Kinship program great benefit to children in need

By Mary Kuhlman, Public News Service

Experts say children removed from their biological parents tend to have better outcomes when they stay with relatives or people they know, than they do in foster care. And while a recent study found kinship caregivers receive less support than foster parents, two Ohio programs are working to change that.

Tim Harless manages the Kinship Navigator Program at Richland County Children Services, which can connect providers to supports such as finacial or legal aid. Harless says kinship care is much better than unrelated foster care for both the child and the system.

"When children have the opportunity to be placed with people they are familiar with, it's far less traumatic and it's much more cost-efficient. So we need to embrace these folks, respect them, what they've committed to and what they provide for our communities," Harless said.

Two-thirds of kinship caregivers are grandparents. Harless said good policy is in place to help them get children enrolled in school, access medical care and achieve judicial custody. He says similar legal paths need to be opened for other types of kinship caregivers.

"They need assistance if they are seeking some sort of permanency for the child, a power of attorney, custody situations, anything that benefits them to make it easier for these folks who are taking family members into their home."

Another program in Ohio, the Kinship Permanency Incentive Program, provides support for caregivers who are relatives and who agree to permanent custody. Harless says it is considered to be the most cost-effective program in the state and has placed more than 8,000 children  in safe permanent homes with kin.

The study was published in the February issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and is available at www.utsouthwestern.edu