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 Wisconsin
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 |
| Wisconsin |
55,983 |
23,687 |
| Milwaukee
city |
14,401 |
7,052 |
| Madison
city |
1,143 |
487 |
| Green
Bay city |
968 |
401 |
*These data
are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile
Selected Social Characteristics: 2000.
Kinship
Care Initiatives in Wisconsin
In Wisconsin,
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 Coalition: The Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
(GRG) Partnership of Wisconsin is a statewide network of more
than 200 kinship caregivers and service providers that work
together on issues and concerns facing grandparents raising
grandchildren. Spearheaded by Grandparents United for
Children’s Rights, Inc., the Wisconsin Bureau of Aging &
Long Term Care Resources, and the University of Wisconsin
Extension, the GRG Partnership provides information on local
services available to kinship care families, including social
and legal services, and public benefits. The partnership
also has developed a statewide network of support groups and
four regional trainings on how to start support groups.
In addition to a statewide needs assessment for kinship care
families, the GRG Partnership offers a range of educational
programs for kinship caregivers and the public. For more information,
go to http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/grgp/. The website
offers a list of Wisconsin grandparent support groups, fact
sheets, and a resource guide called Grandparents/Relatives
Raising and Nurturing Dependent Children (GRAND). Contact:
Mary Brintnall-Peterson, University of Wisconsin – Extension,
at (608) 262-8083 or mary.brintnall-peterson@ces.uwex.edu;
Barbara Robinson, Bureau of Aging & Long Term Care, at
(608) 266-7498 or robinbj@dhfs.state.wi.us.
Grandparents
Advocating for Grandparents: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Legislative Task Force is the arm of the Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren Partnership of Wisconsin (described above) that
focuses on legislative activity in support of kinship care
families. Contact: Ethel Dunn, Grandparents United for Children’s
Rights, at (608) 238-8751 or sedun@inxpress.net.
Legal Assistance
and Victim Support for Milwaukee Kinship Care Families:
In Their Best Interests, Inc. has two programs for kinship
care families in the Milwaukee area. When children who
are crime victims, victims of trauma, have lost a parent due
to homicide or when children who have experienced domestic
violence are placed with a kinship caregiver, the Fostering
Healing Program provides targeted in-home support for the
child and the caregiver. The program also helps kinship
care families apply for crime victim compensation. Fostering
Family Ties for Children is a joint effort with the Volunteer
Lawyers Project of Legal Action of Wisconsin, Inc. The
project provides volunteer attorney assistance to grandparents
and other family members raising children in the areas of
guardianship, kinship support, access to medical insurance
and health care, school matters, and some Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) questions. Contact: Susan Conwell,
Co-Director, at (414) 344-1220 or itbi@core.com.
Kinship Care
and Wisconsin’s Foster Care System
Sometimes
children in the care of the states are placed in foster care
with grandparents or other relatives. In Wisconsin,
the Department of Health and Family Services reports:
Number
of children in kinship care: As of March 2002, there were
8,716 children living with relatives and receiving a monthly
grant through the Kinship Care program. Children may
be placed with Kinship Care relatives voluntarily by the parent(s)
or by court order.
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 relative foster parents: There is no separate licensing
program for kinship foster parents. Kin have to meet
the same licensing standards and training requirements and
receive the same foster care payment rate as non-kin foster
parents.
Eligibility
for Kinship Care: Kinship Care relative caregivers are
not licensed, but they must meet basic eligibility criteria,
including a criminal background check, before payment is approved.
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. Most of
these programs offer ongoing subsidies to children who have
left foster care to live permanently under the legal custody
or guardianship of relatives. Wisconsin currently does
not have a subsidized guardianship program.
State foster
care contact: Questions about foster care should be directed
to S. Kate Johnson, State of Wisconsin Department of Health
and Family Services, at (608) 266-6874 or johnssk@dhfs.state.wi.us.
State kinship
care contact: Questions about Kinship Care should be directed
to Paula Brown, State of Wisconsin Department of Health and
Family Services, at (608) 267-7287 or brownpl@dhfs.state.wi.us.
Training
and support for kinship foster parents: Support services
for kinship foster parents are offered by the Wisconsin Foster
and Adoptive Parent Association. Contact: Sherry Benson at
(715) 735-3879 or tbwcrew@cybrzn.com.
Other Supports
for Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin’s
Kinship Care Payment 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 Paula Brown at (608) 267-7287 or log
on to http://www.dhfs.state.wi.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 Wisconsin’s Medicaid
and BadgerCare programs. In some cases, caregivers may
also be eligible for free health coverage under Medicaid.
For more information about how to apply for these programs,
call 1-800-362-3002 or log on to http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us.
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:
Standby
Guardianship (WIS. Stat. A. § 48.978): This law allows
a child’s parent or guardian to designate a standby guardian
to oversee the daily care of a child if the parent dies or
is incapacitated.
