Across
the country, more than six million children -- approximately
1 in 12 children -- are living in households headed by grandparents
or other relatives. The District of Columbia 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.
A Look
at the Numbers: Kinship Care in Minnesota
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 |
| Minnesota |
45,217 |
17,682 |
| Minneapolis
city |
5,101 |
2,250 |
| St.
Paul city |
4,656 |
1,514 |
| Duluth
city |
489 |
226 |
*These data
are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile
Selected Social Characteristics: 2000.
Kinship
Care Initiatives in Minnesota
In Minnesota,
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.
Education,
Advocacy, Information, and Referrals: The Minnesota Kinship
Caregivers Association offers assistance to kinship caregivers
raising children outside of the foster care system by assisting
professionals and other individuals in developing programs
and services to help kinship care families. The association
provides public education on the issue of kinship care to
organizations and the legislature. It also provides information,
education, and referrals to kinship care families. Contact:
Christopher Clausen, Executive Director, Minnesota Kinship
Caregivers Association, at (651) 917-4640 or MKCAChris@aol.com.
Support
for Kinship Caregivers: The Arrowhead Agency on Aging
offers the Relatives as Parents program for kinship care providers.
The Agency provides a six-week educational program and support
group to discuss issues on child development, discipline,
and guidance. It also offers professional speakers from
the community as well as resources to address the needs and
concerns of kinship caregivers. The program also provides
legal assistance for kinship families. Contact:
Lisa Kuukari, Center Coordinator, at (218) 525-0808 or liisak@frcduluth.org.
Statewide
Network of Support Groups: Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
(LSS) is a statewide multi-service agency operating from
200 sites across the state. Its Grandparents Raising Grandkids
program provides support and education groups for relative
caregivers and supportive play-groups for the children they
are raising in six Minnesota counties: Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota,
Anoka, Blue Earth, and Sherburne. LSS, part of the Brookdale
Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) network and the Generations
United/Brookdale Mental Health Initiative, has expanded its
program to include age-appropriate play therapy groups for
the children in several of its locations. In addition, LSS
holds a Winter and Fall Retreat for its kinship care families.
Contact: Connie Booth, Program Manager of Lutheran Social
Service, at (612) 879-5352 or cbooth@lssmn.org.
Resource
Manual for Kinship Caregivers: The Legal Aid Society of
Minneapolis and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota offer
the Kinship Caregiver Resource Manual. Funded by the Minnesota
Department of Human Services, it contains statewide information
about legal options for kinship caregivers, permanency planning,
visitation, and public assistance programs. It also provides
a list of legal services, social service agencies, support
groups, national organizations, information and referral services,
and other appropriate Minnesota agencies. Contact: Laurie
Hanson, Kinship Expert, Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis,
at (612) 827-3774 or lhanson@midmnlegal.org.
Educational/Support
Program for Caregivers and Professionals: Raising Our Children’s
Kids (ROCK) offers educational/networking meetings for
kinship care families and professionals in Northern St. Louis
County. ROCK links new and experienced caregivers through
a peer counseling network to help provide support and guidance.
In addition, ROCK provides information, counseling, crisis
assistance, referrals, and family-oriented recreational activities
and improves the well-being of children in kinship care families
by linking them to youth development opportunities. ROCK also
increases the awareness of legal, educational and social service
professionals regarding kinship care issues by providing an
educational forum and participating in the annual St. Louis
County Human Services Conference and other informational sessions.
It also circulates a quarterly newsletter. Contact:
David Lind, ROCK Coordinator, at (218) 748-2294 or dlind@ngwmail.des.state.mn.us.
Support,
Advocacy, and Educational Services: Volunteers of America
of Minnesota is a national, non-profit social service agency
with a comprehensive package of services for older adults
in Minnesota. Its Grandparents as Parents (GAP) Program
assists grandparent and other relative caregivers and children
to improve family stability, security and well-being through
home visits, family crisis intervention, legal advocacy, referrals
to county and/or community resource providers, monthly distribution
of donated items, and support group/educational workshops.
Children are also provided with their own age-appropriate
workshops. Grandparents as Parents serves families in
Hennepin county. Contact: Brenda Hill, North Center
Director, at (612) 287-3501, or bhill@voamn.org.
Kinship
Care and Minnesota’s Foster Care System
Sometimes
children in the care of the states are placed in foster care
with grandparents or other relatives. In Minnesota,
the Department of Human Services, Children’s Services, Foster
Care Division reports:
Number
of children in kinship foster placements: As of December
31, 2000, there were 8,109 Minnesota children in out-of-home
placements under the Department’s supervision. Of these children,
1,540 (19%) were placed with kin.
Preference
for kinship placements: State policy requires that kin
be considered first for an out-of-home placement.
Licensing
for kinship foster parents: There is no separate licensing
program for kinship foster parents. Kin must meet the same
licensing standards and requirements and receive the same
foster care payment rate as non-kin.
Relative
Custody Assistance: 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. Minnesota has a Relative Custody Assistance program
that provides an ongoing permanency assistance payment to
eligible children in the foster care system whose relative
caregivers become their legal guardians. Adoption or
a return to the child’s parent must have been ruled out before
a child can be eligible for this program. (Minn.
Stat § 257.85). Contact: Laurie Ruhl, Program Advisor
for Adoption Assistance and Relative Custody Assistance, at
(651) 297-3636 or laurie.ruhl@state.mn.us.
State foster
care contact: Questions about kin foster care placements should
be directed to Deborah Beske-Brown, Department of Human Services,
Family and Children’s Services Division, at (651) 296-4309
or Deborah.beske.brown@state.mn.us.
Other Supports
for Minnesota 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 other relative caregivers through the General Assistance
Program or the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP)
Child-Only Grant. Kinship care families may also be eligible
for food stamps to help meet their children’s food and nutrition
needs. For more information about the General Assistance Program,
call (651) 296-1476 or log on to http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/ecs/Program/general.htm.
For more information on MFIP, call
(651) 296-1476 or log on to
· http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/ecs/program/mfipminn.htm.
Health
insurance: Grandparents and other relative caregivers
may apply for Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare on behalf
of a child they are raising. The Medical Assistance Program,
which is administered at the county level, has a slightly
more comprehensive benefits package than MinnesotaCare.
Kinship caregivers may also be eligible for health insurance
under Medicaid. For more information about how to apply
for Medical Assistance, call your local county office. To
apply for MinnesotaCare, relative caregivers should call 1-800-657-3672.
To learn more about both programs, kinship care families may
log on to http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/hlthcare/.
State Laws
and Policies
Sometimes
kinship caregivers find it difficult to obtain services their
children need, such as medical care or education. In addition
to the state’s child guardianship and custody laws, the following
laws may be helpful to kinship caregivers1:
Stand-by
Guardianship (Minn. Stat. § 257 B): This law
allows parents with legal and physical custody or legal custodians
to provide written documentation designating another adult
as the standby or alternate custodian of their child, in the
event of death or incapacity. The stand-by custodian
is given the same responsibilities and has the same standing
in court as a parent. The alternate custodian assumes the
rights and responsibilities of the stand-by custodian if the
stand-by custodian were to become unable or unwilling to fulfill
the obligation of custodian.
De Facto
Custodian (Minn. Stat. § 257C): This law gives certain
third parties who have assumed the full-time care of a child
the opportunity to approach the court in a custody case on
an equal basis with parents when certain criteria are met.
