How Can Kinship Caregivers Find the Resources They Need to Succeed?

Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

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Kinship-led families have unique needs, and finding resources to meet those needs can be a challenge. Today, we're talking with Mike Heath, a Resource Specialist with the Coalition for Children, Youth & Families in Wisconsin. The Coalition is a Resource Center for birth parents, foster families, adoptive families, relative/kinship/and like-kin caregivers, and child welfare and Tribal agency professionals.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What are the most frequently reported everyday needs or resource gaps caregivers are experiencing?
• What is the most pressing need these kids are facing when they come to a new caregiver?
• What are the urgent needs caregivers have when welcoming a child or a sibling group, etc?
• Where can families find help with immediate essentials—such as beds, cribs, car seats, clothing, and school supplies?
• Which phone numbers should caregivers keep on speed dial?
• How should a relative caregiver secure the ability to make medical and school decisions quickly?
• What papers or forms should caregivers request on day one? From whom?
• Managing the documentation and paperwork can be a significant challenge for a new caregiver. Do you have any recommendations for managing this?
• Should school enrollment be a priority in that first week?
• How should a caregiver start the process of ensuring medical coverage (dental, vision, prescriptions, and mental health included)?
• Where should I start if I find the Medicaid/CHIP process confusing?
• Once a kinship-led family is settling in, what additional needs or options should they consider?
• Where to go to learn about those options?
• What are the possible financial resources that caregivers should look into?
• Importance of self-care, mental wellness, and community for both caregivers and the children they support
• If a new caregiver listens to this and does only three things this week, what should they be?

Resources:

• Free Download Checklist for the first 30 days as a Kinship Caregiver
• Virtual Resource Kit for Relative Caregivers - Virtual Resource Kit: Relative Caregiving - Wisconsin Family Connections Center
• Relative Caregiver Learning Pathway on Champion Classrooms (Free recorded webinar series) - Relative Caregiver Learning Pathway Link
• Collection of Resources for Relative Caregivers - https://wifamilyconnectionscenter.org/how-do-i/find-support-as-a-relative-caregiver/
• Coalition for Children, Youth & Families -

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Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and the professionals who support them.
Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content:

• Weekly podcasts
• Weekly articles/blog posts
• Resource pages on all aspects of family building

פרקים

1. How Can Kinship Caregivers Find the Resources They Need to Succeed? (00:00:00)

2. What are the most frequently reported everyday needs or resource gaps caregivers are experiencing? (00:03:37)

3. What is the most pressing need these kids are facing when they come to a new caregiver? What are the urgent needs caregivers have when welcoming a child or a sibling group, etc? (00:09:07)

4. Where can families find help with immediate essentials—such as beds, cribs, car seats, clothing, and school supplies? (00:13:56)

5. Which phone numbers should caregivers keep on speed dial? (00:20:39)

6. How should a relative caregiver secure the ability to make medical and school decisions quickly? What papers or forms should caregivers request on day one? From whom? (00:24:22)

7. Managing the documentation and paperwork can be a significant challenge for a new caregiver. Do you have any recommendations for managing this? (00:29:48)

8. Should school enrollment be a priority in that first week? (00:32:40)

9. How should a caregiver start the process of ensuring medical coverage (dental, vision, prescriptions, and mental health included)? Where should I start if I find the Medicaid/CHIP process confusing? (00:38:40)

10. Once a kinship-led family is settling in, what additional needs or options should they consider? Where to go to learn about those options? (00:43:56)

11. What are the possible financial resources that caregivers should look into? (00:50:07)

12. Importance of self-care, mental wellness, and community for both caregivers and the children they support (01:01:35)

13. If a new caregiver listens to this and does only three things this week, what should they be? (01:08:55)