Six Siblings in Kinship
Many times in life situations arise and we have no control over them. Sometimes these happenings are our own fault, but many times they are not. When bad things happen, they often leave us bewildered and wondering if things will ever get better.This was the case with six siblings. Their biological mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and passed away this past August. Seven years prior to the mother’s death, the biological father to the oldest five children had been deported back to Trinidad on the 9/11 Terrorist Act, never to return to the U.S. This was due to the severe domestic violence history that he had with the mother and her children. The youngest child’s father had absconded to Jamaica three years prior, leaving these children with only a mother and distant relatives as family.
This case came to the Kids Central Kinship Program when the children’s second cousin stepped in to take the children after the mother died. This relative caregiver was totally unprepared for such a huge transition in her home and life and quickly became frustrated and overwhelmed. Kinship stepped in and offered services, but with such a big transition, and working full time the relative caregiver became distraught. She called the case manager and threatened to drop the kids off at DCF for them to enter the foster care system. The case manager immediately began to discuss the family finding program and asked this relative caregiver to cooperate with helping to find another suitable placement with family for the children. The relative caregiver agreed and the process began.
After staffing this case with the family finding team, the family finding staff began their journey to assist this distraught caregiver and orphaned children. Many nights after hours were spent researching this case and talking with other close relatives. Time was of the essence with this case and the family finding team knew that if they didn’t work quickly and effectively, these kids might end up in foster care. After several attempts to try and locate other relatives, the team did find a relative that was willing to help. Failure was not an option for this team. This family member was contacted and asked if she would be interested in assisting these children. This second cousin decided to step up to the plate and take on this responsibility head on. With careful mediation between family members, the family finding team and kinship were able to come to a resolution on when the children would be delivered, what belongings would go with them and when respite would be set up with other family members. A strength-based approach was utilized allowing the relatives to decide what was in the best interest of these children and helping to facilitate that change.
The children now reside in their new home, with their cousin. Kinship continues to provide services in the form of; support groups, custody issues, ACCESS benefits, and counseling for the children. At the last home visit, the children were thriving in their new environment and have a different attitude towards their future now. They are safe, happy and stable. One of the children was quoted as saying, “The day that our cousin pulled up to pick us up was the best day of my life, and I know my momma is smiling down from Heaven!”
ADVOCACY FOR KINSHIP FAMILY
Advocacy can be found in many shapes and forms, but true advocacy comes from the heart where compassion and caring for others originates. In the Kinship Program at Kids Central, Inc. advocacy is a part of the daily expectations for those that we serve.
To advocate means, to support, recommend or the act of pleading for something on the behalf of another. Many of the families that we serve are often overwhelmed, miss-informed, and unfamiliar to the resources that are available to them, hence the advocacy on our part. If we do our job well, we not only make a difference in the lives of others, but we could possibly save a family from homelessness, domestic violence, and abuse or neglect of our most vulnerable- the children.
Such as the case of one kinship family, the maternal grandparents to TB who is 16 years old. TB was sheltered by the Department of Children and Families when his biological mother became addicted to drugs and could no longer care for him. He was abandoned in a “crack house” by his mother and never knew who his biological father was. His grandparents stepped up to the plate and the case closed to long-term permanent guardianship of this child with the grandparents.
The grandparents live on a limited fixed income and are able to make it with very little left at the end of the month. This didn’t matter to them, when the need arose, they stepped up.
These relative caregivers were receiving the TANF cash amount since the child was placed in 2006 and were grateful for the meager $180.00 that they received, never questioning the amount. Upon the initial home visit, the Kinship case manager completed the Kinship assessment discovering that the child had been adjudicated, case closed out and the caregivers never received the correct amount of funding that was due to the child.
At the time of the home visit, the child was asked if he had any needs and he stated that he would like to own more than one pair of shoes. The child was also in need of dental work and he needed clothing as he had a very limited amount of clothing. The relative caregiver also stated that she had been struggling with the child’s behaviors due to him being picked on at school for being “poor.”
Advocacy for this family took place in the form of requesting DCF to look into the amount being paid to this caregiver for the child. Upon inquiry, ACCESS Florida responded that they had needed a Communication form that should have been completed by the Dependency case manager at the time of adjudication in which to pay the higher amount of Relative Caregiver Funds TANF. The form was completed by the Kinship case manager and sent to ACCESS who in turn changed the monthly amount of RCG to $298.00 a month and awarded the relative caregiver retro pay in the amount of $6,674.00. The case manager also referred the client out for therapy to address behavioral and mental health issues for the child.
The caregivers were able to buy this child a new wardrobe and he has more than one pair of shoes now. Money is being saved for this child to purchase a car to gain employment.
If for only a moment, we can see the smile, hear the laughter, or see the tears of gratitude in the face of a relieved caregiver- then advocacy have taken its true form.
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