One of the intents of the founders of our nation, as expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution, was to "promote the general welfare...in order to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." Promoting Kinship Caregivers is one way to "promote the general welfare...in order to secure the blessings of liberty to...our posterity" (our children). Although, extended family members have always stepped up to the plate to care for their grandchildren or other young relatives, the numbers of Kinship Caregivers are growing. In America, more than six million (1 of every 12 children) is being raised by grandparents (4.5 million) and other relatives (1.5 million). In Illinois, there are 288,827 children (a total of 8.9 % of all children in the state) being raised in Kinship Families. There are 213,465 children living in grandparent-headed households (6.6% of all children in the state). There are another 75,362 children living in households headed by other relatives (2.3% of all children in the state). There are 103,717 grandparents reporting that they are responsible for those almost 213,000 grandchildren in Illinois. The highest percentage of those grandparents are white and 25% of those grandparents are 60 years of age or older. Of the 12 employees at the Shelbyville Daily Union, three of us are raising grandchildren and one more employee has already raised her nephew. That is 25% of our employees that are heading Kinship Families. If all 6 million grandchildren being raised by Kinship Caregivers were dumped into the foster care system, it would cost the government an additional $79.2 billion a year, just in increased foster care payments alone. Thankfully, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, who raise them because they love them and want the best for them, would never turn them over to the State, as long as they are able to care for them. Sadly, the additional costs of the unplanned expense of raising grandchildren, especially on those of fixed incomes, can blow up the budgets of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Therefore, the government, seeing the value and the savings of children being raised in Kinship Families, have found a way to promote Kinship Caregivers. The TANF (Temporary Assistance For Needy Families) grant has been extended to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. Although it is just 10% of the monthly amount given to foster parents, often times it is enough to make the difference and keep stressed budgets afloat. Qualifying for the TANF grant also enables these grandchildren to access other programs, like Head Start, Project Help, S.T.A.R.S., WIC, Kid Care and Childcare Assistance. Although TANF helps to cover some of the additional costs incurred by Kinship Caregivers, only 20 % of the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren qualify for that assistance. Sometimes the most needy fail to qualify, or have their assistance frequently interrupted, mostly for bureaucratic reasons. That is why the Task Force on Grandparents Raising Grandchildren is stepping up their efforts to take on the system. The Task Force, made up of grandparents and state agency workers from various levels, met again this past week in Springfield, not just to talk, but with the will to bring about changes in state agency policies and the way some agency locations operate, so that the system will be more responsive and more "child-centered and family-focused." Since children are the future of our nation and families are the backbone of our nation, promoting Kinship Families is one way to "promote the general welfare" and save the government a bunch of money in the process.
