GRAND RALLY AT THE STATE CAPITAL (SPRING - 2008)
On Tuesday, May 6th @ 12:00, there will be a grand rally on the
south steps of the state capital.
MKCA is gathering with relative caregivers (grandparents
& relatives raising children) to provide awareness Kinship issues
to the public. We want to connect with our lawmakers and bring to
attention the need to keep these children safe.
CAREGIVERS NEWS (Spring 2007)
National Legislative Update
In March, 2007 Senator Clinton (D-NY) re-introduced the Kinship
Caregiver Support Act, which would assist the millions of children
being raised by grandparents or other relatives.
Senator Clinton announced that she has re-introduced legislation
in the Senate to provide needed assistance to kinship caregivers
and enable kinship care for more children who otherwise would be
in foster care.
The Kinship Caregiver Support Act Fact Sheet
The Rise of Kinship Caregiver Families
Nationwide, more than 6 million children—that is, 1 in 12
children—are living in households headed by grandparents or
other relatives (i.e., "kinship caregivers").
Kinship caregivers, who often become parents unexpectedly, face
unique challenges to successfully raising children, including difficulties
enrolling children in school, authorizing medical treatment, maintaining
their public housing leases, obtaining affordable legal services,
and accessing a variety of federal benefits and services. Almost
one-fifth of grandparents responsible for their grandchildren live
in poverty.
The Bill
The Kinship Caregiver Support Act attempts to address the full range
of emotional, physical and financial difficulties facing children
and kinship caregivers so that relatives may become formal guardians
and at the same time receive some financial assistance. It takes
three important steps to assist children being raised and cared
for by kinship caregivers. Specifically, the bill:
• Establishes a Kinship Navigator Program
in states, large metropolitan areas, and Indian tribal organizations
to assist kinship caregivers to navigate their way through existing
programs and services. This program will provide families with the
guidance they need to learn how to obtain health care coverage for
them, apply for housing assistance, locate childcare, enroll them
in school, and gain access to other services.
• Establishes a Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program
to provide federal assistance to states for subsidized guardianship
programs to better serve the needs of kinship care families. This
provision gives states the option to use their Title IV-E funds
to provide payments to grandparents and other relatives who have
assumed legal guardianship of children they've cared for as foster
parents.
• Ensures notice to relatives when children
enter foster care to make it easier for families to stay together.
The new version of this bill strengthens systems already in place
to support these families by:
• Expanding eligibility for the Foster Care Independence Program
so Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) are available
to young people who exit foster care after age 16 to guardianship
just as young people exiting adoption can receive these vouchers.
• Strengthening requirements for collaboration
in Navigator grants to address the link between incarcerated parents
and kinship caregivers.
Support
Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
have introduced this legislation in the last two Congresses. Senator
Thad Cochran (R-MS) was also an original co-sponsor. In the 109th
Congress, the following Members were also co-sponsors: Senators
Coleman, Jeffords, Johnson, Kerry, Landrieu, Lautenberg, Obama and
Schumer.
This act is a positive legislative response to the large and ever
growing number of children in the US who find themselves in this
category. The act will help caregivers raising children both in
and out of the child welfare system by providing them with necessary
support and services that would otherwise be unavailable.
By increasing awareness about the issue and providing much needed
support to care-giving families nationwide, the Kinship Caregiver
Support Act represents a monumental step forward in the area of
care-giving.
Caregivers are encouraged to contact local Congresspersons and to
educate them on the needs of caregivers while expressing how helpful
the act will be. Reach your senators and representatives by calling
the Capitol at 202-224-3121 or visit www.congress.org
to identify your members of Congress.
Minnesota Legislative Update
In Minnesota , according to the 2000 Census there are over 48,000
children living in homes headed by grandparents, an astonishing
100% + increase over the past ten years. When those children
living with other relatives and close family friends it is estimated
there are 71,000 MN children living with relatives.
The MKCA has proposed two bills to the MN Legislature for the 2007 session.
Kinship Navigator Program
This bill, authored by Senator Mary Olson in the Senate and Representative Maria Ruud in the House of Representatives, was introduced and moved to be included in the Omnibus Bill for Health and Human Services.
The bill would provide a 2-year demonstration grant that would
provide supportive services in the metro and Bemidji areas for grandparents
and relatives raising children. The services may include:
legal advocacy, information, advocates, support groups, and mentors
located in these areas to assist caregivers navigating kinship care.
Kinship Support Program
This bill, authored by Senator Mary Olson and Representative Steve
Simon did not receive a hearing in either Senate or House, but MKCA
and the Department of Human Services will be working on a version
of this bill to be reintroduced to the 2008 Legislature.
The Kinship Support Program would give kinship caregivers a separate
category when applying for the child-only grant for the child in
their care and notify them of other services or benefits the child
may qualify for, such as SSI or wavered services. The
program would also keep the child categorically eligible for the
child only grant, which would alleviate the problem of the stoppage
of funds and having to reapply.
Please let your legislators know how important it is to support
kinship caregivers by calling or writing to them. |
