By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Kentucky, which has one of the highest rates of kinship care in the United States, is going to have more aid available for those who are having to raise family members, said Gov. Andy Beshear on Wednesday at his weekly press conference.
Beshear said the Annie E. Casey Foundation has Kentucky ranked sixth highest for kinship care of children, and that U.S. Census Bureau data has identified more than 50,000 Kentucky grandparents who are raising their grandkids.
“I know there are many loving grandparents who want to make sure that child is in a home with a relative, in a home where they are loved,” Beshear said. “We are grateful that those grandparents are willing to step up and take on that responsibility.”
He noted back in 2006, the Kentucky Caregiver Program was established to help these grandparents who meet certain income and other requirements to raise their grandchildren.
“Over the past 17 years, a lot of Kentuckians have benefited from the program,” the governor said, “but when major budget cuts occurred in 2017, the project was reduced to just two of the 15 area development districts in Kentucky. Those two were in Louisville and the Lake Cumberland District.”
That has now changed, according to Beshear.
“Today, we are able to expand the program back to all area development districts, due to an increase in federal funding for our state’s aging program.”
Terry Brooks, executive director for Kentucky Youth Advocates, said in a statement it was good news.
“For grandparents meeting income and other guidelines, this one-time stipend program can support the expected and unexpected expenses that come with caring for a child. And as kids prepare to start a new school year, that can mean new shoes, school supplies, or signing up for an extracurricular activity.”
Beshear said a grandparent raising a grandchild can find out if they are eligible to apply, by contacting your area development district (ADD).
Find out which one serves your area by calling the Kentucky Council of ADDS in Frankfort, at 502-875-2515, or going to kcadd.org.
You can also contact the Department for Aging and Independent Living, in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services at 502-564-6930, or go to www.chfs.ky.gov.