February 2011

KINSHIP CARE IN THE NEW YORK STATE

BUDGETSECOND UPDATE

THE CURRENT PROPOSAL

2011-12

Pull kinship care programming from the OCFS budget into an Article VII bill (though kinship programming not specifically listed).

Lump kinship care programming together with a variety of other programs (home visiting, runaway youth, Children’s Trust Fund, other juvenile justice programs) to form a Primary Prevention Incentive Program that’s performance-based.

Take the total funding from all of the lumped programs (from last year’s budget) and cut it to 50%.

In year one, each County would receive funding, decided by a formula yet to be determined.

Counties would be responsible for a 38% local match.

In year two, funding would be distributed on a competitive basis.

WHAT IT MEANS ? ? ? ? ? ?

We don’t know what funding level kinship care programming would be funded at (not determined by a line item in the budget, but rather through a yet-to-be-determined formula, via OCFS and local districts).

This proposal is for use of general funds, not TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), which had been the previous source of funding.

We don’t know how data collection, evaluation, monitoring would occur in this structure of funding.

We don’t know what would happen to current programs – whether their funding could continue or if they would have to close and later reopen.

We don’t know why this particular process was proposed since it is not cost-effi cient.

OUR PLAN Starting Today

Online now: previous webinar, talking points for providers and families, family letter to Governor template, cost benefit document

Program checklists and lists of legislators and contacts under development; will be distributed by Tuesday, February 22

Community-based information (i.e. number of caregivers per county, as much as we can provide) will be complete by Friday, February 25 and both distributed to programs and listed online

STEP ONE: INFORMATION

Leadership to call all agency CEOs and EDs to ensure advocacy strategies are in place

Staff to contact each program with their program-specific information and get them started on their advocacy work next week

Albany-based programs and advocates to meet with: Division of Budget Offi ce of the Governor NYS Offi ce of Children and Family Services Senate Finance Committee and Counsel/Program staff Assembly Ways and Means Committee and Counsel/Program

staff Senate and Assembly’s respective Children and Families

Committees

STEP TWO: ACTION IN ALBANY

Programs begin utilizing checklist:

Families send letters to the Governor (see website) Meet with local legislators Invite local legislators to visit program Begin letter-writing and phone call campaign with

families Distribute letters to the editor to local newspapers Use AARP-provided 800# to call legislators Additional ideas

STEP TWO: ACTION ON THE GROUND

Begin press campaign, including series of releases and conferences for:

Budget implicationsCensus dataCost-benefit releaseSummit report releaseOther

STEP THREE: PRESS

$ $ $ $ $ OUR MESSAGE

An estimated 200,000 to 300,00 children live with grandparents or other relative caregivers in New York State.

One in ten children live in grandparent-led households. Of those children, 41% are being raised by their grandparents.

Twenty-one programs funded by OCFS provide services to over 5,000 children who otherwise are at high risk of foster care.

New York State spends $1.37 billion annually on foster care services, and less than $3 million on kinship programs.

KINSHIP $AVES

Funding for FY2011-12 needs to be $3 million to fully fund kinship programming.

If the kinship programs are not funded and 125 children enter foster care placements, the cost will equal the entire cost of fully funding the OCFS kinship programs.

Without these programs, an estimated 475 children will leave informal kinship care and enter foster care during FY2011-12, at an increased cost of at least $11 million to New York State.

KINSHIP $AVES

Children live with grandparents and other relatives for the same reasons that children enter foster care – parental abuse, neglect, mental illness, abandonment, military deployment and more.

A representative sample of private kinship families shows that 60% of the children in private kinship families served by the programs had histories of potential or possible child maltreatment.

Community kinship programming provides case management, respite, benefit and legal information, advocacy, and other supports, and facilitate enrollment in appropriate services.

KINSHIP SAVES

2011-12OUR ASK

We ask that kinship care programming be removed from the Primary Prevention Incentive Program and given a $3 million line item in the budget, without a local match

OUR ASK

WebinarsKEEPING IN TOUCH

Each week, you’ll receive an eNewsletter with updates from New York State.

Each week, we’ll host a webinar to update advocates and programs, field questions, and demonstrate new materials.

Each day, we’ll update the website with any new information available.

Each week, staff will contact each program to ensure they have the support they need to get through the checklist.

Whenever you need information, please feel free to:

Call 518-833-0215 (National Committee of Grandparents for Children’s Rights)

Email newyork@grandparentsforchildren.org and we’ll get the information you’ve requested to you as soon as possible