HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08041998 - C23 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
Contra
FROM: Johm Cullen, Social Service Director � Cast.
PATE: 1998 County
August. 4, � a
SUBJECT: Request Support for Sys 1901/McPherson, The Kinship Guardianship Assistance
Program
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATIONS)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION
ADOPT a position supporting SII 1901/McPherson, The Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Bill,
(Kin-GAP); and
AUTHORIZE the Chair to send the attached letter to the Assembly Appropriations Committee requesting
support for S13 1901 when it comes before that Committee on August 5, 1998.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There would be cast savings realized by the county,but the amount is unknown at this time.
BACKGROUND
There are over 100,000 abused and neglected children in foster care in California. Over half of these children
live with relatives, most of whom are grandparents. Contra Costa County has over 1,000 dependent children
living with relatives and most receive AFDC-FC (foster care). These relatives are unable to develop permanent
plans of guardianship for their relative child without loss of AFDC-FC. These families would only be eligible
for TANF. Because many of these relatives are elderly grandparents on fixed incomes,this would severely
impact their ability to financially support these vulnerable children.
The payment program established under Kin-GAP provides the means to address this financial hardship for the
relative caregiver,while at the same time providing an opportunity to secure a legal permanent placement for
the child. Thus, the County eliminates unnecessary child welfare cases and reduces administrative costs
connected to these cases: court, case management, and supervision.
SB 1901 would direct the State Department of Social Services to set payment rates for the program and would
allocate the casts, less available federal funds, equally between the state and the cgunties
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT; SIGNATURE s l;si�G � ".� � ell, �2 �����✓�'t � '�"�Z
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2—C-RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR .RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
LIGNATURE(Slzlk� d z4l&
ACTION OF BOAR13 ON_ � �� -- t �aP®a APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED._
d'
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
UNANIMOUS(ABSENT } AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN,
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CC: ATTESTED s //— ,�'s
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August 4, 1998
Assembly Appropriations Committee
c/o Assemblymember Carole Migden, Chair
State Capitol, loom 2114
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: Support SB 1901/McPherson
Dear Chair Migden and Committee Members:
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors requests your support of SB 1901/McPherson
when it comes before your committee on August 5t .
This bill would create the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Payment Program (Kin-CAP) for
relative caregivers who become the legal guardians of abused and neglected children. In that
role, they would receive financial assistance and then exit the Child 'Welfare System. This, in
tura,would relieve counties and the state of the costs of continued court and social services
supervision.
There are over 100,000 abused and neglected children in foster care in California. Over half of
these children live with relatives, most of wham are grandparents. Many grandparents are
elderly and live on fixed incomes. This impacts their ability to financially support these
vulnerable children. The payment program established under Kin-GAP provides the means to
address this financial hardship for the relative caregiver, and it offers county child welfare
agencies the opportunity to secure a permanent placement for the child while eliminating
unnecessary cases. In Contra Costa County alone, we have 1,000 cases of children being cared
for by a relative.
Again, our Board of Supervisors urges your support for SB 1901; and on behalf of my
colleagues, I thank you for considering this request.
Sincerely,
Jim Rogers
Chair