State Fact Sheet

Across the country, more than six million children -- approximately 1 in 12 children -- are living in households headed by grandparents or other relatives.  Alaska has nearly 11,000 children living in households headed by grandparents or other relatives.  In many of these households, grandparents and other relatives are the primary caregivers (“kinship caregivers”) for children whose parents cannot or will not care for them due to substance abuse, illness and death, abuse and neglect, economic hardship, incarceration, divorce, domestic violence, and other family and community crises. 
In response to the growing numbers of these kinship care families, state legislatures, public and private agencies, and grassroots coalitions in Alaska and across the country have begun to expand services and supports for children living with kin inside and outside of the foster care system. 

A Look at the Numbers: Kinship Care in Alaska 

The data below show the numbers of grandparents who are living in households with at least one grandchild under the age of 18, as well as the numbers of grandparents who are the primary caregivers for these grandchildren. These numbers were reported by the 2000 U.S. Census and are available for every place (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau) in the country, including cities, towns, villages, and boroughs, on the U.S. Census website.*
 

Grandparents Living in Households with One or More Own Grandchildren Under 18  Grandparents Responsible for Meeting the Basic Needs of Grandchildren 

	Grandparents Living in Households with One or More Own Grandchildren Under 18	Grandparents Responsible for Meeting the Basic Needs of Grandchildren
Location	#	#
United States	5,771,671	2,426,730
Alaska	10,423	5,419
Anchorage municipality	3,847	1,719
Juneau city and borough	365	174
Fairbanks city	347	177

*These data are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile Selected Social Characteristics: 2000. The U.S. Census website is http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet. Detailed instructions on how to access this data can be found at http://www.casey.org/cnc/quick_facts/kinship_care_state_data.htm.
 

Kinship Care Initiatives in Alaska
In Alaska, public and private agencies and grassroots coalitions of grandparents and other relative caregivers have begun working together to expand the services available to kinship caregivers who are caring for children outside of the foster care system. 

Several of the major kinship care programs and supports are listed below. Additional support groups can be found through the AARP Grandparent Information Center Database. Call 1-800-424-3410, e-mail information requests to gic@aarp.org, or search AARP’s online kinship care support group database at http://www.aarp.org/grandparents/searchsupport/. 

Additional state and national kinship care resources and supports are available on the Generations United website at http://www.gu.org, and GrandsPlace at http://www.grandsplace.org and Grandparent Again at http://www.grandparentagain.com, two websites coordinated by grandparents raising grandchildren. 

Support and Recreational Services for Kinship Care Families: Volunteers of America has recently assumed responsibility for a ten-year old program known as No Empty Nest. This program provides a monthly newsletter, runs support groups, and provides individual counseling services for kinship care families in the Anchorage area. In addition, No Empty Nest has run a winter camp for the last five years that includes kinship caregivers and the children in their care. Contact: Pat Cochran, Director of Prevention Services, Volunteers of America, at (907) 279-9646 or voaak@ak.net.

Training, Mentoring, and Support Services: Parents, Inc. provides services to those families, including kinship care families, who have children with disabilities or those who are at risk of developing disabilities including mental health and behavioral disorders. Many parents and caregivers utilize the support group services delivered through Parents Anonymous, parent and caregiver training activities offered under IDEA-US Office of Special Education Programs, and the Parent-to-Parent mentor network. Parents, Inc. provides training, mentoring, and support services throughout the state, with main offices in Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. Contact: Shawnee Hart at (907) 337-7678 or shawneehart@parentsinc.org.

Kinship Care and Alaska’s Foster Care System

Sometimes children in the care of the states are placed in foster care with grandparents or other relatives.  In Alaska, the Division of Family and Youth Services (DFYS) reports: 
Number of children in kinship foster care placements: As of April 1, 2002, Alaska DFYS had a total of 1,848 children in out-of-home-placements. Of these children, 596 (32.3%) were placed with kin. (This number includes both licensed and unlicensed relative foster homes.) 

Preference for kinship placements: Alaska law requires that kin be considered first when an out-of-home placement is sought for an abused or neglected child. 

Licensing for kinship foster parents: There is no separate licensing program for kinship foster parents.  Kin have to meet the same licensing standards and training requirements and receive the same foster care payment rate as non-kin foster parents.  In some cases, however, the state will reimburse non-licensed kin for certain one-time expenses related to the care of the child.  It also provides some training opportunities to non-licensed relative caregivers. 

Guardianship subsidies: In addition to foster care payments and other benefits available to kin raising children in the foster care system, some states also have subsidized guardianship programs. Alaska has a subsidized guardianship program that allows the state to make subsidy payments to relative and non-relative guardians of children who are in state custody at the time the guardianship plan is made.  The state may only award the subsidy if guardianship is the permanent plan for the child, the subsidy is recommended by the DFYS Permanency Planning Conference Team, the child meets the other established criteria, and the family has an approved guardianship study. (AK Stat. §§. 13.26.062, 25.23.190-25.23.240 and 47.14.100. Regs. at AK Admin. Cd., Volume 7, Sec. 53-200-53.250) Contact: Tracy Spartz Campbell, State Office Adoption Coordinator, at (907) 465-3631 or tracy_spartzcampbell@health.state.ak.us. 

State foster care contact: Questions about kinship foster care placements should be directed to Izabel Bowers at (907) 465-2218 or izabel_bowers@health.state.ak.us.

Training and support for kinship foster parents: Alaska contracts with the Alaska Foster Parent Training Center, a private non-profit organization, to provide training opportunities for all foster parents in the state.  The training center has numerous training materials and self-study library materials that provide specific information about relative foster care. The training center is also active in establishing and maintaining community support groups for all foster parents, including relative caregivers. Contact: Deborah Hayes, Director, at (907) 479-7307 or 1-800-478-7307. 

Other Supports for Alaska Kinship Care Families

Children raised by kinship caregivers are often eligible for a range of state and federal programs. In most cases, kinship caregivers may apply for these programs on a child’s behalf even though they are not the child’s parents or legal guardians.  Some of these programs include: 
Cash assistance: Cash assistance may be available to children and their grandparents and other relative caregivers through the Alaska Temporary Assistance Program (ATAP) program.  Kinship care families may also be eligible for food stamps to help meet their children’s food and nutrition needs.  For more information about these programs, contact (907) 465-3347 or log on to http://www.hss.state.ak.us. 

Health insurance: Grandparents and other relative caregivers may apply for free or low-cost health insurance on behalf of the children they are raising through the Denali KidCare program.  In some cases, caregivers may also be eligible for free or low-cost coverage through Medicaid.  For more information about how to apply for Denali KidCare, call toll-free 1-888-318-8890 or, in Anchorage, (907) 269-6529. Visit the Denali KidCare website at http://hss.state.ak.us/dma/DenaliKidCare.

State Laws and Policies
Alaska currently does not have any additional state laws in effect specifically directed at kinship care families. 
Questions about this fact sheet or recommendations for additions to future versions should be submitted to Jen Agosti, Casey Family Programs National Center for Resource Family Support (CNC), at (202) 467-4441 or Jagosti@casey.org.