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. Connecticut has more than 113,000
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 Connecticut 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 Connecticut
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 |
| Location |
# |
# |
| United
States |
5,771,671 |
2,426,730 |
| Connecticut |
55,489 |
18,898 |
| Bridgeport
city |
4,485 |
1,757 |
| New
Haven city |
2,988 |
1,641 |
| Hartford
city |
4,365 |
2,157 |
*This
data are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile
Selected Social Characteristics: 2000.
Kinship Care
Initiatives in Connecticut
In Connecticut,
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/
The Connecticut
Department of Social Services, Elderly Division runs a Grandparents
as Parents Support (GAPS) program for kinship caregivers
throughout the state. The program has created a statewide
network of more than 75 agencies and organizations that provide
services to kinship care families. While it does not
provide direct services, the program has provided seed money
to several communities to begin kinship care support groups.
It also provides education, technical assistance, and information
and referrals to a range of different service providers and
programs. Contact: Erica Michalowski, Field Representative,
at (860) 424-5233 or erica.michalowski@po.state.ct.us.
The Area
Agencies on Aging (AAA) provides some services to grandparent
caregiver families through the National Family Caregiver
Program initiated by Older American Act funds that are
administered in conjunction with the Department of Social
Services Elderly Services Division. Contact one of the
following five AAAs to find out about more services: North
Central Area Agency on Aging (203) 724-6443, Southwestern
Connecticut Area Agency on Aging (203) 333-9288, Western
Connecticut AAA (203) 757-5449, South Central
Connecticut Area Agency (203) 933-5431, Senior Resources
of Eastern Connecticut (860) 887-3561.
Legal Services
for Connecticut Kinship Care Families: Connecticut Legal
Services offers legal education and outreach to support groups
for kinship care families, and individual legal representation
and advice to eligible kinship care families across Connecticut
in the areas of family, housing, SSI, public benefits, special
education, and elder law. Connecticut Legal Services
currently has offices in Bridgeport, New Britain, Middletown,
New London, Stamford, Waterbury, and Willimantic. Contact:
Karen Sears, Staff Attorney, at (860) 447-0323 x109 or ksears@connlegalservices.org.
Reaching
out to kinship caregivers in New Haven:
The Consultation
Center of New Haven offers the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Program. The program provides a monthly support
group with child care, information and referrals, a quarterly
newsletter, respite activities for children and grandparents,
and education programs for caregivers and the community.
In addition, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren works with
other organizations to promote legislative changes for kinship
care families. Contact: Barbara Abraham, Coordinator of Elderly
Programs, or Lisa Winters, at (203) 789-7645 or babrahams@theconsultationcenter.org.
The Consultation Center’s website may be reached at http://www.theconsultationcenter.org.
The Village
Grandparents Support Group offers a support group at the
Varick Family Life Center in New Haven. Contact:
Doris Little at (203) 407-3172.
New Haven
Board of Education Social Development Department sponsors
a support group called Grandparents on the Move that
meets every month at the East Rock Magnet School. Contact:
Carolyn Jackson at (203) 946-7444.
The Wexler
Family Resource Center in New Haven, is a family services
agency which, in addition to other programs, provides supports
and services to kinship caregivers. These services include
grandparent support groups, classes and workshops, home visits,
services for school age children, and referrals. Contact:
Aisha Black, Site Coordinator, at (203) 946-6921 or aishablack@hotmail.com.
Three other
family resource centers in New Haven provide similar services.
Contacts: Elisha Brown at The Katherine Brennan Family
Resource Center at (203) 946-6167; Wanda Marino
at The Strong Family Resource Center at (203) 946-2351;
Lysie Rodriguez at The Hill Central Family Resource Center
at (203) 946-5646. The Strong and Hill Central Family
Resource Centers have Spanish-speaking staff.
CIWI (Coordinated
Interventions for Women and Infants) program offered by Yale
Child Study Center provides outreach and counseling to relative
caregivers who qualify for the program and also offers a support
group at the Westville Senior Center. Contact: Debbie
Horvath or Betty Ellis at (203) 785-6862.
Reaching
out to kinship caregivers in Hartford: The City of Hartford
Human Services Department offers the Grandparent Program.
The program provides support services to grandparents who
are raising their grandchildren. These services include
monthly educational workshops, counseling, case management,
and referral services. Contact: Elby Gonzalez-Schwapp,
Coordinator, at (860) 547-1426 x7572 or at ElbyGonzalezSchwapp@ci.hartford.ct.us.
The Salvation
Army Community Services Department sponsors the Parents
the Second Time Around Program. The program provides
support groups, educational workshops, counseling and case
management services, respite, family recreation, and a monthly
newsletter for kinship care families. The program has also
recently been involved in legislative advocacy, primarily
related to the issue of subsidized guardianship legislation.
Contact: Milagros Marrero-Johnson, Director, at (860) 953-0641
(ext. 10) or at milagros_johnson@use.salvationarmy.org.
The Family
Resource Center offers services and supports to parents,
relative caregivers and children in Southwest Hartford. Some
of the services provided include tutoring for children, conferences,
and classes for parents and kinship caregivers, and support
to help grandparents become more involved with Parent Teacher
Organizations. The Family Resource Center has Spanish-speaking
staff and serves a largely Hispanic population. Contact:
Omar Rivera at (860) 695-3760 or at hooker@hartfordschools.org
(include the name of Mr. Rivera in the subject line of the
e-mail).
Kinship
Care and Connecticut’s Foster Care System
Sometimes
children in the care of the states are placed in foster care
with grandparents or other relatives. In Connecticut,
the Department of Children and Families reports:
Number
of children in kinship foster care placements: As of December
31, 2001, the Department of Children and Families had a total
of 6,624 children in out-of-home placements. Of these children,
1,161 (17.5%) were placed with kin.
Preference
for kinship placements: State policy requires that kin
be sought out and given preference as a placement option when
an out-of-home placement is needed for a child under the Department’s
care.
Licensing
for kinship foster parents: There is no separate licensing
program for kinship foster parents. In general, kin
have to meet the same licensing standards and requirements
as non-kin foster parents, except for the training requirement
which the department can waive on a case-by-case basis.
Kin and non-kin foster parents receive the same foster care
payment rate.
Subsidized
Guardianship: 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. Connecticut’s subsidized guardianship program is
available for a child placed for at least 12 months with a
licensed or certified relative upon recommendation of the
permanency placement team (DCF Policy 41-50-3 and Conn. Gen.
Stat. § 17a-126). Contact: Carolyn Phillips, Program
Supervisor, DCF Office of Foster and Adoption Services, at
(860) 550-6400 or carolyn.phillips@po.state.ct.us.
State foster
care contact: Questions about kinship foster care placements
should be directed to Carolyn Phillips, Program Supervisor,
DCF Office of Foster and Adoption Services, at (860) 550-6400
or Carolyn.Phillips@po.state.ct.us.
Training
and support for kinship foster parents: Relative caregivers
will soon be expected to receive 15 hours of pre-licensing
training and are currently invited and encouraged to attend
post-licensing training. Each relative also has an assigned
DCF Support Worker who will work with them to obtain support
services, if needed, and assist them with negotiating the
foster care system. In addition, the Connecticut Association
of Foster and Adoptive Parents (CAFAP) provides additional
support services for relative and non-relative caregivers.
Contact: Jean Fiorito at (860) 258-3400.
Support
group for kinship foster parents: The Village for Families
and Children provides a monthly support group for relatives
raising kin who are in foster care or at risk of entering
the foster care system in the greater Hartford area.
With the help of guest speakers and agency staff, caregivers
receive information about permanency options, referrals, and
resources that are available to them. Child care is
available during the groups. Contact: Dr. Shi-Jiuan
Wu, Vice-President, Outpatient Mental Health Services, at
(860) 236-4511.
Other Supports
for Connecticut 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 examples of these programs include:
Cash assistance:
Cash assistance may be available to children and their grandparents
and relative caregivers through the Connecticut Temporary
Family Assistance (TFA) 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, call 1-800-842-1508 or log on to http://www.dss.state.ct.us/welfare.htm.
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 Connecticut HUSKY
Program. In some cases, caregivers may also be eligible
for free Medicaid coverage. For more information about
how to apply for HUSKY call 1-877-CT-HUSKY (1-877-284-8759)
or log on to http://www.huskyhealth.com.
State Laws
and Policies
Sometimes
kinship caregivers find it difficult to obtain services their
children need, such as medical care or school enrollment.
The Connecticut Commission on Children can provide
general information about legislative issues related to kinship
care. Contact: Tom Brooks, Research Analyst, at (860)
240-0290 or thomas.brooks@po.state.ct.us.
In addition
to this resource, the following laws may be helpful to kinship
caregivers1:
Educational
Consent (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 10-253): This law states
that children living with relatives and non-relatives can
receive the same educational services as all other children
in the school district. The district may require documentation
that the child’s residence with the relative is “permanent,
provided without pay, and not for the sole purpose of obtaining
school accommodations provided without pay.”
Standby
Guardianship (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-624):
This law states that a parent or guardian can name a standby
guardian or person who will take over the care of a child
if and when a parent becomes mentally incapacitated, debilitated,
or dies.
Questions
about this fact sheet or recommendations for additions to
future versions should be submitted to Roseana Bess, The Urban
Institute, at rbess@ui.urban.org.
