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Post by REALITY on Jan 15, 2007 22:28:04 GMT -5
Issue: Kinship care
Often the circumstances leading to the consideration of kinship care are related to the inability or unwillingness of the natural parents to care for these children.
The grandparents receive an allowance (if they apply for it) for the child care, but the amount is very inadequate.
Under current legislation, agencies cannot assist unless the child is in need of protection. There are many situations where care by a family member would be the most appropriate plan (called custodial care). The Ministry will not recognize this type of care at the present time, citing legal and philosophical issues.
A Toronto Star article (Oct. 23/02) cites almost 20,000 grandchildren living with grandparents in Ontario.
Definition of Terms
(proposed by the Simcoe CAS Kinship Care Committee):
Includes parents, siblings, relatives, and persons beyond blood ties including godparents, tribe or clan members and best friends - some one who is important to the child. [Relatives Raising Children. An Overview of Kinship Care]
Kinship Care: “The full time nurturing and protection of children who must be separated from their parents by relatives, members of their tribe or clans, godparents, stepparents or other adults who have a kinship bond with a child" [CWLA 1994: 2]
Formal Kinship Care: Formal kinship care occurs where the child has "in care status" with the Society through Temporary Care by Agreement or by court order and is placed by the Society with kin. Also known as "kinship foster care" in some U.S. studies.
Informal Kinship Care: Informal kinship care occurs where the child is being cared for by kin but does not have "in care status" with the Society. The Society may be involved in a supportive role.
In Illinois: Foster Guardianship in Illinois is a form of subsidized guardianship available to any non-parental caregiver, who permits a permanent commitment to the child outside the child welfare system and without the requirement of adoption.
Financial Assistance
Question: is the financial support available to grandparent (and other kinship) insufficient?
Under Ontario Works, any non-parental caregiver is entitled to approximately $200 per month for one child (and $174 for each additional child) and this payment is available as long as necessary to the caregiver. Such payment, however, compares with the minimum foster care rate for one child at $750 per month. In Illinois, as reported by Margaret Philp in the Toronto Star series, foster guardians (usually grandparents or former foster parents of particular children) receive subsidies from the state of approximately $1000 per month per child and more based on the special needs of the child.
Question: Should financial support to kin be the responsibility of CASs where there are protection concerns?
If the child is already in care, or is found to be in need of protection, a kinship care arrangement might be assisted by way of the foster care system and the 'provisional foster home' concept. In such cases, the family can be approved as a home for a particular child and would then receive all the financial and other support offered to foster parents.
Question: Should financial support to kin be the responsibility of CASs where there are no protection concerns?
The involvement of kin as alternative caregivers could prevent the need for children to come into foster care. Grandparents caring for children frequently manage a situation which would otherwise require prevention intervention; CASs can act to support these families and to assist them as fully as possible, in much the way foster parents are supported.
However, some CASs have raised the concern that if any caregiver were made eligible to automatically receive foster care levels of financial support, the system would be open to significant abuse.
Examples of Kinship care projects
~ Toronto CAS - has proposed that CAS could "top-up" the funds provided by Ontario Works to bring kinship subsidies up to the level of foster care payments, seeking to test the assumption that overall this would be cheaper than having the child enter the foster care system. Social work support would be offered in a manner similar to that of Adoption Probation, that is, based upon the family's request for service. This project has not received funding and remains on hold while awaiting funding for an out-of-care kinship care project, is proceeding with its in-care efforts to involve kin. The significant change to its normal approach will be that kin will be actively and aggressively sought to provide care for related children. While this project will likely cost the same as foster care, it is expected that outcomes for children will be more positive. At the same time, pressure on the foster care system will be reduced.
~ Simcoe CAS - is piloting a project in which informal kinship care is sought for children who are NOT in care. The CAS will negotiate with the caregiver and the parent to provide particular needs identified by the kinship caregiver. Assistance, for example, might be provided for daycare, a bed, a washer, or a winter coat. Toronto CAS indicates that this level and model of intervention is already in place for its appropriate families.
~ Calgary Rocky View in Alberta has a kinship care program for in-care children only. Kin are actively sought even at the Intake level. Families receive a per diem and social work support similar to foster families. Alberta reports that the cost of children in kinship care is NOT lowered, but outcomes for children are improved and foster care resources are less strained. Rocky View has moved at least 60 children from foster care into kinship care since 1998.
~ Illinois kinship care program has moved a significant number of children out of foster care into kinship care homes. Illinois automatically provides subsidies to kinship families, geared to the needs of the child. Cases, which were open for foster care, are able to close now though the subsidies continue for the duration of childhood.
Why Kinship Care?
CASs and their American counterparts seem willing to consider kinship care beyond their regular practices for several reasons:
~ Cost saving. Some hope that assisting families with unusual expenses will allow the kin family to care for the child without the full cost of foster care. Illinois, for example, has been able to remove children from foster care by placing them with kin and providing subsidies. It is presumed that many grandparents and other kin are prevented from offering to care for their related children for financial reasons alone.
~ Outcomes for children. Outcomes have been studied and continue to need further study, but preliminary outcomes indicate that kinship care homes reduce the number of moves for children, are less traumatic for children, permit continuity of care within or close to the family. Kinship families are less likely to adopt children and may experience other difficulties. For example, grandparents may feel conflicted loyalties to both their own children and their grandchildren and elderly grandparents may be significantly challenged to meet the needs of adolescents.
~ Foster care system declining. Many agencies report that they lack foster homes both in number and in ability to match the needs of the children entering care. Placements, which are mismatched, result in more breakdowns and hence additional moves for children. Children who should be served in families (foster care) are too often removed and placed in much more costly group home settings or distant communities based on the unavailability of local homes. Some child welfare officials find that the provision of foster care has itself produced poor outcomes for children who are seen as needing to belong to their own family, if only through their extended family. If financial impediments to-kin were removed, it is possible that more caregivers, who are well suited to the particular needs of their related child, would be available to care for children now in foster care. Calgary Rocky View has since 1998 placed 60 children in kinship care and hopes that number will rise to 80 in the next l year.
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Post by REALITY on Jan 15, 2007 22:30:29 GMT -5
RIGHTS OF CHILDREN
Definition
99. In this Part,
“child in care” means a child who is receiving residential services from a service provider and includes,
(a) a child who is in the care of a foster parent, and
(b) a child who is,
(i) detained in a place of temporary detention under the Young Offenders Act (Canada) or the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada),
(ii) committed to a place of secure or open custody designated under subsection 24.1 (1) of the Young Offenders Act (Canada), whether in accordance with section 88 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (Canada) or otherwise, or
(iii) held in a place of open custody under section 95 of Part IV (Youth Justice). R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 99; 2006, c. 19, Sched. D, s. 2 (32).
Locking Up
Locking up restricted
100. (1) No service provider shall detain a child or permit a child to be detained in locked premises in the course of the provision of a service to the child, except as Part IV (Youth Justice) and Part VI (Extraordinary Measures) authorize. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 100 (1); 2006, c. 19, Sched. D, s. 2 (33).
Application of subs. (1)
(2) Subsection (1) does not prohibit the routine locking of premises for security at night. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 100 (2).
Corporal Punishment
No corporal punishment
101. No service provider or foster parent shall inflict corporal punishment on a child or permit corporal punishment to be inflicted on a child in the course of the provision of a service to the child. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 101.
Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy
Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy
102. The Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy is continued under the name Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy in English and Bureau d’assistance à l’enfance et à la famille in French, to,
a) co-ordinate and administer a system of advocacy, except for advocacy before a court, on behalf of children and families who receive or seek approved services or services purchased by approved agencies;
(b) advise the Minister on matters and issues concerning the interests of those children and families; and
(c) perform any similar functions given to it by this Act or the regulations or another Act or the regulations made under another Act. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 102.
Rights of Children in Care
Rights of communication, etc.
103. (1) A child in care has a right,
(a) to speak in private with, visit and receive visits from members of his or her family regularly, subject to subsection (2);
(b) to speak in private with and receive visits from,
(i) the child’s solicitor,
(ii) another person representing the child, including an advocate appointed for the child by the Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy referred to in section 102,
(iii) the Ombudsman appointed under the Ombudsman Act and members of the Ombudsman’s staff, and
iv) a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario or of the Parliament of Canada; and
(c) to send and receive mail that is not read, examined or censored by another person, subject to subsection (3). R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 103 (1).
When child a Crown ward
(2) A child in care who is a Crown ward is not entitled as of right to speak with, visit or receive visits from a member of his or her family, except under an order for access made under Part III (Child Protection). R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 103 (2).
Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, subsection (2) is repealed by the Statutes of Ontario, 2006, chapter 5, section 32 and the following substituted:
When child a Crown ward
(2) A child in care who is a Crown ward is not entitled as of right to speak with, visit or receive visits from a member of his or her family, except under an order for access made under Part III or an openness order or openness agreement made under Part VII. 2006, c. 5, s. 32.
See: 2006, c. 5, ss. 32, 54 (2).
Opening, etc., of mail to child
(3) Mail to a child in care,
(a) may be opened by the service provider or a member of the service provider’s staff in the child’s presence and may be inspected for articles prohibited by the service provider;
(b) where the service provider believes on reasonable grounds that the contents of the mail may cause the child physical or emotional harm, may be examined or read by the service provider or a member of the service provider’s staff in the child’s presence, subject to clause (c);
(c) shall not be examined or read by the service provider or a member of the service provider’s staff if it is to or from the child’s solicitor; and
(d) shall not be censored or withheld from the child, except that articles prohibited by the service provider may be removed from the mail and withheld from the child. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 103 (3).
Personal liberties
104. A child in care has a right,
(a) to have reasonable privacy and possession of his or her own personal property; and
(b) to receive the religious instruction and participate in the religious activities of his or her choice, subject to section 106. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 104.
Plan of care
105. (1) A child in care has a right to a plan of care designed to meet the child’s particular needs, which shall be prepared within thirty days of the child’s admission to the residential placement.
Rights to care
(2) A child in care has a right,
(a) to participate in the development of the child’s individual plan of care and in any changes made to it;
(b) to receive meals that are well-balanced, of good quality and appropriate for the child;
(c) to be provided with clothing that is of good quality and appropriate for the child, given the child’s size and activities and prevailing weather conditions;
(d) to receive medical and dental care, subject to section 106, at regular intervals and whenever required, in a community setting whenever possible;
(e) to receive an education that corresponds to the child’s aptitudes and abilities, in a community setting whenever possible; and
(f) to participate in recreational and athletic activities that are appropriate for the child’s aptitudes and interests, in a community setting whenever possible. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 105.
Parental consent, etc.
106. Subject to subsection 51 (4) and sections 62 and 63 (temporary order, society and Crown wards) of Part III (Child Protection), the parent of a child in care retains any right that he or she may have,
(a) to direct the child’s education and religious upbringing; and
(b) to give or refuse consent to medical treatment for the child. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 106.
Right to be heard
107. A child in care has a right to be consulted and to express his or her views, to the extent that is practical given the child’s level of understanding, whenever significant decisions concerning the child are made, including decisions with respect to medical treatment, education and religion and decisions with respect to the child’s discharge from the placement or transfer to another residential placement. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 107.
Right to be informed
108. A child in care has a right to be informed, in a language suitable for the child’s level of understanding, of,
(a) the child’s rights under this Part;
(b) the internal complaints procedure established under subsection 109 (1) and the further review available under section 110;
(c) the existence of the Office of Child and Family Service Advocacy referred to in section 102;
(d) the review procedures available for children twelve years of age or older under sections 34, 35 and 36 of Part II (Voluntary Access to Services);
(e) the review procedures available under section 97 of Part IV (Youth Justice), in the case of a child described in clause (b) of the definition of “child in care” in section 99;
(f) the child’s responsibilities while in the placement; and
(g) the rules governing day-to-day operation of the residential service, including disciplinary procedures,
upon admission to the residential placement, to the extent that is practical given the child’s level of understanding. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 108; 2006, c. 19, Sched. D, s. 2 (34).
Complaint and Review Procedures
Internal complaints procedure
109. (1) A service provider who provides residential services to children or places children in residential placements shall establish a written procedure, in accordance with the regulations, for hearing and dealing with complaints regarding alleged violations of the rights under this Part of children in care.
Idem
(2) A service provider shall conduct a review or ensure that a review is conducted, in accordance with the procedure established under subsection (1), on the complaint of,
(a) a child in care;
(b) the child’s parent; or
c) another person representing the child,
and shall seek to resolve the complaint. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 109.
Further review
110. (1) Where a person referred to in subsection 109 (2) who makes a complaint and is not satisfied with the result of the review conducted under that subsection requests in writing that the Minister appoint a person to conduct a further review of the complaint, the Minister shall appoint a person who is not employed by the service provider to do so.
Idem
(2) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall review the complaint in accordance with the regulations and may, but is not required to, do so by holding a hearing.
Procedure
(3) The Statutory Powers Procedure Act does not apply to a hearing held under subsection (2).
Powers of appointed person
4) A person appointed under subsection (1) has, for the purposes of the review, all the powers of a program supervisor appointed under subsection 5 (2) of Part I (Flexible Services).
Review and report within thirty days
5) A person appointed under subsection (1) shall, within thirty days after the day of the appointment, complete the review, set out in a report his or her findings and recommendations, including the reasons for not holding a hearing if none was held, and provide copies of the report to,
(a) the person who made the complaint;
(b) the service provider; and
(c) the Minister. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s. 110.
Minister to advise persons affected of any decision
111. (1) Where the Minister decides to take any action with respect to a complaint after receiving a report under subsection 110 (5), the Minister shall advise the person who made the complaint and the service provider of the decision.
Remedies preserved
(2) The Minister’s decision referred to in subsection (1) does not affect any other remedy that may be available. R.S.O. 1990, c. C.11, s
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Post by REALITY on Jan 15, 2007 22:55:53 GMT -5
Compare this to the 20,000 kinship families in care, in Ontario who have 221.00 from Ontario works and a handful of grandparent group leaders for support. Children in CAS's Care in Ontario www.oacas.org/resources/casstats.htm a.. CAS provided substitute care to 30,423 children during the 12 month period of April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005 b.. On average, 9.23 per 1000 children were served in care in 2004 - 2005 compared to 8.44 in 2000 - 2001 a.. there were 18,830 children in care on March 31, 2005 , a 19% increase since March 31, 2001 a.. 9% of the children were on temporary care or special needs agreements b.. 20% of the children were in care on temporary care and custody orders c.. 13% of the children were society wards d.. 49% of the children were crown wards e.. 8% were youth on extended care and maintenance f.. 1% of the children were on adoption consents Expenditures a.. total net expenditures for CASs for 2004 - 2005 are $1.174 billion. b.. The Funding Framework for CASs responds to volumes of service and benchmarks for staffing, boarding home rates and staff salaries c.. There's been a 56% increase in net expenditures since 2000-2001 CAS Staffing a.. there were 7,610 full time equivalent staff on March 31, 2005 b.. 72% of CAS staff work in direct service (non-residential and residential)
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Post by REALITY on Jan 21, 2007 21:40:06 GMT -5
Ministry of Children and Youth Services press conference in Niagara Falls Tuesday January 23. 2:00pm
They will be announcing HUGE changes for kinship caregivers involved with CAS!
Will post the details when released.
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Post by REALITY on Jan 22, 2007 8:19:28 GMT -5
CANGRANDS 'official' quote for media for Tuesday's announcement Minister of Children and Youth Services' in case any of you want to get local press involved! “For a long time, many grandparents and kinship family members have wanted to care for their vulnerable grandchildren and kinship children, however have been unable to do so because they could not get the funding or services they needed,” said Betty Cornelius, president of CANGRANDS,of a national support group for grandparents and Kinship family members raising kin-children. “We are delighted that the government has listened to those who advocate for kinship children who need care, and the grandparents and extended family or community members who are willing to give them safe, loving, permanent homes to grow up in.”
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Post by REALITY on Jan 23, 2007 16:32:42 GMT -5
January 23, 2007
McGuinty Government Supporting Grandparents Who Care For Vulnerable Grandchildren
Extended Family, Community Members May Be Eligible For Support
NIAGARA FALLS — Grandparents, extended family members and community members who care for children in need of protection may now be eligible for financial support and services as part of new reforms to Ontario’s child well-being and protection system, Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Anne Chambers announced today.
“Children who are unable to grow up with their parents due to protection concerns should have the opportunity, wherever possible, to grow up with members of their extended families,” said Chambers. “Protection of Ontario’s children is our number one priority. These new supports and services will encourage and enable grandparents and extended family or community members to provide the stability and security where children are not able to stay with their parents because of safety concerns.”
Under the new policy, grandparents and extended family or community members who are looking after a child in the care of a children’s aid society (CAS), and who are approved as foster parents, will receive the foster care rate of approximately $900 per month from their local CAS. This includes members of aboriginal communities who are looking after a child under customary care arrangements.
“Some grandparents have told us that they want a system that makes it easier for them to adopt their grandchildren or become their legal guardians or foster parents,” said Niagara Falls MPP, Kim Craitor. “As a result of today’s announcement, more grandparents and extended family members will be able to provide vulnerable children with caring, secure homes.”
Grandparents and extended family or community members caring for Crown wards who obtain legal custody, or who decide to adopt those children, may also be eligible for funding and support services, up to the foster care rate.
The changes also mean that grandparents and extended family or community members looking after children who are in need of protection, but have not been admitted to the formal care of a CAS, could be eligible for emergency financial aid for a variety of needs.
“For a long time, many grandparents and kinship family members have wanted to care for their vulnerable grandchildren and kinship children, however have been unable to do so because they could not get the funding or services they needed,” said Betty Cornelius, president of CANGRANDS, a national support group for grandparents and Kinship family members raising kin-children. “We are delighted that the government has listened to those who advocate for kinship children who need care, and the grandparents and extended family or community members who are willing to give them safe, loving, permanent homes to grow up in.”
“Grand-Parenting Again Canada has made it a goal for the past 5 years to receive financial support for children living with alternate kin equal to that of foster parents,” said Sandra Schoenfeldt, president of Grand-Parenting Again Canada. “Our hope is more children will be able to stay with their family members now that our provincial government is making this commitment.”
“We have advocated for over six years for recognition for grandparents raising grandchildren. We see more and more grandparents, many of whom are widows, on fixed incomes taking care of their grandchildren and in desperate need of financial assistance,” said Sheila Volchert, spokesperson for Second Chance for Kids. “Today’s announcement will finally give grandparents and their grandchildren a more secure future.”
These measures are part of the reforms the McGuinty government has made to strengthen Ontario’s child well-being and protection system. In February 2006, the government also introduced a kinship regulation to require background checks on all adults in the home where children in need of protection will be living.
Other improvements that came into effect in November 2006 under amendments to the Child and Family Services Act include:
* Increasing the accountability of children's aid societies through an independent and timely complaints process * Allowing openness arrangements that will make it possible for more children to be adopted while keeping important ties to their birth families and communities * Emphasizing customary care arrangements that allow Aboriginal children and youth to maintain important cultural and family ties * Helping to resolve child protection cases outside of the courtroom more quickly through collaborative solutions such as mediation.
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Post by REALITY on Jan 23, 2007 16:33:27 GMT -5
January 23, 2007
Government Reforms Include Support For Grandparents To Care For Vulnerable Grandchildren
The McGuinty government is committed to helping more vulnerable children find safe, caring, permanent homes.
Last year, steps were taken through amendments to the Child and Family Services Act to help grandparents who want to take care of their grandchildren in need of protection to provide them with safe, permanent homes through adoption, foster parenting, customary care or legal guardianship. For example, the process for gaining legal custody is now streamlined so it is not as cumbersome for grandparents and may reduce their legal fees.
The legislative changes also make it easier for a child protection worker to place a child who is in the formal care of a children’s aid society (CAS) with an extended family or community member as a place of safety when that child cannot remain safely with either parent. This may encourage more grandparents, extended family members or other members of a vulnerable child’s community to care for a child who cannot remain with parents for safety reasons and is in need of protection.
Under new policy changes in place in early February, grandparents, extended family members or other members of a vulnerable child’s community may be eligible for financial and case worker support through their local CAS in a variety of situations where they are caring for a child who is in need of protection and cannot remain in his or her own home for safety reasons, as follows:
Scenario
Financial support
Other Support Child1 not in care of a CAS, but placed with grandparent2 Emergency financial aid such as child safety seats, child safety-related home repairs and other needs Caseworkers Child1 in care of a CAS and grandparent2 approved as a foster parent for short-term or longer-term foster care Foster care rate of approximately $900 a month to meet the basic care, health and safety needs of the child Caseworker Child1 placed in formal customary care arrangement. The home is supervised by a society under a Customary Care Agreement4 and a band council declaration. Foster care licensing standards apply. Foster care rate of approximately $900 a month to meet the basic care, health and safety needs of the child Caseworker and band family service worker Child1 is a Crown ward3 and placed with a grandparent2 who has applied to adopt or has adopted the child May receive a subsidy based on child’s needs and grandparent’s2 ability to meet those needs, up to the foster care rate Caseworker, as needed Child1 is a former Crown ward3 and placed with a grandparent2 who has obtained legal custody5 of the child May receive a subsidy based on child’s needs and grandparent’s2 ability to meet those needs, up to the foster care rate Caseworker, as needed
In February 2006, the Ontario government introduced the kinship regulation to require background checks on all adults in a home where children in need of protection will be living.
1 Child has been assessed by the children’s aid society to be in need of protection 2 Includes grandparents, extended family members or another member of a vulnerable child’s community 3 Children in the permanent care of a children’s aid society 4 The care and supervision of an Aboriginal child by a person who is not the child’s parents, according to the custom of the child’s band or native community 5 Court has made an order pursuant to Section 65.2 of the Child and Family Services Act
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Post by REALITY on Jan 23, 2007 16:34:03 GMT -5
Questions and Answers - Support for Grandparents Caring for Children in need of Protection The Ontario government is committed to helping more vulnerable children grow up in safe, caring and permanent homes.
As part of new reforms to Ontario’s child well-being and protection system, grandparents, extended family members and community members caring for children in need of protection may now be able to receive financial and caseworker supports. Members of aboriginal communities who are looking after a child in a customary care arrangement may also be eligible.
Q1. When will the financial and caseworker supports for grandparents, extended family members and members of the community be available?
The new provincial funding guidelines come into effect in early February 2007 for all 53 of Ontario’s children’s aid societies.
Q2. How do I apply?
Contact your children’s aid society caseworker to find out if you are eligible to receive additional supports. Families may receive financial assistance based on the child’s needs and their ability to financially meet those needs. Financial assistance from community services, private and government programs will be considered before the society will provide financial assistance.
Q3. I would like to care for my grandchild in need. Do I need to go through a screening process first?
Background screening checks are required for all adults who would like to enter a kinship relationship to support a child in care.
Q4. Will I lose my Ontario Works support if I get financial support for my grandchild?
You will need to discuss your unique situation with your Ontario Works caseworker to determine if your Ontario Works support may change. Q5. What could the financial support be used for?
Financial support would be used to meet the child’s basic needs, including food, clothing, medical and dental care, school supplies, and start-up costs such as bedroom furniture for the child.
Eligibility
Q6. Are grandparents, extended family members or community members who have already been caring for children in need or protection eligible to receive the new financial supports and services?
Yes. The new policy is not limited to new applicants.
Q7. My grandchild has been assessed by the children’s aid society to be in need in protection and is now in my care. Am I eligible for any short-term or emergency funding?
You may be able to receive short-term or emergency financial aid.
Short-term or emergency funding pays for things not immediately available through other government or community programs. It is meant to address immediate health and safety concerns which could be:
* an unforeseen need for overnight accommodation * home repairs such as fixing a broken window or installing safety locks on windows and doors * transportation to a child’s counselling sessions
Q8. My grandchild is in the care of a CAS and I have been approved as their foster parent. Am I eligible for funding?
You will receive the foster care rate of about $900 a month for the child’s basic care, health and safety needs. Q9. I plan to adopt my grandchild who is a Crown ward placed in my care. Am I eligible to receive any funding?
You may be able to receive a subsidy based on the child’s needs and on your financial ability to meet those needs. This would be up to the foster care rate of about $900 a month. You may receive aid for a child’s specific costs such as orthodontic treatment or speech and language therapy. Aid could be used to allow the child to be with siblings or relatives, or to keep cultural and religious connections.
Q10. I have legal custody of my grandchild who is a former Crown ward. Am I eligible for funding?
You may able to receive the foster care rate of about $900 a month for the child’s basic care, health and safety needs. Financial aid is intended to assist with specific costs, or to supplement funding from other private or government programs to provide for a child’s special services, such as orthodontic treatment, or speech and language therapy. Families may also receive emergency and ongoing financial assistance to help the child with special services, and to cover costs related to keeping contact with siblings and other relatives, or to keeping up religious or cultural connections.
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Post by mary on Jan 27, 2007 23:36:45 GMT -5
Needs, Service-costs and Outcomes in Foster Care in Three Ontario Children's Aid Societies Author: Joan Matilda School of Psychology This Doctoral Thesis was written in English. Directed by: Robert Flynn Year: 2006 Defended on: 2006.03.06 Abstract: Costing studies are necessary to ensure that scarce funds are allocated to services that best meet children’s needs and lead to positive changes in their functioning. The Production of Welfare (POW) model for costing social services provides a conceptual framework for examining variations in cost in relation to needs and outcomes. The few studies that have looked at costs of services to children and youth suggest that health needs, emotional/behavioural problems, gender and age may influence cost. Our study questions were: (1) What are the average annual per-child costs of foster care? (2) Do higher health needs predict higher costs? (3) Do higher costs during a 12-month period predict better outcomes? The outcomes included in the study were self-esteem, prosocial behaviour, emotional distress/anxiety, conduct disorder/physical aggression, indirect aggression and ill-health. The total average annual opportunity cost per child was $22,892 (N=119). Greater ill-health at baseline predicted higher costs. Cost did not predict changes on self-esteem, prosocial behaviour and emotional distress/anxiety. Contrary to expectations, higher costs were associated with increases in conduct disorder/physical aggression, indirect aggression and ill-health over the 12 months of the study. Kinship care was less expensive than regular foster care, but the study included only 8 children in kinship care. Our results suggest that higher expenditures are targeted at children with greater health needs. Costs may not have yet been able to predict positive changes in outcomes because the time period of the study was for the interventions to have the impact on behaviour that would bring about positive changes. This means that further research with a longer follow-up period is required. A prospective cost study could provide a more complete description of the total costs required to support a child in foster care. Given the small number of participants in kinship care in our study, the relationship between kinship care and cost can only be viewed as exploratory. A larger sample of children in kinship care could provide more information on the costs of kinship care and the relationship between costs and outcomes in kinship care in comparison to regular foster care. www.sciencessociales.uottawa.ca/psy/eng/thesisdetails.asp?ID=852
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Post by REALITY on Mar 5, 2007 21:24:28 GMT -5
The following is an excerpt taken from a news announcement on the Ministry of Children and Youth Services web site January 23, 2007.
"Under the new policy, grandparents and extended family or community members who are looking after a child in the care of a children’s aid society (CAS), and who are approved as foster parents, will receive the foster care rate of approximately $900 per month from their local CAS. This includes members of aboriginal communities who are looking after a child under customary care arrangements."
The following is the truth!
There is no foster care rate funding for any kinship placements! " Apparently" as it was explained to me in a meeting with a social worker for the CAS, (from their new department to handle kinship placement funding), the Minister Mary Anne Chambers made a mistake when making this announcement. She did not first consult with her financial people in regards to how much this was going to cost them. There is currently no funding available through the government for kinship placement. I may be able to receive funding for special circumstances like, (as suggested as an example to me), equipment and enrollment fees for hockey. (the boys are 2 & 3 years old). Personally, I don't think things like playing hockey are as important as food, clothing, a roof over their heads, medications, etc. I would love for the boys to play hockey eventually.......currently.....I'd just like to make sure my family has the basic needs. The government is still in an "investigation" period regarding future funding. I will post more information when it becomes available to me.
I plan to write a letter to Mary Anne Chambers in regards to this issue. If you would like to express your concerns, and would like me to include them with mine, please email me at reality@inbox.com I will print them and mail them as a whole. Thank you.
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litigator
Junior Member
The legal guy
Posts: 20
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Post by litigator on Mar 11, 2007 7:13:53 GMT -5
www.cangrands.com/grgsupport.htmhere is a link to some information on financial support for grandparents that have their grandchildren, living with them or coming to live with them
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Post by REALITY on Jun 8, 2007 22:16:19 GMT -5
Grandparents raising grandchildren often need financial help
June 8, 2007 10:58 AM Lisa Day
Dozens of seniors were at a provincial government press conference excitedly awaiting the announcement that they - grandparents who are raising their grandchildren - were finally getting the financial aid they'd been seeking.
The press conference, held in February, was to announce amendments to the Child and Family Services Act.
Bill 210 includes changes to kinship care, including increasing the amount grandparents, and other extended family caregivers, receive.
When the Canadian Association for Retired Persons (CARP), a downtown-Toronto based organization, was informed the provincial government was going to financially compensate grandparents, they endorsed the new bill.
They, like those dozens of grandparents, were at the press conference to hear the details of the changes.
"The devil," said Judy Cutler, director of government relations with CARP, "is in the details."
And those details were disappointing, according to CARP and some grandparents.
The grandparents at the press conference, many of whom are raising grandchildren on their public pensions and the $210 a month the government provides, learned that only children in the care of the Children's Aid Society and deemed in need of protection may receive the same amount of money as those who foster children.
"It's outrageous," Cutler said. "It was a slap in the face."
It takes about $164,000 to raise a child up to the age 18. People who provide foster care receive about $900 a month, said Scarborough East MPP Mary Anne Chambers, the Minister of Children and Youth Services.
"It's not only (seniors) who suffer, kids are, too," Cutler said.
Grandparents, and the some organizations that support them, don't think that's right.
"Most of these kids are damaged kids," said Annex resident Joan Louise Brooks, who raised two of her grandchildren and is the president of GRAND (Grandparents Requesting Access and Dignity), which has chapters across the country.
"These politicians look at the money. Look at how much money we are saving the taxpayer (by raising grandchildren rather than putting them in foster care). Some grandparents need a little bit of help. For God's sake, help them."
But Chambers said the bottom line is that everything has a cost and the taxpayer can only fund so much.
She said the amendment is good news and it allows the government to "help where the need is great. We have enhanced support to grandparents and extended family members who look after children deemed to be in need of protection."
But Brooks and other grandparents argued that they too require help, particularly as the children get older and need to be involved in sports and other activities to keep them out of trouble.
Lynn Cunningham's goal is to keep her step-grandson out of the jail.
Cunningham is raising her ex-husband's grandson, Andrew, 16, who has fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), on her own.
The Toronto Island resident said Andrew has the mental capacity of a eight-year-old. It means that while he goes to school with his peers, his judgment and decision-making ability is years younger and it is unlikely he will ever have the necessary life skills to live on his own.
"He's not going to be moving out and going to the UofT (University of Toronto) at 18. Chances of post-secondary education is non-existent."
For Cunningham, her desire is to keep Andrew out of trouble and give him a quality of life he deserves for the rest of his life. And at 57, Cunningham knows she has to plan for years of care for Andrew after she has died.
"A concern for me ... is having enough money in my estate to ensure that he is able to live a good life. The cost of raising him has had a significant impact on my ability to save."
Cunningham recently returned to her job after being on long-term disability after suffering a breakdown.
She was in debt from rescuing Andrew at 18 months from the Children's Aid Society when he was taken away from his alcoholic mother, who died of alcohol complications in 2002.
She also had the cost of selling her house in order to by a bigger one to accommodate Andrew, plus all the costs of getting a special needs child help.
Esme Fuller-Thomson, a Bloor West Village resident and assistant professor in the faculty of social work at the University of Toronto in the Annex, did a study looking at the number of grandparents raising grandchildren.
Fuller-Thomson said poverty is indeed the main issue grandparents raising grandchildren face.
While Canada has less extreme poverty than the U.S., financial instability is an issue wherever grandparents live.
There are "few options," Fuller-Thomson said. "It's terribly worrisome."
According to Fuller-Thomson's study, about 30 per cent of so-called 'skipped' generation households, where grandparents are raising their grandchildren without a parent in the home, survive on less than $15,000 a year. The median grandparent-led household income was $23,297, with the average at about $31,000.
She gave the example of a grandparent in her early 50s, leaving her job because she can't find day care for her grandchild. The grandmother raises the grandchild for the next few years and then tries to get back into the workplace.
"The next 20 years look really bleak."
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