Financial Assistance for Kinship CaregiversPresented by Kinship Navigator for CTACRAE GLASERCO-DIRECTOR, NYS KINSHIP NAVIGATOR

RYAN JOHNSONASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, NYS KINSHIP NAVIGATOR

February 11, 2020

Welcome

Thank you to our partners for their collaboration in developing this series.

Webinar Basics• All are muted, please chat in your questions

throughout the webinar. • Slides and recording will be posted on the CTAC

website www.ctacny.org. Look under the Upcoming Events tab for calendar and navigate to the date of the presentation.

Introductions• Rae Glaser• Ryan Johnson

Legal Options for Kinship CaregiversTuesday, March 3 | 12:30-1:30 PMRegister Here:https://registration.nytac.org/event/?pid=1&id=922

Upcoming Kinship Webinars

Presentation Overview

Review of Kinship in New York Support Services and Benefits

TANF/Public Assistance Social Security Disability Social Security Death Benefits Foster Care Adoption KinGAP Note: To Be Followed by Webinars on Kinship

Laws and Trauma/Loss.

What is Kinship Care?

Non-Parent Relatives and Fictive Kin (Grandparents, other relatives, non-relatives with family connections) who provide full time care of children in their homes.

Kinship care refers to the care of children by relatives or, in some jurisdictions, close family friends (often referred to as fictive kin)…

Kinship Care - Child Welfare Information Gateway, https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/kinship/

Kinship care is commonly defined as "the full-time care, nurturing, and protection of a child by relatives, members of their Tribe or clan, godparents, stepparents, or other adults who have a family relationship to a child."About Kinship Care - Child Welfare Information Gateway, https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/kinship/about/

Who are the children in kinship care?

Age:• 49% of children are under

the age of 6• 29% are between 6-11• 22% between 11-17

Prevalence: 1 in 11 of all children will live in a kinship home during childhood

1 in 5 black children live in a kinship home

50% of caregivers have children in their home 5 years or longer

Profiles in Kinship Care: Children Trauma

Abuse/Neglect

Separation from parents

Often upset and derailed Disruptive Behaviors Higher rates of ADHD, ODD,

PTSD, adjustment and attachment disorders

ACE scores tend to be higher

Profiles in Kinship Care: Caregivers 65% of caregivers are grandparents

Other types include aunts/uncles, siblings, fictive kin

Average age of caregivers is 56 years old

36% of households have an income of less than $20k/year (CHSR study)

Race:

45% Caucasian

28% African American

27% Hispanic

Custodial Arrangements Children may be living with relatives in a variety of

custodial arrangements, including: No Court Order (Including Parental Designation form) Custody

Joint

Sole

Temporary

Guardianship Private

KinGAP

Foster Care

Adoption

Tune in to the next Webinar to hear more about these custodial options for caregivers

Supporting Families

Kinship caregivers may receive children in a multitude of ways: Foster Care (25% of NYS FC is children living with

relatives/kin)

CPS facilitated (N-Docket/Safety Plans) – about 2000 placements per year and growing

Private Care (no CPS involvement) – research says 50% of children living with kin have no prior CPS contact

The caregiving arrangement determines the amount of support a family is eligible for, both from Child Welfare (FC) and/or from other community supports

NYS Kinship Navigator Services

NYS Kinship Navigator

Strategies:• Connections to available financial assistance and legal

advocacy

• Partnering with local kinship services and departments of social services

• Centralized information database

• Intake available in 37 languages via Interpreter partnership

Helpline:877-454-6463

Website:www.nysnavigator.org

Benefits for Informal CareBenefits for caregivers outside of Foster Care

Public Assistance

Financial: Non-Parent(aka “child only”) Grant(OTDA 05-INF-24)

The Non-Parent grant is a monthly cash grant available by application to your local Department of Social Services (LDSS). It is intended to help you meet the needs of children in your care.

The grant provides a monthly stipend for “rent” and “shelter” as well as living expenses

Kinship Children eligible for the grant are eligible for Medicaid

Public Assistance

Who is eligible? Anyone caring for children who is not the biological or

adoptive parent

Grant is based on child’s income NOT the caregivers

Children are eligible up to age 19, while enrolled in school (not post secondary)

Caregivers do NOT need court ordered custody or guardianship

Amount of grant varies from county to county Roughly $430 per month for 1st child, $150 per month for

each additional child

https://empirejustice.org/resources_post/standard-need-charts/

Public Assistance

ProcessCaregiver fills out LDSS form 2921 and

brings to LDSS Interview within 7 daysGrant is processed within 30 days

(family member) or 45 days (safety net/fictive kin)

KN assistance: Online Guide to fill out application Online video to fill out application Kinship Navigators can assist caregivers via phone

Public Assistance

Child Support Cooperation

25% sanction for refusal to comply

Waivers and The Good Cause Exemption Domestic Violence in the home

Emotional harm/fear of removal

Public Assistance

Exceptions to the Grant

When the parent is in home Under age 18 Parent is disabled

When the Caregiver on TA Siblings in the home

When there is a sibling receiving Social Security Death Benefits

When there is a half sibling in the home that is the kinship caregivers bio child

When there are siblings that are age 20 or 21

Public Assistance

Additional Benefits that May be Available:

• Medicaid • Summer Camp• Child Care

• SNAP

• HEAP

Supplemental Security Income

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

• Benefits for children with disabilities• Apply at local Social Security Office• Guardians, Custodians and those

“demonstrating concern for beneficiary’s well-being” may be payees

• Initial application often denied• Amount of income is often higher than grant• Income not “deemed” available to other

kinship children in the home (Doe V. Doar)

Social SecuritySurvivor Benefits

• Children may receive benefits when natural or adoptive parents are deceased

• Benefit amount is based on parent’s work history and earned income

• Income is deemed available to household (e.g. if one sibling receives benefit, their income is considered available to other kinship children in the home)

Benefits for Formal CareFoster Care, KinGAP, and Adoption

Kinship Foster Care

Foster Care requires additional steps before the child becomes eligible for a foster care subsidy

In New York, there are less than 4,500 children in kinship foster care, though the State has encouraged counties to increase the number of kinship foster homes for children in foster care.

.

Kinship Foster Care

Before a child enters foster care, they must first be removed via a judicial order from their home by Child Protective Services (CPS)

Once removed, CPS can ask a prospective kinship caregiver if they are willing to become a foster parent

If so, CPS can “Emergency Certify” a relative, or give “Temporary Custody” while the kinship caregiver becomes a certified/approved foster parent

Benefits of Kinship Foster Care Case Management Supervised Visitation Assistance Clothing Allowance Monthly Stipend Free School Lunch Exit to subsidized permanency foster parent classes Other Resources may include: Respite

opportunities, Community Based Services for high needs children

Foster Care Stipends

Amount of a Foster Care Subsidy takes multiple factors into account: Age of the Child (Older children are often

considered “hard to place”) 0-5 ($)

6-11 ($$)

12-18 ($$$)

Level of Emotional/Physical/Mental Need: Normal/Basic ($)

Special ($$)

Exceptional ($$$)

Exiting Foster Care

Foster Care placements are time-limited, and Return to Parent (reunification) is always the permanency goal until it can be ruled out by a judge and the county.

Once a Return to Parent goal is no longer viable, kinship foster parents are given two options: Adoption

KinGAP

Adoption

Adoption through the foster care system requires the parents rights to be given up, either voluntarily by the parent, or terminated by a judge

A maintenance subsidy (an agreement between the Social Services district and the adoptive parent) may be paid to an adoptive parent depending on whether the child meets eligibility criteria (i.e. hard to place and/or handicapped children)

The maintenance payment rate is based upon the foster care board rate of a local department of social services (how much support the child received while in care)

Rates may be affected by the age of the child, the address of the adoptive parent(s), or parent income and size of family.

KinGAP: Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program

KinGAP is only available to Kinship Foster Parents and must meet a number of eligibility criteria to receive the subsidy, some of which are: Child has been in foster care with the kinship

caregiver for at least 6 months

Court proceedings such as Fact Finding Hearing and Permanency Hearings must be completed

Return to Parent and Adoption must be ruled out

KinGAP does NOT require a termination of parental rights

KinGAP

A KinGAP Agreement is between the caregiver and the county, allowing the caregiver and child to exit the foster care system (via a guardianship order from Family Court) with a subsidy from the county for the caregiver

A KinGAP subsidy must be at least 75% of the rate that the child received while in foster care

The subsidy may continue until the child turns 18, or 21 if the child goes to school, or works, or has a disability that restricts them from working or going to school

Subsidy Comparison SampleFoster Care, KinGAP/Adoption, Private Care

TANF vs. Foster Care vs. KinGAP/Adoption Benefits

© 2018 www.grandfamilies.org

TANFAge 6-11

Foster CareAge 6-11

KinGAP/AdoptionAge 6-11

One child living with relative outside foster care & relative does not receive any Public Assistance or subsidized rent

Approximately $ 431/month

One child placed in foster care with a fully certified relative

*Includes clothing allow$ 21.86/day

Approximately $655/month

One child living with a relative under KinGAP or Adoption

subsidy100% $21.86/day

95% $20.77/day

Approximately $ 655/month

Two Children living with relative outside foster care & relative does not receive any Public Assistance or subsidized rent

Approximately $ 616/month

Two Children placed in foster care with a fully certified

relative

$ 43.72/day

Approximately $1311/month

Two children living with relative under KinGAP or Adoption

subsidy

100% $43.72/day; 95% $41.53/day

Approximately $ 1311/month

Three children living with relative outside foster care &

relative doesn’t receive Public Assistance or subsidized rent

Approximately $ 794/month

Three Children placed in foster care with a fully certified

relative

$ 65.58/day

Approximately $1967/month

Three children living with relative under KinGAP or

Adoption subsidy

100% $65.58/day; 95% $62.30/day

Approximately $1967/month

Table created by Heidi Epstein Redlich and used with permission

Refer to the NavigatorUsing our Permission to Contact form

Permission to Contact Form

Makes it easier for kinship families to have contact and receive services from KNReferring Kinship Families to us

• 5 Pilot Counties Tioga, Broome, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster)• 600% increase in caregivers

Increase in knowledge and supports• Local Referrals• Local Advocacy

• Legal Pro Bono Effort

Permission to Contact Form

1. Identify client

2. Describe and Ask

3. NYS Kinship Navigator Tri-fold

4. Review "Permission to Contact" form & Obtain Signature

5. Fax or email form to NYS Kinship Navigator

Presenter Contact Information Kinship Navigator Help Line: 877-454-6463

Rae Glaser rglaser@cfcrochester.org

Ryan Johnson ryanjohnson@cfcrochester.org

Previous Webinars in this SeriesKinship Care 101

Kinship 101 covered the basics of kinship care: looking closely at the characteristics of both children and caregivers, their needs, and how children come into kinship care. The webinar reviewed the specialized kinship services available from the NYS Unified Kinship System of Care and described many of the benefits and rights associated with kinship families.

Listen to the recording and download the slides here: https://www.ctacny.org/training/kinship-care-101

Contact CTAC Please send questions to:

ctac.info@nyu.edu

Logistical questions usually receive a response in 1 business day or less.

Longer & more complicated questions

can take longer.

We appreciate your interest and patience! Visit www.ctacny.org to view past

trainings, sign-up for updates and event announcements, and access resources

Upcoming CTAC Events:‣Evidence Based Treatment for First Episode Psychosis Part II

Thursday, February 20 at 12:00 PM

‣ The Supervisor’s Role in Supporting Professional Development of the Supervisee

Thursday, February 27 at 12:00 PM

‣ Family Driven Care Learning Community (FDC LC): Informational Webinar

Friday, February 28 at 12:00 PM