A kinship promise — will we keep it?

Kinship caregivers are often approached by the system in a time of crisis. Typically, that’s when a child is removed from an unsafe home or even in the hospital due to abuse/neglect. (Getty Images)

At the second gubernatorial debate in October 2023, the governor acknowledged the plight of kinship. Later he said , “We must do everything we can to ensure their needs are met.”

Kinship care is when a child is living with relatives or close family friends other than their parents. These children may be victims of abuse and neglect and/or formally in the child welfare system; while many for a myriad of reasons are informally left with relatives or friends.

There are things we do well in Kentucky around kinship care and there are things that need improvement. For the past five years, we’ve needed improvement regarding the initial placement process. This is when a caregiver is given paperwork from the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) which captures specific custody details around placement with them.

When placement is offered, it’s an emotional time for a caregiver.  They are in shock as they hear details about the circumstances of the child’s removal from their home such as abuse, neglect and sometimes even dealing with the child’s required hospitalization.

At the initial placement conversation, there’s a multitude of things to consider such as researching many services; learning about the family court system and DCBS requirements; determining the emotional and physical needs of the child. A caregiver might not be thinking clearly and there are many unknowns. The initial wrong decision can affect longer term services for the child.

This year, we found an answer to improving the initial placement process. It is Senate Bill 151 . Though it should have been simple and was unanimously approved and signed into law. It has a history to sort out in regards to implementation. At the center of the issues, there’s a Feb. 8 estimate created by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) that reflects the need for $20 million in additional general funds to implement. There’s also a referenced Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that basically states that if there isn’t funding, there doesn’t have to be implementation.

The bill was amended with stricter parameters and was presented on Feb. 29  to the House Families and Children’s committee.  There were no objections or concerns raised at the meeting and the bill unanimously moved forward until signed by the Gov. Andy Beshear on April 5.

It’s my opinion that the amended bill reduces costs (from the Feb. 8 CHFS estimate) by limiting placement time option to 120 days and through other potential administrative regulation changes. It’s even better cost wise, if we get federal funding.

At the IJC Children and Families meeting on July 30, the CHFS secretary shared that they would be happy to ask for federal funding. The $20 million estimate that holds SB-151 hostage from implementation did not include federal funds. Kentucky gets approximately 72 cents of every dollar of applicable federal funds.

As legislators continue to pursue the issues, we wait until the next committee meeting in late-August. As a kinship advocate who understands the seriousness of needed changes like SB-151 for vulnerable families; it feels like a series of games of “Whack-A-Mole,” where each event leads to another meeting with something new, but without tangible results. I’m most concerned about families becoming ineligible for longer term services because we are waiting for resolution. I also feel we can do more around better communication of the services in the interim.

We need a private working meeting with CHFS, some legislators, key experts/stakeholders, where we’d assess potential funding sources; review the amended bill and revise regulation changes all focused on one goal — creating a definitive plan to do the work expeditiously. We shouldn’t leave the room until we have an agreed upon plan. I’d volunteer my time and gather state and national child welfare experts who would give their time.

The governor was right when he said we should be doing everything we can to ensure that their (kinship) needs are met. We need his intervention to keep the promise to kinship families.

We can’t change the past, but we can change today and the future.