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").
The 2005 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey shows 279,899 children in grandparent-headed homes in New York and another 138,750 children living in other relative-headed homes. That makes a total of 418,649-- more than 9 percent of children in the state.
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 Kinship Caregivers Support Act
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 children, apply for housing assistance, locate childcare, enroll children 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.
Groups supporting the bill include: Generations United, the Children's Defense Fund, the Child Welfare League of America, the AARP, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Grandparents for Children's Rights, the Kids Are Waiting Campaign, and the Evan P. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
