Sacramento, Calif. – Approximately 70 grandparents and relatives from Los Angeles will join hundreds of other grandparents and relative caregivers from across the state at the state capitol today for a “Kinship Rally” to urge lawmakers to expand programs that support family members who care for children whose parents are unable to do so. They will celebrate the efforts of caregivers around the state who raise the one million California children who live with grandparents and other relatives and acknowledge the leadership of California policymakers for earlier reforms that established critical supports and services to keep families and children together and safe.
The relatives include families supported by the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services and members of Kinship In Action (KIA), a unique relative care center in South Los Angeles that provides support to grandparents and other relatives to keep children in their homes who otherwise would be placed in foster care. The Center, a joint project of the Community Coalition and Casey Family Programs, is led by an advisory committee comprised of relative caregivers responsible for determining and shaping the center’s programming. Since its opening in 2004, it has worked with more than 300 relative caregivers to offer self-help support groups, case management, individual advocacy, respite activities and leadership development.
Kinship In Action is comprised of grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives that have found themselves caring for the children of relatives without necessarily having the adequate resources to do so. “These grandparents and relatives are playing a vital role in their families and our community,” said Assemblywoman Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) who will chair the Assembly Select Committee Hearing on kinship care. “Supporting them as they provide stability and nurturing to our children is critically important.”
Debra Lee, a relative caregiver of two teenage grandchildren and a member of Kinship in Action will speak at the rally. "The Grand Rally will give us an opportunity to raise awareness about the needs of relative caregivers,” said Debra Lee. “I am thrilled that Assembly Member Karen Bass is holding a Select Committee Hearing to include legislators in this process so they can learn firsthand the critical role grandparents and other relatives continue to play in the lives of our children."
Child welfare experts agree that support for relative caregivers allows children to remain in caring family environments and in their own communities which is a key contributor to child and community well-being. “We believe that kinship care is a superior alternative to non-relative foster care placements and support for relative caregivers will result in better lives for the children in their care,” said Susan Abagnale, Director of Casey Family Programs Los Angeles Office. “For this reason, we are pleased to be in partnership with the Community Coalition which is committed to empowering members of the South LA community.”
Jointly sponsored by Kinship in Action, Casey Family Programs, AARP, California Alliance of Child and Family Services, the Child Welfare League of America, the Children’s Defense Fund, the County Welfare Director’s Association, Generations United, The Junior League of Napa-Sonoma, the Kinship Center in Salinas and Sunny Hills Services, the Kinship Rally is the largest coming together of kinship advocates at a rally at the State Capitol. Among those being honored at the rally is Secretary of State Bruce McPherson who as Senator authored landmark legislation that established California’s Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (KinGap) which provides financial support and safe and permanent homes for more than 12,000 children in foster care who are now able to live with relative guardians.
California has been an early leader in the development of innovative state programs such as Kin-GAP which has been widely acknowledged as helping to reduce the number of children who are in long term foster care, while at the same time saving child welfare, court and other administrative costs. In its six years of existence, the program has helped to reduce the number of children who are in the child welfare system from over 100,000 children in 2000 to approximately 82,000 children in 2006.
Despite the success of California’s Kin-GAP program, not all eligible children and families benefit from this program, which has led California child welfare advocates to call for reform of state and federal foster care laws. In California, more than 13,000 children who are in long-term foster care could achieve safety, permanence and security more quickly if the state and federal government would expand and support legal guardianship by grandparents and other relative caregivers.
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The Community Coalition was established in 1990 with a commitment to organizing South Los Angeles neighborhoods, youth, and social service agencies. For 15 years, the organization has been a vehicle for the average citizen to gain the knowledge and skills needed to direct public decision-making and resources toward the support of South Los Angeles.