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 Oklahoma
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 |
| Oklahoma |
67,194 |
39,279 |
| Oklahoma
City |
10,136 |
5,218 |
| Tulsa
city |
6,092 |
3,482 |
| Norman
city |
1,052 |
465 |
*These data
are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile
Selected Social Characteristics: 2000.
Kinship
Care Initiatives in Oklahoma
In Oklahoma,
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.
Statewide
Kinship Care Initiative: The Oklahoma Department of Human
Services, Aging Services Division, has established a statewide
Grandparents Initiative that has three main components. The
first is an annual statewide conference for Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren sponsored in partnership with the Oklahoma Department
of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Oklahoma Disabilities
Council, Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, the
Older Women’s Initiative, and the AARP. The initiative
also offers a resource guide, Starting Points for Grandparents
Raising Grandchildren, and a Grandparent’s Information Clearinghouse,
the Oklahoma Area-wide Service Information System (OASIS),
toll-free at 1(800)- 42-OASIS. Contact: Judy Leitner, Director
of Community Relations, at (405) 522-4510 or judy.leitner@okdhs.org.
Lifespan
Respite Care: The Oklahoma Department of Human Services,
Aging Services Division has also helped to develop a Lifespan
Respite Program for a wide range of caregivers, including
grandparents and other relatives raising children. The
program has a simple application process and relatively few
guidelines. To qualify, the caregiver must have an annual
income of $60,000 or less. Once the caregivers are approved
for respite, the Department of Human Services issues a voucher
that can be used to purchase respite services from the caregiver
of their choice. The program also publishes and makes
available a Respite Guide for Families and Providers, which
provides assistance on selecting providers. Contact:
Marilyn Alexander, Programs Manager II, at (405) 521-4368
or Marilyn.Alexander@okdhs.org.
Kinship
Care and Oklahoma’s Foster Care System
Sometimes
children in the care of the states are placed in foster care
with grandparents or other relatives. In Oklahoma, the
Department of Human Services, Children and Family Services
Division reports:
Number of
children in kinship foster placements: As of April 12, 2002,
the Department of Human Services had a total of 8,983 children
in out-of-home placements. Of these children, 2,792 (31%)
were placed with kin.
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. The kinship
caregiver must have had a relationship with the child and
family prior to the child needing an out-of-home placement.
Approval
for kinship foster parents: There is no separate approval
process for kinship foster parents. Kin have to meet
the same approval standards and requirements as non-kin foster
parents, but the child welfare agency may waive the space
standards for kin. Licensed kin receive the same foster
care payment rate as non-kin foster parents.
Oklahoma
Department of Human Services Supported Permanency: For
relatives within the fifth degree of relationship who have
been caring for a child in child welfare custody and receiving
a foster care payment, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services
(DHS) offers a Supported Permanency option. This option
is only available if: 1) the child (or one child of a sibling
group) is 12 years or older; 2) the relative meets the specified
degree of relationship, is an approved DHS placement and
lives in Oklahoma; 3) the child(ren), relative, and
court are in agreement as to the guardianship; and 4) all
other permanency options are ruled out and the case plan goal
is long term out-of-home care. Assistance with the costs of
filing for guardianship also are provided (OAC 340:75-6-31.4
et. seq., Oklahoma Children's Code). Contact: Amy White,
Permanency Planning Programs Manager, at (918) 599-8894 or
Amy.White@okdhs.org.
State foster
care contact: Questions about kinship foster placements
should
be directed to Marilyn Alexander,
Programs Manager II, Resource Unit/Foster Care
at (405) 521-4368 or Marilyn.Alexander@okdhs.org.
Training
and support for kinship foster parents: The Children and
Family Services Division provides Oklahoma Parents as Tender
Healers (OK PATH) training. It is a program for the training,
assessment, and selection of prospective kinship, foster,
and adoptive resource parents. Contact: Marilyn Alexander,
Programs Manager II, Resource Unit/Foster Care at Marilyn.Alexander@okdhs.org.
There is
a Foster Parent Statewide Hotline to assist all foster
parents, including relative caregivers. A contracted
foster parent serves as the foster parent liaison to answer
questions and provide support and resource information. The
liaison can provide the state and county foster parent associations'
numbers and addresses. Contact: 1-800-376-9729.
Support
group for kinship foster parents: Oklahoma State University
(OSU) Foundation in partnership with the OSU Gerontology Institute
provides a bi-monthly support group for relatives raising
kin who are in foster care or at risk of entering the foster
care system. In addition to the support group, caregivers
receive information on public benefits, resources, legal options,
and parenting skills. Child care is available during
support group meetings. Contact: Claire Dowers, Coordinator,
Gerontology Institute, at (405) 744-4945 or dowers@okstate.edu.
Other Supports
for Oklahoma 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:
The Relative
Support Program: Through the Relative Support Program,
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services Family Support Division
provides assistance statewide to eligible relatives within
the fifth degree of relationship to a child for whom they
are caring on a full-time basis, regardless of the legal status
of the child to the relative. The Program is a flexible
voucher program aimed at preventing child welfare involvement.
In addition to the child-only grant, Medicaid, and child care,
funds are available for such things as: school supplies, activity
fees, clothing, shelter-related expenses, legal issues related
to obtaining guardianship or legal custody, and counseling
services for the child or caregiver. Contact: Call your
local Department of Human Services office for more information
or visit http://www.okdhs.org/icounties/default.asp
to find your local office.
Cash assistance:
Cash assistance may be available to children and their grandparents
and other relative caregivers through the Oklahoma Temporary
Assistance to Needy Families (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 (405) 521-4391 or log
on to http://www.okdhs.org.
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 Sooner Care.
In some cases, caregivers may also be eligible for free coverage
under Medicaid. For more information about how to apply
for Sooner Care, call 1-800-987-7767 or log on to http://www.ohca.state.ok.us/consumer/.
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:
Medical
Consent (Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 170.1):
This law allows a parent or other person with legal custody
or guardianship to authorize, in writing, any adult person
caring for the child to consent to medical or dental treatment
(Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 10, § 21.6). This law states
that any relative, related to a child within the third degree,
who has permanent care and custody of the child has the same
rights to authorize medical care, dental care, and school-related
medical care (e.g., immunizations, physicals) as are given
to legal guardians if: 1) the relative completes the relative
caregiver’s authorization affidavit; 2) the child is residing
full-time with the relative and the relative contributes the
most support for the child; and 3) the parent(s) have expressed
no intent to return for the child and the relative is unable
to contact the parent(s). The affidavit is not valid
for more than one year, unless the relative has legal custody.
Education
Consent (Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 70, § 1-113):
This law states that each school district may, but is not
required to, allow for the establishment of a child’s residency
by affidavit. The child may be enrolled in school when
an adult who resides in the school district and has assumed
permanent care and custody of the child files an affidavit
with the school district. The adult does not have to
have formal legal custody of the child.
