September Marks National Grandparent/Kinship Month

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jim Tressel signed a proclamation naming September Grandparent/Kinship Month in Ohio to highlight the importance of kinship caregivers in the lives of children. As DCY partners and providers, knowing the benefits of Kinship care, as well as the programs the state of Ohio offers to help Kinship caregivers find support, you can help spread this important information throughout your networks and encourage people your know to provide stable environments for children whose parents are unable to do so.  Kinship offers stability for children and a connection to the child’s family and support network which can be difficult to maintain in a traditional foster care situation when strangers are caring for the child. A kinship caregiver provides many important parts of that child’s life.

• Familiar and trustworthy caregivers

• Decreased trauma from family separation

• Continuation of cultural and family traditions

• Maintained identity and self-esteem

• Increased stability in the placement situation

• Preservation of sibling groups

• Less negative stigma than foster care for the child The state of Ohio supports kinship caregivers and the children they are caring for through the following programs. • Kinship Support program (KSP) provides financial payments to eligible kinship caregivers for the placement of children in their homes.

• Kinship Permanency Incentive program (KPIP) provides a limited number of incentive payments to families caring for kin.

 • Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator Program (OhioKAN) is a statewide, flexible, and responsive kinship and adoption navigator program designed to assist children, caregivers, and families. Navigators help connect families to resources to meet their individualized needs.

• Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) provides financial assistance to eligible kinship caregivers who have been granted legal custody or guardianship of a child that was placed in the home as a foster care placement for at least six consecutive months.

• Ohio Works First (OWF) Child Only Benefits is the financial assistance portion of the state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program.

 You can help spread the word about these programs and encourage a potential Kinship caregiver you know to make a difference in the life of a child.