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Hi can anyone answer these questions? A friend of mine has been taking care of her grandchildren since June 2012. Children and youth took the kids off of her daughter and was going to place them with an aunt until the grandparents stepped in and said they would take care of the children. So children and youth placed the kids with the grand parents (my friend) and they haven't received any monthly income to help care for the children. The kids do have the state medical insurance card. The grand parents could really use the monthly income to help support the children, but in the beginning children and youth did mention to the grand parents about being a kinship foster parent but only mentioned it to them. Then encouraged the grandparents to get a lawyer and file for temporary custody of the children because the parents have drug issues. Children and youth told the grand parents if the kids were in kinship foster care, children and youth could place the kids with anyone and the kids could end up going home sooner then they should vs if the grand parents filed for temporary custody. I told them if the parents are making improvements on their family plan they can put the kids back with parents when ever they want. So the question is, is it to late for grand parents to qualify for kinship foster parents since they already have temp custody of the grand children. Now remember they only did the temp custody because children and youth encouraged them to do that so the kids wouldn't get taken off of them And placed with someone else. I feel that Children and youth mislead them and gave them false information. I know the grand parents said they would give the custody back to children and youth so they could get the help they need to care for the children. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated it. The grand parents and children get monthly visits from children and youth already.
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We were foster parents and took in my cousin's child. When he was placed we got the regular foster care rate for him. The day we took custody that stopped. If they have custody of their grandchildren they probably wont be getting any financial help, thats probably why CPS encouraged them to take custody (budget cuts are everywhere).
I would think that if they give custody back to CPS the children would be moved.
I hope someone else has better experience or advice for you.:o
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How can they remove the kids from there home, that is
The only family they know. And I thought it is by law that
Family has the first option of caring for the kids no matter
If they need the monthly payment or not. I was always told
In pa that they try to place the children with family first and if there is no one avaiable that is when the place the children in a foster home.
Yes placing with a family member is preferred over placing the children in foster care. That is what they did when the grandparents took custody. I meant that IF the grandparents turned custody back over to CPS then the children could be removed. I didnt mean to scare you. You said there is someone from CPS coming to the house every month. That would be the person to ask about getting financial help for the kids but I wouldnt be surprised if they are told no.
In our situation we were required to become licensed foster home before placement of our niece (our daughter). This entitled us to a monthly FC stipend, and eventually and adoption stipend and Medicaid for her til age 18. I would have never done it any other way because I knew I would get no help if we didn't become licensed. Normally CPS will drop the kids in your lap, wipe themselves clean, and tell kinship to get "custody." Then they don't have to handle the case anymore. It's sad cause it makes it harder on the people taking the kids in. I'm so glad our SW made us become licensed because that gave us access to any services FC homes here got also even though we were related.
I have been taking care of my niece since she was 3 weeks old because she was taken off my sister because she couldn't stay clean from drugs. My niece is almost 2 and we will be adopting her finally in 2 weeks. Only because my sister voluntarily terminated her rights because she was going to jail. But when children & youth placed my niece with us, we didn't have any foster care certifications but we had to start the process if we wanted to care for our niece. And now that we are adopting her she also qualifies for adoption subsidy because she has some health issues. But what I'm saying about my friends is that children and youth mislead them and didn't inform them that they could get certified as a kinship foster family and get help to support the children. Instead the lied to them and said get a lawyer and file for temp custody so this way children and youth didn't have to give the family a monthly payment to help support the kids. That is not fair to these children or the grand parents because they could use the extra money to help support the children.
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In our situation we were already foster parents so when our DS5 showed up he was placed as a foster child and we got regular board payments. When he was a year old our caseworker said they didnt have enough for TPR so we could keep him in foster care another year OR we could ask for custody. We asked for custody, but once we got custody we were on our own. CPS closed the case and walked away.
Later we adopted him but it was considered a private adoption so we paid for it ourselves, and he is not getting any kind of adoption subsidy. This child was drug addicted, premature and at almost 6 still has some sensory and behavioral issues. I am pretty sure he will be diagnosed ADHD soon since he started kindergarten this year and his teacher has already called us in 4 times in 12 weeks. I love him with all that I am but he is more work than the other 4 kids put together.
For us, once we took custody CPS walked away and we were on our own. It would have been nice to have an adoption subsidy or medical coverage for him, but it didnt work that way. CPS knows what they were doing and the bottom line is its cheaper for them to have family members take custody and deal with the expenses of these kids. Not fair to the families at all, I agree with you there.
Most of the grands that I know who took in grandchildren, or a great-niece as in our case, did not receive any payment from the state. However, they can apply for Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF/welfare) in the grandchildren's name. Where the application asks for family income information, put down only money coming to the kid/s (like child support) not the family's income. The payment rate varies from state to state and the benefit often includes medicaid coverage and food stamps. The benefits end when/if the kids are adopted by the family.