When Relatives Care for Children:
Essential Internet Resources for Those Delivering Kinship Care

By Emily Newman
Resource Coordinator
Central Coast Children’s Foundation, Inc.

When relatives have to step in to care for children whose parents are no longer in a position to do so, the immediate circumstances are often confusing, chaotic and ambiguous.  The information and resources available to relative caregivers are growing rapidly, alongside the growing number of people who are called upon to parent the children of relatives no longer able to provide that care.  These resources are not always easy to find, which is why the Central Coast Children’s Foundation has compiled this guide of available Internet sources of information, assistance and guidance for relative caregivers and those who are trying to help them.

Mentoring and Support to Family Caregivers

Support groups combat caregiver burnout, isolation, and help identify resources.  They offer emotional support to grandparents and kinship caregivers facing common problems.  Support groups provide an opportunity to meet others in the same situation to share experiences, knowledge, strengths and hopes.  The following resources are a sampling of the numerous available resources which support and mentor caregivers.

PRIDE (Parent Resources for Information, Development and Education) Training (http://www.alamedasocialservices.org/public/services/children_and_family/foster_care/pride.cfm) provides curriculum to train new foster care parents and to provide continued education of existing relative caregivers.  The training includes nine 3-hour sessions on topics relevant to successfully parenting children and youth who are in out-of-home placement.    Grandparent caregivers never know when they might need to speak with someone immediately to obtain crucial information.  That is why Grandparents United for Children’s Rights, Inc. (http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/6866/) has a 24-hour support service and hotline for advice and information, a national directory of grandparent support groups, health and service care providers and a nationwide attorney referral network of lawyers.

It is important that relative caregivers have access to a support group.  Based out of Washington State University, the Relatives as Parents Program (http://parenting.wsu.edu/relative/map.htm) provides information on beginning your own support group for relative caregivers and provides information on finding an existing support group within Washington State.  Three types of support groups exist: discussion, educational and advocacy.  Some of these groups meet monthly, bi-monthly or weekly and the majority has no fee associated.

Another resource for starting your own support network, put out by Generations United (http://ipath.gu.org/documents/A0/GU_NFCSP_Fact_Sheet.pdf), provides step by step information on beginning a support network or identifying networks of caregiver support groups throughout the United States.  Generations United also puts out a useful and free publication called GRAND: the Official Magazine of Grandparents.  You can subscribe to the magazine at http://www.grandmagazine.com/gu/.

Healthcare Essentials

Free and low-cost health insurance is generally available to eligible children through two major federal programs: Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  The Children’s Defense Fund provides the answers to critical questions about access to health coverage for children aged 21 and under (http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=childhealth_chip_faqs).  Serious neglect and abuse are the most stated reasons for removing children from their parents’ care and therefore children entering foster and relative care have extremely high rates of physical and mental health problems, developmental delays and educational underachievement.  

The Healthy Foster Care America program of the American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.aap.org/advocacy/hfca/Resources.htm) provides assistance and information on how to cope with those children who enter the foster care system having experienced serious family dysfunction.      Services to Enhance Early Development (SEED) Program of Alameda County, CA (http://www.alamedasocialservices.org/public/services/children_and_family/adoption/seed.cfm) offers comprehensive mental health and development assessment to children aged 0-5 years as they enter the foster care system.  Caregivers and their children are served by a multidisciplinary team which includes mental health professionals, public health nurses and child welfare workers.
   
Relative caregivers who have children with special needs can find support from the Training, Intervention, Education and Services (TIES) for Adoption program (http://www.healthychild.ucla.edu/TIES.asp).  TIES for Adoption promotes the successful adoption, growth and development of children with special needs, especially those with prenatal substance exposure who are in foster care.  TIES for Adoption also provides training at the local, state and national level on the adoption of children with special needs.  Training is offered to prospective and current adoptive parents, child social workers in public welfare, and professionals in the legal and mental health systems.
   
It is estimated that parental addiction is the cause of roughly 80 percent of family caregiver arrangements.  Children of Alcoholics Foundation (COAF) Ties that Bind Project (http://www.coaf.org/family/caregivers/kinmain.htm) provides tips for relatives who have taken over the care of a child when parents’ drug or alcohol use has left them unable to care for their children.


Education Information

Education is fundamental for any child.  It is important for caregivers to utilize available resources to ensure the best education for their children.  The Foster and Kinship Care Education (http://www.fkce.com/) program provides quality education and support activities to the caregivers of children and youth in out-of-home care so that these providers may meet the educational, emotional, behavioral and developmental needs of children and youth.  FKCE provides free classes and workshops at locations in Northern California and Washington State.   

The Los Angeles Mission College’s Foster/Kinship Care Education program (http://lamission.edu/fosterkinship/) provides a variety of training programs for foster parents through California Community Colleges.  Foster parents are required by the state to have pre-service training before children are placed in their homes and renewal training each year thereafter.  In order to help foster parents through this process, the Foster/Kinship Care Education program offers more than 400 hours of training each year in both English and Spanish.
   
Alameda County, CA offers an Independent Living Skills Program (ILSP) (http://alamedacountyilsp.org/) to provide every eligible youth in foster care with independent living skills training to assist in the transition to a successful, independent lifestyle.  ILSP focuses on education, employment and life skills training.  

Legal Issues

Navigating through the legal procedures to obtain guardianship and/or visitation rights can be extremely difficult for kinship caregivers and oftentimes the costs of hiring legal assistance can be an enormous economic burden.  The National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights (http://www.grandparentsforchildren.org/) advocates and lobbies for substantial and urgent legislative changes that protect the rights of grandparents to secure their grandchildren’s health, happiness and well-being.  The committee monitors agencies that affect grandchildren at the city, county, state and federal levels and protect the rights of grandparents and the needs of grandchildren who are at risk.

The KINship Information Network (http://www.kinsupport.org/documentation.html) provides a forum for relative caregivers to share information and swap stories.  Among these stories are suggestions on how to easily document and maintain notes for legal procedures.

Within the state of California, the Kinship Support Services Programs (KSSP) (http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/cfsweb/KinshipCar_343.htm), funded by the California Department of Social Services, provides community-based family support services to relative caregivers and the dependent children placed in their homes by juvenile court and to those who are at risk of dependency or delinquency.  The KSSP additionally provides post permanency services to relative caregivers who have become the legal guardian or adoptive parents of formerly dependent children.  

The California Department of Social Services also compiled a listing of kinship support services listed by county (http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/cfsweb/res/pdf/KinshpList.pdf).  

In 2000 Congress enacted the first amendment to the Older Americans Act in 25 years—the Title III-E National Family Caregiver Support Program. Recognizing the growing numbers of older adults who require assistance in performing their activities of daily living, this new program acknowledges the vital role played by their caregivers and seeks to address the wide range of caregiver needs.  For the first time, the Older Americans Act is targeting beneficiaries who may actually be under the age of 60. Qualified individuals are providing care for a family member, friend, or neighbor who is 60 and older. In addition, grandparents and other older relatives over the age of 60 who provide care for a grandchild who is 18 or younger also qualify for the new program. Available caregiver services include information and assistance, counseling, support groups, training, respite, and supplemental services.  NYC Caregiver (http://www.nyccaregiver.org/grandparenting_2.html) connects New York City caregivers with the resource centers that provide the services covered by the National Family Caregiver Support Program.  
    

National Resources for Family Caregivers

There are numerous national resources for family caregivers. 
Among these are the following:    AARP Grandparent Information Center (http://www.aarp.org/families/grandparents/) provides an extensive range of services including a listing of local support groups, newsletters and useful publications.

The Relatives as Parents Program (http://www.brookdalefoundation.org/relativesasparents.htm) is designed to encourage and promote the creation or expansion of services for grandparents and other relatives who have taken on the responsibility of surrogate parenting due to the absence of parents.  The program awards seed grants of $10,000 over a two-year period in two categories: local agencies and state public agencies.

Child Welfare League of America’s Kinship Care Program (http://www.cwla.org/programs/kinship/default.htm) provides the following services to kinship caregivers:
Consultation, training and technical assistance
Organize the National Kinship Care Conference
Convene the National Kinship Care Advisory Committee
Create Kinship Care Standards
Conduct Research Projects
Publications
Grant Initiatives
Legislative Agenda

Generations United (http://www.gu.org) offers information and advocacy relating to grandparent caregivers plus a biennial conference.  GU represents more than 100 national, state, and local organizations and individuals representing more than 70 million Americans.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (http://www.uwex.edu/ces/gprg/sitesmap.html) provides an interactive map which enables you to click on your State of residence to view local caregiver resources.

State Fact Sheet for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Grandchildren (http://ipath.gu.org/State921334.asp) are provided through a large partnership between the AARP Foundation, the Children’s Defense Fund, Casey Family Programs’ National Center for Resource Family Support, the Brookdale Foundation, the Child Welfare League of America and Generations United.  These fact sheets contain the following information:
Census data on the growing number of grandparent caregivers
A comprehensive list of local programs, resources and services
State foster care policies for kinship caregivers
Information about key public benefit programs
Important state laws
National organizations that provide help


The above resources are an introductory guide to the valuable sources of information for family caregivers available online.  A written, expanded Resource Guide on the same subject is available on request from Harvey Pressman, CCCF President (presstoe@aol.com).