RAISING KINSHIP AWARENESS: WHAT IS KINSHIP CARE

Monday, May 4, 2009

WHAT IS KINSHIP CARE

"When parents are unable to care for their children and those children then are placed in the care of extended family or others with whom they share an emotional bond, it is called kinship care. Such arrangements have been carried out informally for hundreds of years. In the past 10 to 20 years, child welfare agencies have come to rely more and more on kinship care to provide homes for children in need".-ADOPTION INFORMATION.COM

"Nationally, kinship care is becoming a popular alternative to traditional foster arrangements, with more than 31 percent of all children in state custody being placed with relatives in 1992. North Carolina data for December 1995 showed that 2,344 children were placed with relatives, accounting for 18.5 percent of the children in care" (DHR, 1995).-children services practice notes

"The kinship care program is administered by the county department of human services or county department of social services (county department) or, in milwaukee county, by the department of Health and Family services (DHFS). Its funding comes from federal temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) block grant funds, which are transfered to DHFS from the Department of Workforce Development" - WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL LEGAL MEMORANDUM

The program provides a funding of only $215 per month to relatives using kinship care. Foster care payments are much more than that of kinship. a relative cant receive both types of funding. If they were to adopt the relative they would recieve more funding. But studies will show that many relatives will not adopt a child in hopes that they will one day reunite with their biological parent(s). They know that once a child is adopted, it is final. and they simply do not want to take the child away from their parents. Studies also show that children living with relatives that are not their parents is increasing at a fast pace. The US Dept. of Health and Human Services had an estimate of 1/3 of 150,000 children in foster care, is taken care by a relative in 1997. If in 1997 this was such a huge percent and this number is a steady increase you can see why more funding and support should go toward those in kinship care.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

When I first was told of this assignment it was the very first day of class I thought this is a very interesting course. The course itself, Multicultural Film, I thought would be about understanding the works and effects of other cultures in film. Although we did in fact touch on some of these points, it still wasn’t quite the purpose of the course. When handed the final assignment outline on the very first day, I was not overwhelmed, I was quite the opposite. I felt here was a professor that wanted to put her students on the right track, help them see where the finish line is, so that we know where were headed. It gave me the feeling of having a head start on my final project, which is usually not the case for finals. Yes, that’s what I felt, at first. As time followed I would come to understand the true depth of the project and its entirety. This would not be an easy assignment. It had seemed that we, the students, would have an unbelievable amount of time to work on this project bit by bit and week by week. What I came to realize that, if you should happen not to complete a part of the project that given week, it would become terribly hard to catch up. So with an assignment in hand, a vision in eye, a slight understanding of what’s to come, and basic course knowledge, I thought I was ready.
The project’s main focus was a collaborative effort with Kids Matter. Kids matter is a non-profit organization that supports the community and their families. They work with the foster care system. We were required to find a topic within the system and do the research on it. By doing this we would not only gain a better understanding on the topic, but maybe help someone else in the process. The topic I chose was the matters of kinship care. The part of kinship care where families are taking care of by other relatives that our not their own parents. I chose the assignment because I knew people who had worked within kinship and I wanted to have a better understanding of its subject matter. When I started my research I had discovered many things about kinship. I had pulled some books from our campus library, that I thought would help, but they didn’t quite get to the point. I found that a lot of my research was internet based. I understood that this is not the must favorable way to research, but to me it’s the most enriched. These days you have so many things on the internet; it’s the fastest way to get your information. As you read this on a blog, you could respect this belief. You even have it where books are being transferred into PDF. So most of my research I used was provided by sites on the internet. After finding so much on the matter I found that, I had a lot of info, but it was time to buckle down and get the just of it because once this was accomplished I still had to interview a professional on my chosen topic, make a 3 minute video, a photo essay, and create a blog in which this would all be placed on. I had never done a blog before this course, so I wasn’t prepared for this. At this point I started feeling like I was falling behind in the course. This was due to the fact that a lot of things were not in your hands, like: getting the equipment to create the video and Finding non-conflicting times to do the interview with your person. Knowing that there was a schedule to keep and finding that time waits for no one, was a very hard part of this project. But you have to do what you can with what you got, so I did.
I could go on, but the thing of it is, it’s a reflection of what I felt. I no longer feel confused or lost with the project works. I feel that I did very well. I enjoyed my research and very happy to had worked with Kids Matter. For someone who has never created a blog, I hope that you will find it to be informative in some way. I truly feel that it could be better and if I had more time it would. The topic of kinship care is such a good topic; I wish I could go into it further. I invite you to view my blog and with the basic tools I offer of understanding, to further your knowledge. After all, my goal is to raise kinship awareness. I invite you to help me spread the importance of kinship care within the foster care system. Thank you.

NOTES ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY

"No one is ever born into Life alone. Everyone has shared the bond of family, at least at birth, and for many people it is a bond that will follow them throughout life. For many people it is the most important bond of all".- Passions in Poetry.com

I DID NOT CHOSE MY FAMILY
DID NOT PICK THEM FROM A BUNCH
I WAS BORN INTO THEIR WORLD
TRULY NOT AS A MERE HUNCH
I HAVE MEANING AND PURPOSE
TO BE IN MY MOTHERS ARMS
MY FATHER'S EYES
I HAVE MEANING AND A PURPOSE
TO ADD TO MY BLOODLINE
BLOODLINE BLOODLINE
WHO AM I
THAT'S WHO AM I
A LINK IN THE CHAIN OF FAMILY TIES
IF I AM TO LOSE MY MOTHER OR FATHER
I AM STILL A LINK
MEANING WITH PURPOSE
TO KEEP THE BLOODLINE IN SYNC
I SHOULD KNOW MY SIBLINGS
AND THEY SHOULD KNOW ME
MEANING AND PURPOSE
KEEP THE FAMILY A FAMILY
GOD CHOSE ME AS A LINK
CHOSE THEM AS THE CHAIN
FAMILY IS FAMILY
THIS SHOULD NEVER CHANGE
THROUGH THE BAD, THROUGH THE GOOD
FAMILY IS KEY, AS IT ALWAYS SHOULD
FAMILY IS A BOND
A BOND THAT IS SHARED
YOU CAN ONLY TELL ME ABOUT MY FAMILY
BUT MY FAMILY SAYS IT WITH CARE
THEY SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE
BECAUSE THEY WERE THERE
-Sherita Akeem Mason

RAISING KINSHIP AWARENESS

Monday, May 4, 2009

WHAT IS KINSHIP CARE

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ARTIST STATEMENT

NOTES ON THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY

multicultural america spring 09 kids matter

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