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They Call Me Momma: Relatives Raising Children
Please
tell us about your experiences
with kinship care - Take the kinship care survey.
Scroll down for a list
of Kinship Care programming
and Kinship Care resources.
Major funding
for this project was provided by the
St. Ann Foundation.
Family is often regarded as the backbone of raising children.
A lot has been said in recent years about the strains on family - two
parents working, single parents raising children, the effects of poverty
and a violent culture.
But what happens when parents - for some reason - can
no longer raise their children? Who steps in? Increasingly, it is kin,
most often grandparents, who provide care.
While kinship care is common in traditional cultures,
it was barely heard of in our public child welfare system before 1980.
Now it is considered not only a new option, but often the best one in
a strained system that has seen a steep increase in the last decade in
numbers of children coming into the custody of the state.
Why are there so many children whose parents are unable
to raise them? There are a host of reasons: drug addiction, parental neglect
and abuse, mental illness, abandonment, family violence, incarceration
or death.
Kinship care is a good option. But it often rests on the
shoulders of those who have their own lives to lead, and sometimes their
own health and economic problems. What supports exist to help these grandparents
and other relatives function?
Early programs in the series have focused on the caregivers,
at the parents no longer on the scene and at the children. Future programs
will address issues of legal authority, public and private services available
for caregivers, financial need, and success stories of attempts to create
communities of service for grandparents and children in kinship care relationships.
Finally, this series looks at what still needs to be done: how kinship
care fits in with the current public policy in child welfare, and the
need to find children permanent homes in a short time frame while also
seeking family re-unification.
KINSHIP CARE BROADCAST
SCHEDULE
For the text and
audio of each broadcast,
click on the links below.
- August 27, 2001
Introduction, kinship
care; 90.3 WCPN drive time
- August 28, 2001
Introduction,
cont.; 90.3 WCPN drive time
- September 10, 2001
Absent parents; 90.3
WCPN drive time
- September 17, 2001
Call-in; 90.3 WCPN 9 o'clock hour
- September 24, 2001
Children; 90.3 WCPN
drive time
- October 1, 2001
Call-in; 90.3 WCPN 9 o'clock hour
- October 8, 2001
Legal issues; 90.3
WCPN drive time
- October 9, 2001
Public services; 90.3
WCPN drive time
- October 22, 2001
Private services;
90.3 WCPN drive time
- November 5, 2001
Financial issues;
90.3 WCPN drive time
- November 19, 2001
Housing; 90.3 WCPN
drive time
- December 3, 2001
Conculsion, summary;
90.3 WCPN drive time
- December 3, 2001
Documentary/call-in;
90.3 WCPN
KINSHIP CARE RESOURCES,
HELPLINES,
WEBSITES, AND PUBLICATIONS
For a hard copy of this list
please call 216-432-3700 x349
RESOURCES AND HOTLINES
Cuyahoga County Community Navigators
Cuyahoga County Department of Senior and Adult Services http://www.cuyahoga.oh.us/dsas
Navigators can connect you to the services you need such as health, education,
financial, legal, respite care and support groups. Don't worry if you
don't see a navigator for your community. Call the Services Coordinator
at 216-420-6772 for assistance.
Cleveland: Central - 216-696-9077 x 484
Cleveland: Hough - 216-881- 9912
East Cleveland: 216-681-2011
Euclid: 216-289-2985
Garfield Heights: 216-475-3244
Lakewood: 216-226-9339
Maple Heights: 216-587-9604
Parma Heights: 440-888-4416
Warrensville Heights: 216-464-4665
Hotline to report child abuse or neglect
Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services
216-696-KIDS
First Call for Help
Specialists are available to give you information and referrals. The service
is free and confidential.
United Way
216-436-2000
24-hour Family Helpline
Support and in-home counseling services
Bellflower Center
216-436-2000
Starting Point
Helps find childcare
2000 E. Ninth St. Suite 1400
Cleveland Ohio 44115
216-575-0061
State Help Line
HELP ME GROW hotline
1-800-755-4769
SUPPORT GROUPS AND OTHER SERVICES
Grandparent and other care giver support groups provide participants
with emotional, social and informational support in dealing with the challenges
they face raising relatives grandchildren and other relatives.
Cuyahoga County
Fairhill Center
12200 Fairhill Rd.
Cleveland Ohio 44120
http://www.fairhillcenter.org
- Fairhill Grandparent Support Group
216-421-1350
Bernice Harris
- Fairhill Intergenerational Resource Center
216-421-1350
Jane Outcalt
Lakewood Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
13616 Madison Ave.
Lakewood Ohio 44107
216-529-6870
Deanna Rose
St. Martin DePorres Center
1264 E 123rd St.
Cleveland Ohio 44108
216-268-3909
Marsha Blanks
Ashtabula
County
Children Services of Ashtabula County
888-998-1811
Grandaids Support Group
440-576-9008
Lake County
Parenting Classes and Resources for Grandparents:
Ohio State University Extension
440-350-2582
Information and Referral
440-350-4491
Lorain County
Lorain County Office of Aging
440-326-4818
Grandparent Group
East Park Recreation Center
1101 Prospect Street
Elyria, Ohio
440-322-3028
Joyce Snyder
Respite for Grandparents
Catholic Charities Services of Lorain County
440-244-9915
Jim Gepperth
Child Care Resource Center for Lorain County
Part of the state network of child care resource & referral agencies and
serve Lorain, Erie, Huron, Sandusky & Seneca Counties.
5350 Oberlin Ave
Lorain, Ohio 44053
(440) 960-7187 or (800) 526-5268
Medina
County
Ohio State University Extension
Parenting classes
330-725-4911
Summit County
Info Line, Inc.
866-996-5330 (toll free)
Summit County Children's Services, Kinship Care Department
Clothing, food and other child needs
330-379-2104
The Family Place
An intergenerational Parenting Resource Center Support groups for Summit
County residents
330-996-1799
West Side - St. Paul Episcopal Church, first Tuesday 6:00-8:00
PM, third Thursday 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
East Side - South Arlington United Methodist Church, second Monday
6:00-8:00 PM, fourth Wednesday 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
WEB SITES AND ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
AARP Grandparent Support Information Center
601 E. St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20049
202-434-2296
http://www.AARP.org/grandparents
The Brookdale Foundation Group
This foundation gives grants to start support groups.
125 E. 56th St.
New York, NY 10022
(212) 308-7555
Child Welfare League of America
Advocates for children, especially those in the child welfare system
440 First Street, NW 3rd Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
http://www.cwla.org
The Children's Defense Fund
Advocates for needy children
25 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 628-8787
http://www.childrensdefense.org
Generations United
Advocates for issues affecting both children and the elderly.
122 C Street NW, Suite 820
Washington, D.C. 20001
(202) 638-1263
http://www.gu.org
The Saint Ann Foundation
Their Kinship Care Initiative responds to situations in which family members
other than parents are raising children. Funding is available for documenting
the nature and extent of kinship care, the strengthening of service delivery
systems, and increasing public awareness of this critical intergenerational
issue.
Hanna Building, Suite 425
1422 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216)-241-9300
(216) 241-9345 Fax
http://www.socstannfdn.org
PUBLICATIONS
Cuyahoga County's Grandparent and Other Kinship Caregiver Resource
Guide
Information about a broad range of both county and national resources.
216-420-6772
Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren: What to Consider and
Where to Find Help
Tips for Grandparents: Raising Healthy Grandchildren
Tips for Grandparents: Starting a Support Group
AARP Grandparent Support Information Center
601 E. St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20049
202-434-2296
Also available locally through the Fairhill Center: 216-421-1350
Relatives Caring for Children: Ohio Resource Guide
by Barbara Turpin
Ohio Dept. of Job and Family Services, Bureau of Adoption and Kinship
Office for Children and Families
65 East State Street 9th Floor
Columbus Ohio 43266-0423
This resource is good for help outside the Northeast Ohio area.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A guide to finding help and
hope
by Marianne Takas
A publication of the Brookdale Foundation.
Send $3 for mailing and handling costs to:
The Grandparents Guide, the Brookdale Foundation Group
126 E. 56th St.
New York, N.Y. 10022
Intergenerational Caregiving to Youth at Risk: The Grandmother
Study (2001-2005)
Carol Musil, Ph.D, RN, Principal Investigator
Camille Warner, MA, Ph.D (c), Project Manager
Funding provided by The National Institute of Health/National Institute
of Nursing
Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing
Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106-4904
Telephone: 216-368-5338
fpb.cwru.edu/Grandmother
RESEARCH AND SURVEYS
Formal and Informal Kinship Care in Cuyahoga County, 1998
Dr. Wornie Reed, Director, Urban Child Research Center, Cleveland State
University.
Available from the St. Ann Foundation
216-241-9300
Survey of Kinship Care in Cuyahoga County, 2000
Dr. Wornie Reed, Director, Urban Child Research Center, Cleveland State
University.
Available from the St. Ann Foundation
216-421-9300
CONFERENCES
Granparent/Kinship Caregiver Resource Fair
9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
September 12, 2001
University Club
3813 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland.
Co-sponsored by the Cuyahoga County Department of Senior and Adult Services
and AARP. Free child care available.
216-420-6773.
You Are Not Alone
Conference for grandparents raising grandchildren and other kinship and
other caregivers
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
September 20, 2001
Spitzer Conference Center
Lorain County Community College, Elyria
Sponsored by the Lorain County Office on Aging. Free child care. Reservations
required.
Call 1-800-995-5222 ext. 4148 or 440-366-4148.
OF INTEREST
- NPR's
David Molpus reports on the people who are putting careers and parenthood
on hold in order to care for their aging parents.
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