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 West Virginia
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 |
| West
Virginia |
30,833 |
16,151 |
| Charleston
city |
804 |
417 |
| Huntington
city |
894 |
431 |
| Parkersburg
city |
616 |
283 |
*These data
are taken from the U.S. Census Bureau Table DP-2. Profile
Selected Social Characteristics: 2000.
Kinship
Care Initiatives in West Virginia
In West Virginia,
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.
Comprehensive
Services for Kinship Care Families: The West Virginia
Relatives as Parents Program is a multi-service program for
West Virginia kinship caregivers raising children outside
of the foster care system. Initiated by the West Virginia
Office of Social Services, Department of Health and Human
Resources in partnership with Mission West Virginia, a state
faith-based initiative, the program also works together with
the West Virginia University Extension Services and the West
Virginia Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities.
Supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services and The Brookdale Foundation, the program offers
support groups, informational workshops, and referrals to
community resources. Its objective is to create and
expand supportive, community-based services for kinship caregivers,
improve community and state agency responses to kinship care
families, of their needs and raise community awareness. Contact:
Allison Nichols, West Virginia University Extension Services,
at (304) 293-2697 or ahnichols@mail.wvu.edu; Alice Ruhnke,
Mission West Virginia, at (304) 523-2255 or theruhnkes@netzero.net;
Laura Lou Harbert, Office of Social Services, Department of
Health and Human Resources, at (304) 558-4303 or lauraharbert@wvdhhr.org.
Multidisciplinary
Kinship Care Family Services: REACHH-Family Resource Center
offers comprehensive family services to grandparents and other
relatives who are raising children in Summers County.
REACHH-FRC offers support groups and a Maternal Infant Health
Outreach Worker program that provides information on child
development and available resources to caregivers of children
ages three and under. It also offers educational materials
specifically for grandparents, a licensed, curriculum-based
child care center, and a multidisciplinary team facilitation
for caregivers of children who are in the child welfare or
juvenile justice systems or who have special needs. Contact:
Peggy Rossi at (304) 466-2226 or popwuj@citynet.net.
Social
Services Information Hotline: Family Matters offers information
and referrals to address a wide range of health and social
service needs for West Virginia families, including kinship
care families. Family Matters provides information on
WIC programs, immunizations, food and clothing assistance,
child health issues, and income assistance. The Family
Matters hotline can be reached at 1(888) WV-FAMILY (983-2645).
Grassroots
Outreach for Kinship Care Families: Grandchildren/Grandparents,
Inc. is a grassroots organization of West Virginia parents,
grandparents and other relatives raising grandchildren.
The group has helped to establish support groups around the
state and also works with state legislators and agency representatives
to improve services for kinship care families. Contacts:
Bill and Lola Bailey, at (304) 652-4587 or webailey@revideo.com.
Kinship Care
and West Virginia’s Foster Care System
Sometimes
children in the care of the states are placed in foster care
with grandparents or other relatives. In West Virginia,
the Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau of Children
and Families reports:
Number
of children in kinship foster placements: As of 2000,
there were approximately 3,200 children in out-of-home placements
under the Bureau’s supervision. Of these children, 124 children
(2.5%) 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 Bureau’s care.
Licensing
for kinship foster parents: Kin have to meet the same
licensing standards and receive the same foster care payment
rate as non-kin foster parents.
Subsidized
Guardianship: The West Virginia Department of Health and
Human Resources, Bureau of Children and Families, provides
an ongoing subsidy for eligible children in the West Virginia
foster care system whose qualified adult caregivers become
their legal guardians. To receive a subsidy on behalf
of the child, the guardian must show that there is a strong
emotional tie with the child and that the child is not likely
to be adopted or otherwise placed without the subsidy. The
State will determine the amount of the subsidy awarded as
well as the frequency of payments. The subsidy can be
in the form of funding for services or stipends (W. VA. Code
§ 49-2-17). Contact: Christina Bertelli, Program
Specialist for Foster Care, Department of Health and Human
Resources, at (304) 558-7980 or cbertelli@wvdhhr.org.
State foster
care contact: Questions about kinship foster placements
should be directed to Christina Bertelli, Program Specialist
for Foster Care, Department of Health and Human Services,
at (304) 558-7980 or cbertelli@wvdhhr.org.
Other Supports
for West Virginia 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 West Virginia Works
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
(304) 558-2400 or log on to http://www.wvdhhr.org/bcf/.
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 West Virginia’s Medicaid
and the West Virginia Children’s Health Insurance Program
(WV CHIP) program. In some cases, caregivers may also
be eligible for free coverage under Medicaid. For more
information about how to apply for these programs, call 1-877-WVA-CHIP
or log on to http://www.wvchip.org.
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 (W. VA. Code § 44A-5-1 – 8): This law
allows parents to name an alternate adult caregiver or “standby
guardian” to care for their children in the event of death,
illness, or incapacity through other means. To be valid, the
appointment must be accepted by the chosen guardian and approved
by the court.
