It used to be, years ago, that when the parents in a family had problems, relatives would take care of the kid or kids until those issues got worked out. And they would do so for free.
But that’s changing now. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley plans to officially announce next week a new state government initiative that pays relatives and family members up to $405 a month if they step in to care for children in need.
The new “kinship care reimbursement program” payments will, according to the department, be “a vital resource that will support positive outcomes for children and families and encourage more people to become kinship care providers.”
Senate Bill 20, now law, authorizes the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to implement a policy that provides payments to family and kin who take care of children who are currently in the custody of social services.
Under this new program, those watching the kids don’t have to meet the requirements of a foster care license.
“Kinship,” in this context, is defined as “a person who is related by blood, marriage or adoption to a child.”
County and state social services workers often argue that, when children can’t be assured of a safe environment in their own homes, the best alternative in many cases is for them to stay with their extended family.
NCDHHS Deputy Secretary for Opportunity and Well-Being Susan Osborne explained some of the reasoning in a Friday, Nov. 17 press release regarding the new program.
“We know children in foster care do best when placed with relatives because family connections provide a sense of belonging, preserve a child’s cultural identity, build their relationship to their community and children experience fewer behavioral problems,” she said. “Currently about 25 percent of children in foster care live with kinship providers, but with kinship payments and other initiatives we hope to significantly increase this option for children who cannot remain safely in their home.”
Starting in December, kinship providers will receive up to $405 a month for each child in their care.
According to the press release, in the past, most county social services departments lacked the resources to pay kinship providers.
Currently, there are more than 10,000 children in foster care in North Carolina; however, there are only about 5,400 foster homes licensed in the state to care for children in need of a temporary out-of-home placement.
State officials say that more foster homes are needed – especially homes able to care and provide “for older youth and children with complex health and behavioral needs.”
Less than one-fourth of the children in foster care live in kinship care. This new payment program is expected to increase the number of children who continue to live with their families.
In addition to kinship payments, SB20 also increased pay rates for foster parents across the state.
How will this affect the caring parents income and Medicare/Medicaid benefits? Certainly sounds like a “program” ready to ripen into abuse & fraud. Love the name though: Kinship Care Reimbursement Program. Oh yea… that nails it.
Oh boy…I’m from the government and I’m here to help. What will this morph into?
I see a LOT of fraud here.
Why is it my obligation to pays someone’s parents to take care of their children? You both chose to have these children. I paid for mine, you pay for yours.
A lifetime ago, the combined taxation rate on our citizens averaged around 15%. Now, it approaches half; and even more if you live in a high tax state like CA, HI, IL, etc. And no matter how much they extort from us, it is never enough.
Say you are in a low (no) income tax bracket? Don’t forget all they taxes you pay through indirect taxation on everything you buy or use, property taxes, sales taxes and more.
There are always politicians bribing the voters with more goodies, that the voters pay for.
OK then stop shipping your grandparents off to Medicaid Medicare warehouses.
110% correct sir. Great point
I bet you support forced birth policies that the republicans love so much.
I support what you can see in my blurbs. Anything else is an assumption.
Chris I’m sure I know where the best part of you went.
Will the state start paying relatives to care for elderly family members who need help at home to keep them from having to go into nursing care facilities? Many people with dementia need the help of family members or other caregivers but can’t afford to pay for in-home care without some help and aren’t able to quit jobs to give care. If there was a program like this that would help pay for the care of these family members it might keep many of these people out of nursing facilities. Will the state consider this program and give families much needed help and hope?
The state won’t give you anything. It all comes from the taxpayers.
I agree with most everything you say. However, considering the tax burden we all suffer; I do not favor any more tax increases for any purpose. If you want a new program, others should be eliminated to pay for it.
What if you take care of parents and there kids if they move in with you with nothing
Ughh people just need to start raising their kids better so this doesn’t happen in the first place
Will this benefit grandparents raising their grandchildren due to the county giving them custody and full permanent
guardianship and not receiving any child support or help from the parents? We have our 2 with PTSD, anxiety, depression and ADHD. We’re retired on fixed incomes and with the cost of living going up it’s making providing for them tough but we make too much for food stamps and social security turned them down for SSI and disability.