Kinship Care and Subsidized Guardianship

by Cynthia Ivory Gervais, Wesley Field Education Student

In February 2006, President Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act into law. The law provided for $38.8 billion worth of net spending reductions over five years to mandatory programs. Included were over $500 million worth of cuts to federal foster care assistance for abused and neglected children cared for by grandparents and other relatives, along with $234 million of mandatory spending increases for child welfare. The Deficit Reduction Act cut Title IV-E Funding for administrative case management for placement of children in kinship homes, children considered "candidates" for foster care, and children leaving psychiatric and crisis centers who would move into foster care. Though the Adoption and Safe Families Act, enacted in 1997, recognizes the value of kinship placement, the federal government has not made funds available on a continuous basis to help these families. To fill the gap, states are using a variety of sources to fund placement programs for children such as TANF and the Social Services Block Grand. Some states have utilized a Title IV-E child welfare waiter to provide critical support to these families.

There are two bills before Congress which would provide much needed support to relatives who provide care to children separated from their parents. The Kinship Caregiver Support Act (S. 985) was introduced by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY). Co-sponsors include Senators Olympic Snowe (R-ME), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). It would establish Kinship Navigator Programs that are designed to not only provide information to caregivers on available services and programs to meet the needs of the children in their care, but also help them obtain the assistance. It takes a holistic approach to aiding families as the caregivers will also be able to receive information on adult services. Additionally, the Act provides funds to build partnerships among public and private not-for-profit agencies (community-based and faith-based) to serve the families in need. This legislation is currently under review by the Senate Finance Committee.

The Guardianship Assistance Promotion and Kinship Support Act (H.R. 3380) introduced by Congressman Danny K. Davis (D -IL - NY) is modeled after the adoption assistance program, programs in Illinois and recommendations by the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care. In recognizing the value of stability provided by guardianship and kinship care, this legislation addresses the gaps in existing foster care laws that withhold supports from children living with relatives or legal guardians. Under the Act, state agents would be required to inform families of all permanency options and their eligibility for support. It addresses the needs of children placed in the unlicensed, but safe, home of a relative who do not receive the same support as children placed in non-relative care facilities. Additionally, the legislation provides funds for independent living services and educational vouchers for children who exit foster care to adoption or guardianship after age 14. It too provides funds for state navigator programs. This legislation has been referred to the House Subcommittee on Select Education.

Kinship Care and Subsidized Guardianship

Kinship Care is defined as an adult family member caring for minor children who are unable to live with his or her parents. Family members include aunts, uncles, cousins, but the overwhelming number of adults who care for the children separated from their immediate families are grandparents. According to the 2000 Census, approximately 6 million children live in kinship care situations. As the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) noted, about 4.5 million of these children live with grandparents - representing a 30% increase between 1990 and 2000. Poverty issues that lead to abuse and neglect often drive the need to separate these children from their parents.

The majority of these families are not a part of the formal welfare system and do not receive support and assistance. Almost 20% of grandparents who care for their grandchildren live in poverty. An overall population statistic from 1997 showed that 27% of children living with grandparents lived below the poverty level; compared to 19% in households maintained by parents, the CWLA found. Only 25% of children in kinship care receive either a foster care payment or a child-only payment through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Though they may be in need of support and services, 75% of these families receive no aid. Often these families are unaware that they qualify for services.

Recognizing that children often fare better with relatives, child welfare agencies are increasingly placing children in kinship arrangements. Other factors contributing to the rise of these placements are that courts are recognizing the rights of relatives in custody matters and the number of available foster parents has decreased.

An increasing number of states are viewing subsidized guardianship as a viable option for secure, safe and long-term placements. Several states have designed and implemented waiver demonstration programs that allow federal Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance funding to support such guardianship programs. Assisted guardianship offers stability; resulting in a decrease of multiple foster care placements and an increase in several child well-being measures such as school performance. Children in these custodial arrangements are generally less likely to engage in risky behaviors and will take advantage of community resources. Additionally, more children in guardianship arrangements leave foster care for reunification or adoption.

Kinship care and subsidized guardianship allow a greater number of qualified adults — related and non-related — to provide stable care for children who have been separated from their parents. However, these programs are only one piece of the solution. Grandparents, who have reared children long ago, may not be knowledgeable of current school, child care and health services and requirements. They may not be aware that there are resources that can provide access to legal services and support groups.

General Assembly Guidance

The 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved "Transforming Families." Recognizing that, as Christians, we are grounded in the "sovereign love of God, the gracious Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the empowering fellowship of the Holy Spirit." We are rooted in families that are sites of "God's gracious presence and activity." However, we are subject to "the corrosive pressures around and within us, as well as the failed relationships among us." In attending to the cultural and socioeconomic contexts of today's families, the task force was charged to make recommendations to strengthen the church's ministry to contemporary families.

The resultant reflection set Scripture and Reformed Tradition as our guide to honoring family as we would honor God. The section on the Vocation of Families is guided by reflection on Ephesians 4.

"Families are called to a life together that is lived by grace, for love, in communion. God calls families, as well as individuals and churches, to lead a life worthy of the vocation to which they are called, promoting the family's growth in building itself up in love." (pg. 71)

Families are called to nurture all members "to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ" (Eph 4:13). This nurture extends to the wider family of faith and to the wider human family. The study concludes this section with a charge to the church to be responsible for encouraging the vocation of families, within the community of faith and without. It reminds us that all types of families struggle. We are to seek out those families in need and provide special pastoral attention. For service to these families is at the core of our mission.

The life, death, resurrection, and promised coming of Jesus Christ have set the pattern for the church's mission. His human life involves the church in the common life of all people. His service to men and women commits the church to work for every form of human well-being." (The Book of Confessions, 9.32)

The Nurture of Children is central to this study. At baptism, the Christian community vows to bear responsibility to the well-being of children. Principally, this includes an upbringing that nurtures them in the love of the Triune God. We are also to prepare them for adult responsibilities through education, mentoring and counsel. This preparation should also include instruction and support for taking on parental responsibilities for children.

We recognize that as humans, we sometimes fail in our responsibilities to children. Each year there are more than 800,000 children in the child welfare system. These children have been separated from their families by agents of the child welfare system due to abuse and neglect. How can we ensure that these children benefit from the stability that family-based care provides?