Kinship Care is not the first item that comes to mind on the many issues that will be discussed among public servants at the Arizona State Legislature in 2020.
It is, however, an important issue for the thousands of Arizona children placed by the Department of Child Safety (DCS) that live with relatives other than their parents that are unlicensed to provide foster care.
Relatives that are not licensed by the Department of Child Safety face financial challenges and bureaucratic obstacles that licensed foster parents do not share in caring for the children they have been entrusted with.
The team at The Children’s Action Alliance (CAA), seeking to build on the foundations they helped to create in the legislature and Department of Child Safety in 2019, want to further improve the quality of life of children and their relatives in these situations.
Beth Rosenberg, a member of CAA since 1997, and a specialist in child welfare policy discussed the issues surrounding Kinship Care and what the CAA is hoping to do in 2020 to help improve children’s lives.
The questions and her responses are below
1) Please tell the reader what the meaning of kinship care is?
“ When a child is living with a family member or friend (fictive kinship care) when the parent is not available.”
2) In terms of state financial assistance, please tell the reader at least three ways (there can be more) assistance to unlicensed kinship families is allocated differently compared to foster families and licensed kinship families?
a) “Licensed Families receive an average of $685 per child per month ($628 to $900 depending on needs of child and age). Unlicensed kinship caregivers are guaranteed only $75 each month no matter how old the child is or if the child has special needs. Neither payment is meant as a salary for these caregivers, it is to support the living costs and the needs of caring for additional children in their home.”
b) “Some unlicensed families placed by DCS, if they apply, can get Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance which could provide an additional $164 for the first child and $57 for each additional. Only 32 percent of the unlicensed kinship caregivers are getting TANF because, in part, of the 56-page application to complete.”
c) “There is the ability to be licensed as a foster parent, but the orientation, training, home inspection, and background checks are all very difficult for most kinship families who also have the children placed by DCS in their homes. The family’s first priority must be to tend to the many needs of the child and the associated placement issues such as medical care, court hearings, school enrollment, etc., in addition to the day-to-day child caring needs.”
3) Based on the Alliance’s September 2019 paper titled Help for Grandparents raising Grandchildren and other Caregivers, do unlicensed kinship families qualify for?
a) Child Care: “Yes and it is automatic but does not provide for the full cost of child care.”
b) Head Start: “Yes but they have to apply for it.”
c) Medical and Dental Coverage: “Yes and it is automatic.”
d) Behavioral Health Services: “Yes and it is automatic.”
e) Free school breakfast and lunch: “Yes and it is automatic.”
f) SNAP (Food Stamps): “Yes but they have to apply for it and only 32 percent of the families have.”
Unlicensed families do receive the same monetary assistance for these services as licensed ones but another problem occurs “when they do not know how to apply or where to go.”
4) With regards to kinship care, please describe what actions the Children’s Action Alliance advocated for (such as those in your February 2019 paper titled Safe is Safe) that have been adopted by the State Legislature over the last sessions?
• “ For the state fiscal year 2020, the legislature supported providing the $75.00 Kinship Stipend that all unlicensed kin caregivers now get whereas before they had to apply.”
• “ The Department of Child Safety has published a foster home licensing waiver policy: families can get licensed if they meet safety requirements but non-safety licensing requirements can be waived by DCS.”
• “They (DCS) have implemented a pilot program to have staff reach out to unlicensed kinship families upon a child’s placement to offer support and guidance, but the pilot is limited to a small percentage of families, and in general, is limited to the first three months of the case. In contrast, a licensed foster home receives staffing assistance from the foster home licensing agency throughout the life of a child’s placement.”
5) Looking towards 2020, what proposals concerning kinship care will the Alliance champion in discussions with the State Legislature, DCS, and Governors office?
• “We are looking to increase the kinship stipend from $75.00.”
• “We would like to get a quicker and more efficient process for unlicensed families to get TANF benefits.”
• “We would like to see DCS have more kinship specialists working with the unlicensed families.”
• “We would like the foster home licensing orientation and training to be specific to kinship care issues such as training for working with extended family members whose children are placed with kin caregivers .”
5a) What are the names of any legislators that the Alliance will partner with in advancing any legislative or gubernatorial proposals?
“We are in discussions with legislators to forward these ideas.”
6) Is there any information regarding kinship families that you would like the reader to know that has not been addressed in the previous questions?
“Research has proven that kids have much better life outcomes when they are placed with relatives that support their connections to their community and culture versus community foster parents they do not know or living in group homes.”
“We should provide parity for those kinship providers in line with those in licensed foster care. The financial support offered to the preferred placement with relatives is opposite of the current payment structure; DCS pays the preferred placement far less than what the licensed community foster homes receive.”
As 2019 ends and 2020 begins, the plight of vulnerable children must never be forgotten.
Making sure that all children are well cared for in nurturing and loving environments should be a major priority for all public servants.
Ensuring that children placed with kinship families are well provided for and given the financial and programmatic opportunities to thrive is one way the state government and all its departments can fulfill its obligations to our most vulnerable and make Arizona a beacon for hope in the country.
Featured Image from Raising Arizona Kids.
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