Grandfamilies Kinship Care at Children’s Service Society of Utah Bacall Hincks, LCSW Grandfamilies Program Administrator Washington, DC
Children’s Service Society is the Oldest Non-Profit in the State of Utah Children’s Service Society was originally founded in 1884 as a day nursery, later as a home for orphaned children, foster care, and then adoption. Help with childcare, parenting, and kinship family support has always part of the services that Children’s Service Society has provided. 2
Programs at Children’s Service Society of Utah CHILDREN’S SERVICE SOCIETY of UTAH CARE ABOUT SUPPORT CHILDCARE SERVICES PARENTS AS QUALITY GRANDFAMILIES ADOPTIONS CHILDCARE TEACHERS IMPROVEMENT REFERRAL 3
Grandfamilies Kinship Care In 2002, Grandfamilies was born from a seed grant from Generations United. Since that time Grandfamilies has expanded program services to five counties in Utah and planning for additional expansion from Family First Prevention Service funding 4
What is Kinship Care According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway kinship care is 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." The relationship should be respected on the basis of the family's cultural values and emotional ties 5
Benefits to Kinship Care Siblings Behavioral Health Cultural Identity Safety Permanency Belonging Mental Stability Connection Health to Parents 6
Kinship Care by The Numbers • There are 2.6 Million Children in the United States living with a relative as a primary caregiver • There are over 52,0000 kids living with a relative as primary caregiver in the state of Utah • Overall foster care is relying on relative care over “stranger” foster care • For every 1 child in foster care there are 20 others being raised by relatives outside of the foster care system, saving the country over $4 billion 7 Generations United State of Grandfamilies Report 2017 Annie E Casey Kids Count Data
• Adult support groups • Children’s support groups • Friend 2 Friend • Crisis Intervention • Kinship Navigator • Family Problem Resolutions • Counseling Services 8
Common Questions • Am I too old for this? • Is being angry and confused normal? • How do I relate to the rest of the family…my other children, my other grandchildren? • How do I legally protect the children in my care? 9
• Parenting Two Generations • Grandfamilies Program Overview and What is • Parenting the At Risk Child Kinship Care? • Substance Abuse and • Do I Have Rights? Addiction • Loss and Grief Issues of • Risk and Protective Factors Children in Kinship Care for Children in Kinship • Why Can’t We Be A Family Care Again? • What About Me? • Dynamics of Kinship Families 10
• More than half the children in any kind of foster care have 4 or more adverse childhood experiences compared to 13% in the general population • Children in foster care are at least five times more likely to have anxiety, depression and/or behavioral problems than children not in foster care. • People who have had 4 or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are 12 times more likely to have negative health outcomes in adulthood. • Children with parents suffering from substance addiction are at high risk for substance use disorders of their own • Many children who have experienced chronic traumatic experiences have not had the opportunity to develop healthy attachments with primary caregivers 11
• Introduction to • Learning healthy interpersonal skills coping skills • Developing a healthy • Overview of the self-esteem effects of drugs and alcohol • Identifying and expressing feelings • Handling peer pressure • Identifying and managing feelings • Anger management techniques • Kinship family dynamics • Social skills and termination 12
• Connection to • Attachment Based resources Interventions • Guardianship • PCIT • Childcare • TFCBT • School Registration • Theraplay • Crisis Services • TBRI • EMDR 13
Activities: Spring Carnival, Holiday Dinner, Halloween party, Summer BBQ, Guest Speakers on pertinent topics, parenting tips and more. We bring families together to have fun, to educate caregivers on current issues, promote family bonding and attachment, and provide children pro social activities 14
"One thing I’ve noticed is that most people go to grandma’s house and get spoiled, but for me it was the only safe place I had. Getting to live with grandma was like ‘going to grandma’s house’ all the time. I had more love there than anywhere else in my life." – Chad Dingle, raised by grandmother, from Generations United State of the Grandfamilies Report 2018 "Family is very important. They embrace us in the good times and the bad." 15
“I feel blessed to have this boy in my life. He is a treasure, and most likely, I would not be here without him. He gave me something positive to focus on, rather than the heartaches and sadness and grief. I have a renewed sense of hope, that I’m doing something worthwhile.” 70 – Bonnie Martin, grandparent caregiver from Generations United State of the Grandfamilies Report 2017 “We have friends who are retired who are always telling me about their next cruise to Hawaii. I tell them I go on cruises every day. I cruise to school, I cruise to the doctor’s office, I cruise to the skateboarding park. Joey is my ‘cruise to Hawaii’ and you know what, I wouldn’t trade my cruise for theirs.” – Adrian Charniak, grandparent caregiver from Generations United State of the Grandfamilies Report 2017 16
Thank you The purpose of RCORP is to support treatment for and prevention of substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder, in rural counties at the highest risk for substance use disorder. Bacall Hinks 801-326-4439 Bacall@cssutah.org This product was supported by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant # U6BRH32364. The information, conclusions and opinions expressed in this product are those of the authors and no endorsement by FORHP, HRSA, or HHS is intended or should be inferred.
Recommend
More recommend
