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
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Free Course for Kinship Care Service Providers
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
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
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren - Go Have Fun!
"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
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
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Grandparents, relatives, kinship? Who Cares?
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
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
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
HEALTH CARE FOR KINSHIP KIDS
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
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
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
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
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
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Grandparents, Other Relatives As Parents: GET ORGANIZED!
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
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