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 Rhode Island
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 |
| Rhode
Island |
16,957 |
5,060 |
| Providence
city |
3,322 |
1,219 |
| Warwick
city |
1,389 |
376 |
| Cranston
city |
1,283 |
386 |
*These data
are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile
Selected Social Characteristics: 2000.
Kinship
Care Initiatives in Rhode Island
In Rhode Island,
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
for Kinship Caregivers: The City of Warwick Senior
Services and Youth Division offers the Kincare Alliance for
kinship care providers in the city and surrounding areas.
The program provides education training and support services
for kinship care families. It also hosts recreational
activities and offers social services to address the needs
and concerns of kinship care providers. Contact:
Gloria Fairbanks, Youth Program Coordinator, at (401) 732-7832.
A Network
of Kinship Care Supports: The Rhode Island Department
of Elderly Affairs, Relatives as Parents Statewide Initiative
has formed an intergovernmental task force to establish five
new kinship support groups across Rhode Island. The task force,
which consists of 15 members with broad representation from
the child and aging service networks, also meets monthly to
identify supports needed by the families and to develop a
model curriculum for use by support groups. The task force
welcomes community partners and offers additional grants to
expand the number of available support groups. Contact: Lisa
D’Agostino, Department of Elderly Affairs, at (401) 222-2894
ext. #319 or lisadag@dea.state.ri.us.
.
Kinship Care and Rhode Island’s
Foster Care System
Sometimes
children in the care of the states are placed in foster care
with grandparents or other relatives. In Rhode Island,
the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) reports:
Number
of children in kinship foster placements: As of April
2002, there were 2,322 children in out-of-home placements
under the DCYF’s supervision. Of these children, 490 (21%)
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 DCYF’s care. State law further requires
that the department’s social workers search for kin and assess
possible kinship placements during the first 30 days that
the case is open.
Licensing
for kinship foster parents: There is no separate licensing
program for kinship foster parents. Kin have to meet
the same licensing standards and requirements and receive
the same foster care payment rate as non-kin foster parents.
Subsidized
Guardianship: In addition to foster care payments and
other benefits available to kin raising children in foster
care, some states also have subsidized guardianship programs.
Rhode Island has a policy memorandum which authorizes relative
caregivers to receive guardianship subsidies. The on-going
permanency assistance payment is the same as the state foster
care payment and will be granted only to those who pass DCYF
qualifications (R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 40-11-12.3) Contact: Maureen
Robbins, Department of Children, Youth, and Families, Clinical
Training Specialist, at (401) 254-7076 or robbinm@dcyf.state.ri.us.
State foster
care contact: Questions about kinship foster care placements
should be directed to Maureen Robbins, Department of Children,
Youth, and Families, Clinical Training Specialist, at (401)
254-7076 or robbinm@dcyf.state.ri.us.
Other Supports
for Rhode Island 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 Family Independence
Program (FIP). Kinship care families may also be eligible
for food stamps to help meet their children’s food and nutrition
needs. For more information about FIP, call (401) 462-5300
or log on to http://www.dhs.state.ri.us/dhs/famchild/mrtcare.htm.
For more information about food stamps, log on to http://www.dhs.state.ri.us/dhs/dserfch.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 RIte Care, a Medicaid
expansion program. In some cases, caregivers may also be eligible
for free coverage under Medicaid. For more information about
how to apply for RIte Care, call (401) 462-1300 or log on
to http://www.dhs.state.ri.us/dhs.famchild.mrtcare.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:
Educational
Enrollment (R.I. Gen laws sec. 16-64-1): When parents
die, abandon a child, or are unable to care for the child
due to illness or family break-up, Rhode Island law considers
a child a resident of the town where child lives with legal
guardian, natural guardian, or other person acting in loco
parentis (as the child’s parent).
