Speech given on 12/16/2004 at Ramsey County Citizen's Advisory Council Legislative Breakfast
My name is Pat Yahnke. I am from the Adult Services Committee. So! How are the children? In MN an estimated 71,000 children live in homes headed by non-family members. About two-thirds of these children are being parented by grandparents. These special people are "kinship caregivers" who are caring for a family member or friend when the child's birth parents are unable or unwilling to parent. Thelma is a single woman and is the aunt of 12 year old Andre. Thelma's brother, a methamphetamine user, isn't listed on the Andre's birth certificate. Because Thelma is not identified as a relative, she cannot have custody of Andre, but she has been raising him for the past 4 years since his mother went to prison. Thelma and Andre have not heard from either parent for 2 years. Thelma has no medical coverage for Andre, so she uses free clinics. Because she has no legal proof of her brother's relationship to Andre, she is not eligible for the MFIP Child Only grant that provides a meager amount of assistance for Andre's basic needs, and he is not eligible for medical assistance. To receive an MFIP grant, she would have to fight for legal custody and that is costly. And, there is no guarantee that the court would place Andre with her. Pam is raising her 4 grandchildren after Ramsey County Child Protection removed them from their mother's care 6 years ago. Pam receives MFIP Child Only grants for the children and lives on these grants and her disability check. Her housing is unstable and the family has moved 3 times in 3 years. Each time the children have had to change schools. Pam's health is deteriorating and the children are suffering emotionally from the stress in their lives. Carl and Darlene are both employed and are raising their 2 year old grandson. Initially their daughter lived at home with her newborn son, but she left without him and only visits sporadically. She is involved in a physically abusive relationship and may be using drugs. With the help of legal aid, Carl and Darlene are filing for custody using the de facto custodian law. John is a single grandfather raising his 2 young grandchildren - a toddler and a pre-schooler. Child care costs exceed his take home pay, so he is living on his MFIP Child Only grants and doing maintenance work at his apartment complex. He does not qualify for a foster care license because his apartment does not meet licensing standards such as minimum square footage and sufficient bedrooms. Informal kinship caregivers, those caregivers who are caring for children who have not been placed with them through child protection, do not have access to the same services as formal foster care providers. Only 15 percent of kinship caregivers are in the formal foster care system while 85 percent of kinship caregivers are informal kinship caregivers. The informal kinship family often falls between the cracks because policies and practices are written with the traditional nuclear family in mind, and they do not recognize the informal arrangement with extended family members. One of the biggest challenges for those working with kinship caregivers is the lack of education informal kinship caregivers have about their legal rights. Many caregivers have been raising children for years, and they do not learn about benefits and resources available to them until there is a crisis. We need to promote "legal custody" as a permanent care option for children as well as adoption. Some caregivers do not want to change their familial relationship with their grandchildren. Grandma does not want to become Mom and have the birth mother be the "sister." Child care, respite, and legal fees are pressing issues for kinship caregivers. A MN Kinship Caregiver Association board member said, "Grandparents who are raising grandchildren will be the next welfare generation because we have re-mortgaged our homes and depleted all of our personal and retirement savings to care for our grandchildren." That is how the children of kinship caregivers are doing. Ren�e Jenson Como _____________________________________________ To Join: St. Paul Issues Forum Rules Discussion Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [email protected] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/
