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 Nevada
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 |
| Nevada |
45,286 |
18,685 |
| Las
Vegas city |
12,303 |
4,812 |
| Paradise
CDP |
4,001 |
1,565 |
| Reno
city |
3,194 |
1,292 |
| Carson
City |
843 |
346 |
*These data
are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile
Selected Social Characteristics: 2000.
Kinship
Care Initiatives in Nevada
In Nevada,
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.
Grassroots
Coalition of Grandparent Caregivers: Grandparents as Parents
of Nevada began as a support group for Nevada grandparents
and other relatives raising children. The group also
provides information about public benefits and other programs
available to kinship care families. More recently, the
group was instrumental in the passage of Nevada’s first subsidized
guardianship program for children raised by kin in the child
welfare system (see the “subsidized guardianship” section
below for a description of this program). Contact: Jane
Horner, Founder, Grandparents as Parents of Nevada, at (702)
293-0890 or rteb@lasvegas.net.
Kinship
Care and Nevada’s Foster Care System
Sometimes
children in the care of the states are placed in foster care
with grandparents or other relatives. In Nevada, the
Department of Human Resources, Division of Child and Family
Services reports:
Number
of children in out-of-home placements: As of January 2001,
there were 2,664 children in out-of-home placements. Of these
children, 344 children (13%) were placed with kin, who are
called “Parent-Relative Guardians” in Nevada.
Preference
for kinship placements: State policy requires that kin
be considered first when an out-of-home placement is sought
for a child under the Department’s care.
Licensing
for kinship foster parents: Kinship caregivers are assessed
based on the same standards as non-kin foster parents, but
DHS may modify or waive one or more standards that do not
affect the safety of the child on a case-by-case basis.
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. Nevada recently established a subsidized guardianship
program for children inside or outside of the child welfare
system who have been living with a relative caregiver for
at least six months. The relative caregiver must be
at least 62 years of age and have legal guardianship of the
child. The monthly subsidy is funded through Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funds and the payments
are 90% of the foster care rate. (NV A.B. 15) Contact: Kathleen
Shane, Division of Child and Family Services, at (775) 684-4450
or klshane@dcfs.state.nv.us.
State foster
care contact: Questions about kinship foster placements
should be directed to Kathleen Shane, Division of Child and
Family Services, at (775) 684-4450 or klshane@dcfs.state.nv.us.
Other Supports
for Nevada 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 Nevada Temporary
Assistance to Needy Family Assistance (TANF) 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 (775) 684-0500
or (775) 684-0570 or log on to http://www.welfare.state.nv.us/welfare.htm.
Contact: Vicki Kemp, Program Specialist, Nevada State
Welfare Division, at (775) 684-0624 or vkemp@welfare.state.nv.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 Nevada
Medicaid and Nevada Check Up programs. In some cases,
caregivers may also be eligible for free health coverage.
For more information about how to apply for Medicaid, call
(775) 684-0500 or (775) 684-0570 or log on to http://www.welfare.state.nv.us/welfare.htm.
For information on the Nevada Check Up Program, call 1-800-360-6044
or log on to http://www.welfare.state.nv.us/welfare.htm.
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
law may be helpful to kinship caregivers1:
Medical
Consent (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 129.040): This law allows
any person standing in loco parentis to consent to medical
care on behalf of a child: (1) after the treatment provider
has made a reasonable attempt to contact the child’s parents
or legal guardian and that person cannot be contacted; and
(2) if the parents or legal guardian has not given the treatment
provider notice that they oppose the treatment.
