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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 6, 2014 03:12 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Eddie Day Pashinski |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Kinship Navigator Pilot Program |
| In the near future I intend to introduce legislation to establish a Kinship Navigator Pilot Program in Pennsylvania to determine the needs of kinship caregivers, focusing on grandparents raising grandchildren, and assess the feasibility of establishing a statewide Kinship Navigator Program. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, over 191,000 Pennsylvania children, or about seven percent of the children in this state, are being raised by their grandparents. And this figure increases every year. Another 48,000 are being raised by other relatives. The House Aging and Older Adult Services and House Children and Youth Committees held a hearing on this issue in May. Several grandparents from my district talked about the hardships and challenges they face as they raise their grandchildren including: personal costs associated with raising a child; lack of a support network; and respite for the caregiver. Kinship Navigator Programs started over ten years ago across the country as state and county initiatives to connect grandparents and other kinship caregivers with information, support and services. Since then, at least a dozen states have established successful kinship navigator programs, including our neighboring states of Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Act 25 of 2003, the Kinship Care Program, requires county agencies to give relatives first consideration when placing a child, recognizing the importance of keeping children situated in families. Now it's time to take the next step and create a system that helps these caregivers navigate the often confusing web of state and local services to help them keep their families together, preventing more children from being shuffled into the foster care system. Please consider cosponsoring this important legislation. |