Kinship care: Pilot program in the works to help families provide support for children

Jun. 1—HONOR — Jeanne Strathman took in her two grandsons when her child got so lost in her addiction she could no longer take care of them.

It's a familiar scenario in today's opioid crisis. Strathman loves her grandsons and was glad to be able to do it.

But kinship care — which is provided by a family member or an adult who has a bond with a child — can place a financial strain on some families.

Kinship care can be temporary while a parent is in treatment for substance use disorder, is hospitalized for mental health issues, is in jail, or is out using. Sometimes it is permanent.

Either way, it doesn't come with the benefits that children in foster care get. There is no money coming from the state, no Medicaid, no treatment for the trauma they've been through, no counseling, no life skills classes and no college scholarships.

In Michigan, there are about 10,500 children in foster care, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. And another estimated 54,000 children are in kinship care, being raised by "grandfamilies," according to Generations United, which advocates for public policy.

The tens of thousands of children who were affected by the opioid crisis that started in the 1990s and early 2000s are now adults, Strathman said.

"They are now out in the workforce or raising their own families," she said. "We have examples of people now amongst ourselves that are not only grandparents raising grandchildren, but great-grandparents. Those kids, because they suffered trauma and psychological effects, perhaps fetal alcohol syndrome, don't get the same sort of chance that foster kids get."

The group estimates that there are actually up to 84,000 children in kinship care who are not on the state's radar, said Deb Frisbie, whose two grandchildren came to live with her when one was 3 and the other was a newborn. She later adopted them. Frisbie's daughter died by suicide last year.

Strathman and Frisbie are both involved with the Michigan Kinship Care Coalition, an advocacy group that works to strengthen support for kinship families. They are starting up two support groups in Benzie and Manistee counties for kinship families as part of a pilot program they hope will one day be used throughout the state.

The support groups, which will be held on the third Thursday of the month in Benzie and the fourth Thursday in Manistee, are meant to help kinship caregivers know what services and financial support is out there for them and how to apply for it.

A social worker also will be hired for the court system to provide case management for families, who will be connected to services and get help filling out forms for what is available for them.

They are hoping the pilot will be successful and used throughout the state in the future.

Strathman recently attended a Grand Traverse County study session on $4.5 million in opioid settlement funds the county will collect over the next several years. She told board members that using the money for treatment of those who are addicted is appropriate, but she is hoping that some of the money will go to the children of addicts so opioid addiction will not be perpetuated in those children.

"That's what got us working at a local level, because we knew that money was coming in," Frisbie said. "If they're going to pour it into rehabs, somebody is taking care of their kids whether they're incarcerated, whether they're in treatment ... we are a ripple effect of the opioid crisis."

Some family members who take in children — nearly 5,000 — have opted to become part of the foster care system. But many of the children in kinship care get little or no financial help, Strathman said. Most are eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, but many people don't know the funds exist or how to apply for them.

Only about 5 percent of children in Michigan who are eligible are getting the assistance, she said.

Under TANF, a family will get $158 per month for the first child and about $240 per month total if there are two children. The amount has not increased since at least 2004, when Frisbie began receiving it for her grandchildren.

In Michigan, foster care children get from about $20 to $24 per day, depending on the age of the child.

In 2019 a policy change went into effect in Michigan that allows a family member to become an unlicensed relative caregiver. The child will then be eligible to receive all of the same benefits of a child in foster care, but with a less rigorous process.

"Because you're a relative, you don't have to go through the licensing process," Frisbie said. A background check is done and the home is inspected by MDHHS, but there are fewer visits and regulations.

But families are not given any options. Strathman says she often hears the same story from relatives who've been called to take in a child. Police come to a house and make an arrest, a family member — usually a grandmother — is called and Child Protective Services tells them if they don't take the kids they'll be put in a foster care home.

"She takes them home, case closed," Strathman said. "They don't even talk about unlicensed caregivers ... There's no pamphlet, there's nothing to tell them what their options are."

Another option is limited guardianship, which is not as permanent as a full guardianship. Under limited guardianships the parent must take the child to things such as doctor's appointments and school functions and must visit them regularly, with the goal of reunification.

Strathman said, when someone gets that call in the middle of the night, they should know what their options are before they sign any papers. They can take the children home without having to become a permanent guardian.

She also would like to see some of the opioid settlement money used to help kinship families get the help they need.

"It's not that I want to take anything away from foster care kids," Strathman said. "These grandparents and aunts and uncles aren't getting the help they need, and that means the kids aren't getting the help they need."

It's so important to create help for families, Frisbie said.

"They're saving the state so much money by stepping up and doing this," Frisbie said. "We have to find a way to support them."

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