KinCare

With New York shut down by the coronavirus pandemic and vulnerable families under threat like never before, lawmakers approved a state budget late last week gutting support for grandparents, neighbors and other kin caring for children who otherwise might be in foster care.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) delivered his tenth annual state of the state address yesterday, proposing liberal policy priorities including legalizing recreational marijuana, expanding a child tax credit, and guaranteeing paid sick leave for workers.

Written by K.G., an anonymous 17-year-old from New York City. Names have been changed.  I met Ms. Taylor, from New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), in the hospital where my mom was detoxing.

When caseworkers remove children from their homes and place them into foster care, it can be jarring and traumatic. A new law in New York aims to ease the transition by enabling a wider circle of family members and even non-relatives to become the kids’ foster parents.

Georgia State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver (D) plans to push for increased payments to relatives who care for foster children during a budget hearing Monday. Oliver will ask her colleagues on the House appropriations subcommittee for human services to commit roughly $2.68 million annually for unlicensed relative caregivers who receive significantly less from the state than licensed foster parents.

This week, the RAND Corporation issued a report describing how federal child welfare policy could be changed to improve outcomes for children and youth while saving $12.3 billion. To reach its conclusions, the Santa Monica, Calif.-based

Los Angeles’ child welfare system – like many others – has a relative caregiver program that takes effect when a child is removed from their home, notifying known relatives of the removal within a 30-day period and giving them preferential consideration for the placement of the child.

In otherwise contentious and turbulent times, Congress is coming together to support a fundamental American value — family. The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2016 passed the House but now faces an uncertain future in the Senate.

During an important child protection meeting Monday, a deputy from Los Angeles County’s Chief Executive Office expressed concern that opting into millions of state money meant for relative caregivers could wind up costing the county.