Rep. Pashinski addresses Grandparents Raising Grandchildren conference

PLAINS TWP. — Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D, D-121) on Friday said his support for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program began when three grandparents told him their stories.

Pashinski was the keynote speaker at Friday’s 18th annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) conference of the NEPA Inter-generational Coalition at The Woodlands.

Pashinski has shown his support for grandparents by introducing several pieces of legislation to the state General Assembly — the latest being House Bill 931.

Pashinski said the bill was “laid on the table” in April, meaning discussion has been postponed. But if it passes, he said it would provide grants for non-profit organizations that provide legal services to kinship care families.

“Many kinship families are in low-income households, never expecting to have to raise their grandchildren, let alone pay for costly legal services needed to legally take care of their grandchildren,” Pashinski said. “Evidence has proven there are more advantages of having at-risk children stay in a stable family environment, while relieving pressure on the local foster care system.”

Pashinski has long been an advocate of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, fighting for legislation to ease the burden on them.

Pashinski’s latest push is for House Bill 931 — legislation establishing the Kinship Care Legal Assistance Grant Program to assist kinship caregivers facing legal and financial challenges when a child has been placed in their care.

“I first became aware of this issue more than a decade ago when I was fortunate enough to meet several heroes in Northeastern Pennsylvania — grandparents who stepped in to raise their grandchildren when the overdose crisis reached their families,” Pashinski said. “In response, we passed three pieces of legislation in 2018 to create important resources for grandparents.

Bills passed in 2018 include:

• Act 88 of 2018/ HB1539 — Created Temporary Emergency Guardianship Program for the grandparents.

• Act 89 of 2018/HB2133 — Established the Kinship Caregiver Navigator Program.

• H.R. 390 — This resolution directed the Joint State Government Commission to study the trend of grandfamilies in Pennsylvania and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly.

“This was a tremendous start, but I and many others continue to hear that kinship caregivers and the organizations who support them are still struggling to access the resources they need and deserve as they take care of their family member’s children,” Pashinski said. “These kin caregivers, along with the 2019 JSGC report, have all identified advancing access to legal assistance for kin caregivers as one of the important next steps for Pennsylvania policymakers.”

Pashinski said that’s exactly what House Bill 931 is — a critical next step to supporting kinship care households facing complex issues and that they often aren’t equipped to navigate on their own.

Pashinski said the Kinship Care Legal Assistance Grant Program would award grant funds to eligible non-profit organizations that provide case management or legal services to kinship care families. Grant funds awarded could be used for the administrative, civil legal services and other costs associated with a kinship caregiver.

This includes, but is not limited to, standby guardianship, adoption, power of attorney for medical and educational care, and assisting with informal relative kinship care arrangements.

“House Bill 931 would help better inform and support Pennsylvania’s kinship caregivers by offering more resources and assistance for those who have stepped up to care for a family member’s child,” Pashinski said. “As the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children stated in their letter of support for the bill, ‘this legislation would empower kin caregivers to navigate the legal system and access services to support the children and youth in their care.’”

Pashinski added that grandparents, kin caregivers and advocates agree — passing House Bill 931 will ensure that Pennsylvania continues to step up for the grandparents and other relatives who have stepped up for their families by becoming kinship caregivers.

”While the bill only made it out of committee this session, I am committed and confident that we will be able to move it forward next year,” he said.

Grossman lauded for 20 years of leadership

Pashinski also took time to praise the work of Howard Grossman, who has headed the NEPA Inter-generational Coalition for 20 years.

“I can’t say enough about the hard work Howard has done to build this organization and I commend him for his dedication,” Pashinski said.

Grossman said that every family has a different story, noting parents might be unable to care for their children because of death, incarceration, illness, military service or other reasons.

“In 80 percent of the cases,” he said, “drugs are involved.”

At Friday’s event, grandparents were able to go table to table and get a lot of information, a lot of handouts, Grossman said.

“We always get a lot of questions, especially in the afternoon,” he said, when the legal advisors will be present.”

The program focuses on grandparents who are raising their grandchildren for many extenuating circumstances.

“Suddenly the day-to-day work, the decisions, the discipline, the helping with homework — it’s all on you,” Grossman said. “This is a very dynamic and growing demographic.”

Grossman cited figures, such as 21,000 families in Northeastern Pennsylvania are among the 90,000 in the state that include grandparents — or aunts or uncles or other relatives — raising children.

He said he knows many of these caregivers could use some help, ranging from information about support groups to a chance to talk to attorneys about such topics as gaining legal custody.

For information, go to https://grgnepa.org/about/ .