Kinship Day at the Capitol: GrandRally Giving Voice to Kinship Families
September 26, 2018
Kinship/relative caregivers, families and supporters gathered at the Capitol to highlight their experiences, connect with each other and share concerns with legislators. 228,000 Ohio children live in homes headed by grandparents and other relatives. The rally worked to raise awareness about the issues facing Ohio's families.
They focused on the following requests.
Kinship Care Day at the Capitol Key asks:
Ensure that adequate resources are provided to address the cultural needs of kin caregivers
Provide resources to develop and provide educational/training opportunities for kin cargivers
Provide investments/resources to promote the creation and/or expansion of programs and policies that support kin in their efforts to keep their relative children out of the formal out-of-home placement system "foster care", i.e., child care, adequate/affordable housing
Provide adequate investments to address substance abuse needs and mental health needs of children, parents and kin caregivers
Direct state policymakers to promote and foster collaborations between local, regional and statewide groups to join in the effort to expand the use of kinship care and availability of resources to kinship families, i.e., affordable recreational activities, caregiver and children's support groups