There are thousands of children in the commonwealth being raised by grandparents or other family members---while they are stepping up to care for these children—many of them say the state is falling short in providing the resources they need to be successful in caring for them. In a three part series we explore the topic of kinship care in Kentucky.
While their locations may be different, the stories are similar for thousands of grandparents caring for their grandchildren.
“We just want our fair share, we aren’t asking for the moon. Just some help,” said Jackie Huff, a grandmother from Spencer County who has been raising her granddaughter since she was born.
“It was a financial strain, it was something we were able and willing to work out as long as we had some help with childcare. That was the biggest obstacle for us—everything else we thought we could figure out," explained Kim Guffy, a grandmother from Russellville, raising two of her grandchildren, "Because we had four children on our own, we knew that was going to be the biggest expense and we were just not prepared for that. Two small children, daycare, we knew childcare was going to be more than our mortgage payment.”
“The fees in order for her to get a certification for the HOSA progam—which is $500 to $700. How you find that in your budget, that is already stretched to the breaking point?" said Mary Hodge, a Spencer County grandmother raising her two teenage grandchildren since they were young.
“We were involved in the grandparent program, we did that for two years, then we were informed that they put a hold on the funds," said Anne Polston, a grandmother from Casey County, who is raising four of her grandchildren. "When we got custody of the two boys I had to quit working because the youngest was only about nine months old at the time.”
From Russellville, to Spencer County, to Casey County--grandparents throughout the commonwealth who are stepping up to raise their grandchildren say they are struggling to provide the life their grandchildren deserve with little help from the state.
“Where do grandparents or even kin who are raising kids even if they are older come up with the money?" asked Hodge. "You have to keep the child interested, and if they are not making good grades and not going to be productive citizens. You try to break that of them being like their parents were."
For some it's more than financial woes, it's the fear of uncertainty. For Kim Guffy, who only has her two grandchildren under temporary custody, she is in constant agony they may be taken away from her by the state.
“I’ve been living with this fear that the cabinet could just yank the kids from me and they still probably could," said Guffy. "We only have temporary custody of these two kids.”
For other grandparents, like Anne Polston, it's also the frustration that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services isn't listening to her concerns.
“My problem was the cabinet wasn’t listening to us. They weren’t listening to our opinion. We weren’t trying to bash the parents but we want a safe environment for the children,” she said.
While each grandparent has their own concerns and troubles they are facing, one thing that unites them is their desire to receive some of the benefits allotted to foster parents.
“The foster parents of Kentucky are not doing any more than what I’m doing. Other than they are doing it for strange kids, I’m doing it for my grandchild but that doesn’t make it any different—a child is a child," said Huff. "I just feel like we are entitled to what they are entitled to. “
"A child placed with a relative needs every bit of attention and assistance and resources as child that is placed with a non-relative, I would like the cabinet to recognize that," said Guff. "I do realize there are budget constraints but at some point someone has to stand up and say that these children are so important that we have got to make it clear to the governor and to the legislature that this is a priority. That we need more money."
"The hardest thing that I’ve come to realize is that unless the children are in place in custody with the cabinet before they get custody they don’t get payments," said Polston. "That’s not fair. Because they are not foster parents before they have to take these children in and tha’ts what I would like to see—if they are willing to take these children in they have got to have some help. Especially if they are not able to work.”
“Grandparents raising grandchildren and kin raising kin should be allotted the benefits as foster parents because if it wasn’t for the grandparents and the other kin raising the kids they would be in foster care,” Hodge said.
Grandparents say access to childcare and legal fees, and help navigating the system are also things they need. Some--say they want the cabinet to include them in decisions being made within the Department of Community Based Services dealing with relative and fictive kin caregivers.
"I think that the cabinet should be focused on the best interest of the child and often that child needs to be placed with a relative," said Guffy. “The cabinet would do well to bring relatives and grandmothers and grandparents into the conversation. We can do so much with so little, we don’t necessarily need all the resources that are provided to foster parents and if we are adequately consulted we can relieve a lot of the burden put on the foster care system”
Mary Hodge, who has grandchildren approaching college age, wants children in situations like hers to be given free college education.
"Where does somebody that is 72 years old come up with college money for two girls? Two very bright girls," she said.
Despite the troubles grandparents face throughout the commonwealth caring for their grandchildren, they wouldn't change it--because at the end of the day, it's about the children.
"I want the cabinet to realize that we do have the kids best interest at heart," said Guffy. "We really do want to work as a partner with the cabinet. But the culture, the culture really does need to change.”
“I want whats best for mine. I’m going to make sure that I’m there either pushing or pulling so that’s what they get—because they deserve it,” said Hodge.
“We just need people to understand that we are doing the best we can with the minimum we have. Was I planning on doing this, not how I figured it. But I wouldn’t change a minute of it for the world, she’s my life. She’s my love and I will do whatever I have to do to make sure she succeeds,” said Huff.
“I don’t want to see them in foster care, I don’t want to see them split up because that’s whats going to happen if they do," said Polston. "I love my grandchildren and I don’t want to see anything happen to them."
In the conclusion of the series, we take a look at the legal action being taken against the cabinet to try and provide payments to some families and the administration's response to some of these complaints.