazon.com and in some local bookstores, and on the publishers website: www.chicagoroadpublishing.com Take a look at the cover on that site and check some interior pages. You can order single copies there, or for agencies and groups who want discounted multiple orders at a single address, contact by e-mail info@chicagoroadpublishing.com . Thanks to those of you who offered so much guidance through this (looong) process. Now we have to get the book in the hands of families who are looking for help.
Affectionately,
Tita

GRANDFAMILIES TO GATHER MAY 7, 2008

2008-03-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

On May 7, 2008 hundreds of grandparents and other relatives raising children will gather at the U.S. Capitol to highlight their important role in raising children and the help they need from family, friends, their communities, states, national organizations and agencies and elected officials. This is the third annual such gathering sponsored by AARP, Child Welfare League of America, Generations United, Grandfamilies of America, National Committe of Grandparent's for Children's Rights, and Children's Defense Fund (CDF). Many activities planned. Check the CDF website news items and click on Grandrally information (grandrally@childrensdefense.org ). Plan for this unifying event - get a room soon before they all fill up. Just think, Spring in Washington DC, a great time to contact legislators and join fellow travellers down the same kinship role.
Maybe we will see you there.
Tita

Kinship Caregivers take Note of Correction

2008-02-24T09:58:00.001-08:00

Tita gave the wrong blog address for Child Welfare League of American excellent talk radio blog:
www.blogtalkradio.com/CWLA-Radio is the correct address. Usually on Wednesday, this week the show will broadcast on Tuesday to encourage Congress to endorse a National Conference on Children and Youth. It is time for such a conference. Research is flowing in on the state of our nation's vulnerable children. This is a great new technology way to express our concerns. Remember:

Tuesday February 26, 2:00-2:30 PM ET Heading for the Hill: Calling on Congress to Endorse a National Conference on Children and Youth Visit www.blogtalkradio.com/CWLA-Radio.Call-in Number: (347) 326-9411

Child Welfare League Notes

2008-02-20T17:55:00.000-08:00

One of the valuable resources to anyone working on behalf of vulnerable children is the Child Welfare League of America www.cwla.org Two items kinship folks may want to check on:

the miracle of blogging has gone to new heights -blogradio - CWLA has a blog "talk" radio on Wednesday's (you can check it anytime) on issues of the day related to children. The show is new in technology, some small glitches have to be worked out. And there is advertising, our free enterprise way of supporting some amazing experiences. To hear and be a part of the CWLA blogradio go to: www.cwla.org/radio
the second piece of news from CWLA is an announcement from the U.S. Children's Bureau for grants to be awarded to tribes, tribal organizations, and migrant programs for child abuse prevention in fiscal year 2008. Applicants are encouraged to implement evidence-based and -informed programs and practices. The funds must also be used to support an evaluation of the programs and services funded by the grant. Three grants are expected to be funded for $138,963 per grantee for FY 2008.

Our book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children, addresses tribal issues and kinship care in several places throughout the book. For more information on children and tribal issues go to: the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) www.nicwa.org .

And finally a brief update about the book: IT'S DONE!! copies will be available by March 1. For more information you can contact me here with a comment or e-mail at info@chicagoroadpublishing.com

Best to you all,
Tita

A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children

2008-01-24T05:04:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you for patience as Tita learns the publishing game. It looks like the book, A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children - for Grandparents and Other Relatives as Parents, will be ready for distribution in February! Published by Chicago Road Publishing LLC, the book covers those topics rarely available to the millions of families who have taken on the care of related children. In four sections the guidebook covers issues like:

legal decisions
social services
school issues
medical care
counseling
how to start a kincare group
children in the electronic world
financial planning

Written in an informal conversational style, we hope the book will be valuable to all of you who have faced or will face the difficulties of navigating helping systems on behalf of your new family. More information and updates should be on this little blog site in a few days. Keep checking back.
affectionately,
Tita

COMING SOON - KINSHIP GUIDE

2007-11-29T12:30:00.000-08:00

So much to learn, so little time. This book production has been a very interesting project. For those of you who have followed the blog - the writing of the book is done! Now we are working with the "typesetter" who will layout the pages and other parts to fit the printed page. Inch by inch, it's a cinch, said my good friend, yard by yard it's hard. Well I'm not sure whether we are taking this by inches now or by yards, but it certainly has been a long haul. The newest time frame is to get the book into bookstores and into your hands by mid-January or sooner. The official title is - A Kinship Guide to Rescuing Children, for Grandparents and Other Relatives As Parents. It will be about 180 pages, softcover, with a fantastic cover photo. The retail price is $16.95. ISBN: (The new 13-digit) 978-0-9801352-0-6 by Chicago Road Publishing.
As we mentioned in an earlier blog, this is not a book on how to parent, but rather a guide to getting through all those public systems that kinship caregivers face - legal, social services, schools, therapy, community services. In other words, how to advocate for your new family in the sometimes intimidating and usually exhausting world out there. We also have chapters on the importance of making a will, being aware for children in this new electronic world, finding resources, getting money for the future, and having fun.
The third section is a book within the book on how to get together with other kinship care providers in your community and how to actually start a full-service kinship resource center.
The final section is a full list of resources including lead organizations in each state that help to establish services for kinship care families.
The approach of the book speaks directly to kinship families in a casual yet, hopefully, informative manner. The academics are kept to a minimum. There are stories from case situations to enhance each chapter. Several professionals that work in the field of social services or law have also expressed an interest in the book.
Anyone with comments about the kinship care book or this blog can comment here or drop a note to CRP, P.O. Box 1073, Okemos, MI 48805.

Edward James Olmos, Jamie Foxx, and others

2007-11-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

As I was searching for celebrity relatives who were raised by grandparents or other non-parent relatives, I found very little. Generations United, www.gu.org had a very nice listing of a few folks. One with a comment by Edward James Olmos, who was raised by greatgrandparents, struck me as true appreciation for the unheralded kinship care families:

Edward James Olmos- Actor "I was very fortunate. I was raised by my great-grandfather and my great-grandmother. And great-grandparents are exactly that: great, grand parents. And I must tell you, that was probably the single most important aspect of my life."

Thank you, sir, for that honor to your folks. I am looking for more examples. If you know of celebrity or well known sports or business people who were raised by non-parent relatives please contact me, Helene (Tita) kincare@comcast.net . There is more to share with you, so check back here in a day or so.

In peace,
Tita

Starting a Kinship Care Get together

2007-10-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

Some of you have written to ask how to find a kinship care group in your neighborhood. For many of you a search with social services, newspaper calendar lists, or community resources leave you wondering just where are other kinship care families. You may have to start your own get together. You will find that grandparents raising grandchildren and other relatives who have taken on the big task of raising related children are all around you.
Here are a few steps to find out -
1. Plan a time and place to meet - coffee shop, school, church, senior center
2. Advertise in the neighborhood with posters, at social services, health department, doctors, schools, the places kin families frequent; send news releases with information about the meet up to local media.
3. Arrange safe child care in close prosimity to the gathering.
4. Arrange simple snacks if the place is a public service building.

Once a meet up group begins gathering and learning about their concerns and joys, providers may want to take the next step to organize a bit further by planning regular meeting times and place. They may want to arrange a speaker on a common subject - social services, legal issues, psychological issues, health concerns, school issues. Many organizations offer knowledgeable speakers for free, just ask. Again, be sure to arrange outreach, safe child care, and snacks.
Good luck.
Affectionately,
Tita

Kincare Book, Foster Care, and other Updates

2007-10-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

It has been quite a busy fall already. In spite of an emergency surgery that took me fully out of commission, I did manage to get the entire text of the book done, thanks to some very special folks who helped with accuracy issues. There is still much to do on the book yet, I am certainly learning a lot about the publishing business.
There is other news: Today the President of the United States vetoed the bill offering funds for the children's health insurance program. The program supplements funds to States for the children of low-income working families who do not qualify for Medicaid. No where in the discussion do I hear about the huge numbers of kinship care families who depend on this insurance to cover the children in their care. Insurance companies notoriously deny relative care children even when a guardianship is in place. It is terribly sad when our own leader would deny these American families while requesting billions of dollars to fund wars that destroy families. It may be too late, but this is a time to get involved. This is not a partisan issue. Many brave Republicans are taking the lead to override the veto. They may need to hear from us.
Child Welfare League of America is co-sponsoring a briefing to Congress on another financial issue: the costs of Foster Care. The report titled Hitting the MARC: Establishing foster Care Minimum Adequate Rates for Children. Current Foster Care rates, according to the report are not even near adequate. To bring the rates to the reasonable costs of raising children under Foster Care would mean increasing the current rates by as much as 40%. You can see the full report for Hitting the MARC on CWLA's website, www.clwa.org .
Well back to work for me. I hope you continue to check this little blog and pass it on to grandparents raising grandchildren and other kinship care families.
In peace, Tita

Guardianship Assistance Programs

2007-09-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

A child (or two or three) comes in a moment of urgency and is temporarily placed in care of a relative. The public social services agency knows the grandparent or aunt or other relative will be burdened with a number of extra expenses and so a system is set up to help with the new costs to the family: A child-only grant, generally a small stipend depending on the State plus a Medicaid card for the children.
The relative cooperates with the public system until the child is reunited with the parent(s) or . . .The relative may be offered Kinship Foster Care, which, again, varies by State. Foster Care provides more funds per child, but the family usually must comply with all Foster Care policies including training, housing, and specific rules that may constrict a family’s movement. In some states kinship foster care is really no different than non-kin foster care in that the family may be asked to take other non-related children in crisis. The design of Foster Care includes a Permanency Plan. Children need permanency in their home life. And States do not want children languishing in Foster Care . . . even if they are in a Kinship home.The Permanency plan is based on a reasonable time frame (one year) from the placement. Of course this cannot happen in many cases. Agency Social Services workers are already overburdened with coordinating systems to mend the family. They are very aware of the benefit that kinship care provides children, and they are equally aware of the significant costs to kin families. But Social Services Child welfare departments are under pressure to secure the children in permanent homes, which may mean encouraging Adoption.
The dynamics to families of adopting their relatives are often not an acceptable choice. The problem then is children in the safety of their kinship care providers and some kind of assistance to those providers. Realistically, Kinship care providers whether temporary placement or Kinship Foster Care, are saving the States a great deal of money that might have been used for very expensive residential care. There are no studies that I know of that can account for the savings to society when the safe kinship care launches healthy citizens.
Consequently, we want Kinship Care to thrive and to make that happen we want kinship care providers to receive some assistance in the costly care. Thirty-five states have developed a Guardianship Assistance (sometimes called a subsidy) for kinship care providers. Two or three states have abandoned the assistance program, while others are searching ways to establish an appropriate financial supplement to the kin families.
Generations United (http://www.gu.org/ ) made a significant study of States that have an assistance program for kinship care providers. The variation of plans is surprising. Illinois has a well thought out model kinship assistance program. Michigan is currently in committee with two very important bills: MI Senate (S. 661) and MI House of Representatives (H.R. 2188).
The key to the success of appropriate support for Kinship families is the awareness public officials have of the issues involved. Yikes – does that mean that grandfamilies have to not only provide for their whole new family, they have to become political activists as well? Um. Yep.

TRYING TO MAKE CONTACT

2007-08-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I did a little experiment of contacting 16 (of 19) Kinship Care programs in one State (with over75,000 kinship care families). I got the telephone list from a statewide University extension office that maintains a Central Kinship Care program. Very interesting. Several of the calls represent agencies that are trying to maintain programs on quickly disappearing budgets. They range from Commission on Aging, Area Agency on Aging, Community Mental Health, local university extension office, one Christian organization, and slim contracts from Department of Human Services ("I only work one day a week on the Kinship care program, please call back on Monday").
Of the 16 I was only able to actually speak with 2 people, left messages for most of the rest, two were disconnected numbers. Since the 1980's when the trend to place children with relatives to help relieve the pressure on the Foster Care system, relatives have become the placement of choice for tens of thousands of families. Just as many families voluntarily care for related children. These families are providing a significant service to the children as well as the helping systems that are relieved of significant financial support of the children. When families take on the extra care of traumatized children in their family a number of critical issues become part of the burden - medical care, school, counseling in many cases, court appointments, legal involvement. For these families it is not just an extra plate at the dinner table. Yet when the families seek help they are more likely to find voice mail, restricted programming, or no help at all.
The relatives, especially grandparents, who rescue the children are the unheralded heroes of our collective village.

Child Care Issues . . .Oh Boy!

2007-08-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

I just finished the section for the book on Child Care Issues. We've watched the funny hollywood versions - Daddy Day Care, Mrs. Doubtfire, and even in the recent Pursuit of Happyness. But the truth is trying to find quality child care for young children at affordable prices is just about impossible. It is truly the Luck of the Draw. I did find some excellent resources that are also enlightening about the sorry state of quality child care in our country.
If you are looking for quality child care check out the collaborative website: www.childcareaware.org which identifies several national resources for referral as well as a comprehensive guide: "38 Questions for Parents Choosing child Care" from the National Association of Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).
The issues of finding quality child care and paying for it are challenged by all that we have learned in the last decade regarding brain development in young humans. When those first three to five years of life are not attended to properly with secure, healthy, active, loving environments - well, we all suffer. The new human brain, even before it is born, is better than any computer that same brain might ultimately build in a few years. High speed rapid connections web swiftly across a soft gray matter calculating, building, archiving, developing the most subtle, but critical knowledge blocks, using all the newly formed senses for miraculous input and output.
We already know that, as a society, we must get this information to parents to help them help these babies to grow healthy and secure. But we also know that the muddle of so much in our society cripples the potential of these wonderful beginnings. When parents can't do the task, it is often the relatives that step in - the grandparents, aunts uncles, cousins, older siblings, even good friends and godparents trying to bridge the gaps in the critical moments of development.
One of the handicaps for parents and relative caregivers who are also part of the social fabric working away from home is to find a great place where the bounty of these little humans will be cultivated. Unfortunately the cost of good child care in many states is so prohibitive and the quality part is less available to families on a limited income, that finding the match won't happen. In 49 states child care fees for an infant is higher than the average family spends on food, or for two children child care is higher than median rent cost.
There are humble options to families in our country, but not much. The Department of Health and Human Services in most states offer financial child care assistance to eligible families. The IRS offers some child care deductions on taxes for specific situations. And some quality community centers offer child care scholarships. A few corporations have recognized the significant productive benefits of on-site child care and other family friendly programs that support valued employees by supporting their family needs.
When the federal government looks to cut "domestic" programs to fund other costly projects, this is one area that gets the evil eye. Weary advocates bravely lobby just to continue the little federal support to quality child care and parent education programs. Maybe someday we will get our priorities in order and recognize the value of strengthening the health and development of our society right from the very beginning.
Oh dear, where did that soap box come from? Take care, friends. I appreciate your comments to me directly.
Affectionately, Tita

Another Valuable Resource Available to Kinship Care Providers

2007-07-25T10:19:00.001-07:00

From the Child Welfar League of America (www.cwla.org) : The ABA Center on Children and the Law is proud to make available this Kinship Care Legal Resource Center. Kinship care, commonly defined as the "full-time care, nurturing, and protection of children by relatives, members of their tribes or clans, or other adults who have a family relationship to a child," is a growing phenomenon across the United States. Today, more than six million children-approximately one in twelve-are growing up in households headed by grandparents (4.5 million children) or other relatives (1.5 million children). This new Resource Center is intended to serve as a toolkit for attorneys, judges, and other child-serving practitioners working with kinship families and having difficulty navigating the complex existing and emerging legal issues. Check out this valuable site with information on finacial, legal, subsidies and other issues concerning kinship care providers: www.abanet.org

Electronics & Kids: check WiredSafety.org

2007-07-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

I have been researching the chapter for the Kinship Care book titled, "Raising Children in an Electronic World". What a trip! So you rescue these children from some devastating trauma involving the loss of their parents in their lives. You go through the gauntlet of legal issues, social services, medical care, fixing the house to accommodate one or two or more beloved children. Everyone is getting settled as best as possible, when you find another invader in your world sneaking through the wires in the form of the internet. This is not really bad. Just scary sometimes.
The internet, as you can see just by visiting this little diary, can connect us all to together. But there are predators (like you need another predator) who use this miraculous tool to get money, sex, or perverted kicks.
Children are very adept at the internet. They use it for information, for music and videos, for their own creative outlets, and for games.
Ah, games. Games for kids and adults are a 7 billion dollar business in this country serving 145 million U.S. gamers. There are games to play privately on the little battery powered PlayStation Box or games that connect to the internet for players all over the world. Yes, you read that correctly. Little Amy who loves a challenge on her PlayStation2 can play the game with several players who are signed on (kids and adults) from anywhere in the world. We live at amazing time. However, this renaissance also requires vigilance from virtual roadside bandits as well as the games themselves.
One really valuable internet site for those of us who care for children is: www.wiredsafety.org . Check it out. Parry Aftab, creator of WiredSafety.org answers questions on line.
We’ll have more on this in a later blog. I appreciate your comments.
As always, in peace,
Tita

Still Learning

2007-06-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

In case anyone out there is checking this blog - Tita's aging brain is still learning the very fine details of internet technology. Your patience with me is grately appreciated. Though I am spending most of my time actually writing (finishing) the book on kinship care, I take a break now and then to suffer through this funny technoworld. whew. So we have new colors. How do you like it?
If you really are checking I'd also like to know what topics are concerning you as someone interested in the hush-hush issue of Kinship care - grandparents, aunts uncles, older sibs, all going through the tough course of raising a child. In the book I cover some of the big topics that many families have shared with me:
Legal issues - when and what to do to protect children in the relative care family (guardianship? power of attorney?)
Social Services issues - what can social services do to help us help these children? (and how do I find social services near by?)
School issues - when and how to register and secure children in school.
The list goes on. What is on your mind? Maybe we can help.
In the meantime, back to the book work.
Tita

Kincare Providers GET A WILL!

2007-06-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Many of the families that I have worked with over the years have so much to think about they just can’t bear to go into the issues of their own death. However preparing a Will is really a positive step for securing relative-raised children. Families who do not have notarized statement of their wishes after death are leaving their material goods AND the care of their children to “Probate” – the State authority to decide how both goods and children’s care will be distributed. This is called intestate – dying without a will.
Courts are likely to return under-age children and any funds such as insurance beneficiary or educational savings accounts to the surviving parents of the child. Children live with a relative for a reason. Often care with the surviving parent is not in the best interest of the child.

What to do:
Talk with an attorney, kinship care support group, senior center, local AARP representative, or other legal assistance resource on how to prepare a Will that covers:

An executor and alternate executor of the estate (even if you think you have nothing of value). The executor can be any trusted person who will follow through with your wishes as stated in the Will.
A designated guardian for the children, and alternate in case the designated guardian is unable or unwilling to accept the responsibility.
Specific wishes about protection of any funds that have designated the children as beneficiaries.
Be sure to follow through with notarizing the document, make copies and store in a safe place.

NOTE: A Living Will is not the same as the Will designating your wishes after you
die. These are two very different documents. Statements about your care if you become debilitated and unable to care for the children should be noted in a Living Will.

Affectionately, Tita

Welcome to Kincare - a blog for Kinship Care providers

2007-06-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

WELCOME TO KINCARE - A BLOG FOR KINSHIP CARE FAMILIES
If you found this blog, you most likely have an interest in learning more about families who are raising related children. There are three million kinship care families in America today and more than six million children. These families are from all segments of our society - rich, poor, urban, rural, a hundred ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Some caregivers are very young, some are very old. Most are grandparents who have lovingly taken on the job of raising their grandchildren.

Though the problems faced by all the kinship families are different, the hopes are the same: to raise healthy children in a safe and loving environment. But as many Kinship families can testify, the task is far from easy. Unlike raising children in a parent-headed household, which is difficult all by itself, kinship families also face a myriad of public services that may be called upon to assist one problem or another. Often the rules to obtain the proper service are frustrating and intimidating, leaving Kinship Care families to struggle through the best options available to them.

Kinship Care is not a "they" problem. Caring for related children can happen to anyone at anytime, when the kin caregiver says "Yes". The caregivers second response is usually, "What now?" When and how to get legal authorization to make decisions for the child from entering school to acquiring guardianship is one of the biggest decisions Kinship Care families have to make. Money becomes a big issue when the costs of gas to get to a host of appointments starts cutting into the caregivers own health care costs. One grandfather who took on four of his grandchildren told me he was shocked at how much milk the young teens required and how much just the milk took from his food budget.

Often it is the suddenness of becoming a kinship care provider that is the hardest to get over. Sometimes in the middle of the night, the social worker stands at the door with one or two or more children explaining the necessity of kinship care. After finding space to sleep and eat and live, comes finding the important papers - the birth certificates, the health records, school registrations, custody papers, social security numbers. Then the families face the appointments. Appointments with social service case workers, doctors, schools, crisis counselors. Then, for many caregivers, the realization that the life they had with friends and spouses, and coworkers is now changed drastically. Everything centers on the needs of the children. This is what Kinship Care providers have taken on, and this is why I call them courageous.

The following posts are just quick ideas, some have been included previously in e-mail newsletters, or from the upcoming book. Perhaps this Kinship Care blog will reach and hopefully help more of these very special grandfamilies. Please read at your leisure. Comments are welcome.
Best wishes, Tita