Papa and I began "Raising H.", our Grandson, when he was 2 years old. It became painfully obvious right from the beginning that Relative/Kinship and Grandparent Families were not given the same consideration as other Resource Families. In fact, if they were not involved with the child welfare system they were not recognized at all by the State. In the 2005 a Detroit Senator introduce a bill designed to support Kinship families which passed in the Michigan Senate, but it had the misfortune of reaching the House at the same time that Michigan DHS lost a lawsuit over children in care. The Federal Government stepped in and offered matching funding if the bill was changed so that only those children that were already in the foster care system or were removed from their parental home by child welfare and placed by court order with relatives who were able to become licensed by the State of Michigan would receive reimbursements and subsidies. In order for the the relative to be licensed, a case had to be opened and the criteria for placement met. This eliminated the very families the author of the bill set out to help. Many relatives "rescued" the children before the inevitable "something" that had to happen before protective services stepped in. Many other relatives had the children placed in their care by parents before removal took place to avoid child welfare &; prosecution themselves . And then, there are the relatives who were contacted by the department and were told that if they applied for guardianship on their own the children would not become "lost" to the system, and the family would not face the possibility of never seeing them again. Many relatives signed waivers to avoid placing the children in care for just that reason. I was told they would just contact Grandsons Mother and tell her to come and get her child. I knew she was not ready for that or she would not have left him in the first place. If a case was never opened against the parents, or it was closed, then the State avoided having any responsibility to support the child through foster care reimbursement. The State can still save money and comply with the mandates of the law suit. Michigan does not participate in subsidized guardianship. To be clear, there is formal and informal kinship. Formal has child welfare and court involvement, has the option to Foster, and receive support. Informal, what I had, is without the States' involvement and without support.
I became an advocate because I had asked questions in the beginning, but I was not given any of this information , which seems to be true for most relative caregivers. . Unfortunately, once guardianship is in place, it is too late to explore your options and have a chance to do things differently. You cannot surrender your guardianship once it is in place without the risk of being charged with neglect/abuse yourself for abandoning your parental obligation. Families should be given all their options in order to make an informed decision based on the needs of the child and their family.
The first thing I did was join a support group, which I recommend, and learned my situation was not unique in that most of the other relative caregivers (in this case Grandparents), were not receiving any assistance from the State either. I started speaking to candidates who were running in the next election and put together a forum of other kinship support group members, the Probate Judge, Michigan State University Kinship Resource and two representatives. The only one who did not bother to attend was my local Department of Human Services. I wrote letters and made phone calls asking for help in finding solutions to the complex problems Kinship families face. I went to Michigan Association of Foster Adoptive and Kinship Parents annual conference because they had Kinship in their name, the only one I could find in Michigan. They did not have anyone representing Kinship, so I became the Kinship Chair. I am now the coordinator of the support group I first attended and have helped other areas start groups. I attend functions at other Kinship groups in Michigan and we share information. I am online, a lot, with other kinship caregivers. I speak to any group that will listen and present workshops and trainings to help bring awareness to professionals and people who come in contact with this under served yet rapidly increasing population. In March, I and another trainer from MSU will be doing a presentation to the Foster Navigators because of the increasing numbers of calls from relative families asking how they can find assistance and they dont have the information. There is a Kinship Navigator program available from the Federal Government, but it is up to the individual State to apply for it. Michigan has not. I also sit on a panel for the Child Welfare Training Institute for new child welfare workers and give them an overview of Kinship.
Michigan is not the only State that fails to provide support and services for Kinship families . It is a problem in the majority of States in the Country. To give credit, there are a few who recognize the importance of helping relative families, and these are the States we need to learn from as to how they are accomplishing it. One thing most of them have in common is a solid Navigator program, staffed with those who have a strong passion for Kinship.
This is the time of year when conferences and events are being announced. For me its like getting a Christmas catalog in the mail. I want, I want, I want. There are 3National Conferences this year that are very important, each for a different reason but with strong kinship interest. I will put them on my wish list along with The National Committee of Grandparents for Children's rights and Generations United both in Washington DC.
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The first of my list is the Child Welfare League of America. Its in Washington DC in April. They have three Kinship specific workshops I need to attend about how other States are working with Kinship families, and the results of a Kinship Summit in 2011. There are two women who have worked on a new manual for the CWLA for working with Kinship Families that I have e-mailed with, but not met. Very important information to present to the State of Michigan.
The second one is the National Foster Parent Association Conference in Long Beach California in June. Late last summer the NFPA posted a request for someone to chair a sub-committee on Kinship under Diversity. They were looking into ways their organization might be able to support Kinship Families, whether to make a position statement, and possibly a full committee. I jumped at the chance. At their mid-year meeting in September, they were not leaning toward making a statement for kinship. I want to be there, armed with my reports, and try to convince them how important a kinship statement from them would be. It would be like an endorsement. But I need more networking, more data, more connections. More families willing to come forward.
The third one is North American Council on Adoptive Children held this year in Toronto. I applied to do a workshop for that one on family relationships in relative adoptions. Although not a professional, and having a difficult time coming up with documentation (because there isnt any), I can certainly speak with experience from my heart and maybe help someone else that is struggling. . I have made friends at NACAC and they always have an excellent agenda for trainings.
I will be able to attend MAFAK's Conference in Lansing because I am a member of the board and I am a presenter again this year. Unfortunately, all but my stipend for my support group are volunteer positions. Travel, lodging and registration fees are expensive on a fixed income. My time, my gas, my credit card. I need to find sponsorship that will help me get to these conferences and events. Someone that believes in the importance of relatives raising relative children. There are many grassroots movements working for kinship but very little funding is available. There are many more associations, collaborations and organizations that support Foster care and Kinship care should be a part that. If anyone has the opportunity to attend a State Training Conference, I encourage you to go.
Advocating also means being there for families who need information and support for themselves. Most have never been involved with the courts or DHS, protective services, mental health or the school systems. I never had, but I have now and I am willing to share my experiences with them. They need to know the steps to take for these children because by the time they come into care, they have most likely suffered trauma/attachment issues from neglect and/or abuse. They come into the home with behavioral problems, spectrum disorders, learning disabilities and physical handicaps. Relative families need the same training, support and education that Foster parents need to help them heal.
At a recruitment and retention of foster families meeting with DHS I ask about informal kinship families and what is being done to support them. I was told that the Departments concern was with licensed kinship families only as they were considered foster families. Go back and get our foster license. I explained that the majority of kinship families have not been able to do that.
the answer was that DHS was not obligated nor legally mandated to work with or support unlicensed or informal kinship.The law would have to be changed first. My question is-----what about a moral obligation-------to keep children with family by supporting them in any way they can.
The goal in all of this work is for all families who care for a child they did not give birth to be of equal standing in order to be successful. No separations between foster adoptive and kinship families. Every family should receive the same reimbursement, have the same access to trainings, have the benefit of a case manager, be able to qualify for assistance if needed, be able to obtain medical coverage. Especially medical care. Many caregiver parents fear they will get sick and without health care, not be able to care for the children. Its a reasonable fear especially for Grandparents.
All kinship families need to bond together if change is to happen. It is difficult to count how many kinship caregivers there are because they are not a part of any system. Most of our legislators are unaware, or uneducated in matters of kinship. The general public thinks that we are supported the same as foster care . Many caregivers are reluctant to speak about their private family situations. There is fear of the children being removed from their care. But until more people become involved and work to bring awareness to our law makers, nothing will change. After being with us for over 4 years, our adoption was finalized on September 27, 2012, after exhausting every avenue I could try to at least qualify him for a medical subsidy. Maybe the next Grandparent to adopt a grandchild will be able to receive adoption assistance, an adoption subsidy for the child with special needs, the assurance that child will have medical coverage , be able to receive post adoption services, and qualify for the Federal adoption tax refund. That would be nice.
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