RELEASE: JANUARY 6, 2000

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Statement from Department of Human Services Commissioner Michele K. Guhl on the New Jersey Assembly Task Force on Grandparenting Report

I appreciate the work of the Task Force on Grandparenting and believe the recommendations included in this report are very thoughtful and constructive.

Clearly, the task force members recognized that this is a very complex issue and one that is not easily resolved.

For the last few years, we, at the Department of Human Services, have been working with kinship caregivers to try to develop ways to support these caring adults and the vulnerable children in their charge.

Last year, in our 00 budget, the Governor provided funds to create a help-line for kinship caregivers so that they have a place to go to find out about financial assistance and services available to them. This "Kinship Navigator" service started last week and we are in the process of launching an outreach campaign to make sure that kinship caregivers know about the Navigator Service. The number for the Navigator is 1-877-816-3211.

In this budget year, the governor has gone even further.

Under the Governor’s Recommended 2001 budget, $12 million will be spent over the next two years to provide child care and "wrap-around" services such as housing assistance, legal services, respite care and many other services as needed to low income kinship caregivers.

The funding for these services breaks out as follows:

• $4.5 million to pay for 500 child care vouchers for kinship caregivers
• $7.5 million to pay for"wrap-around" services.

The following are some of the initiatives currently underway at DHS to continue our forward movement on this issue:

• The department and its Division of Youth and Family Services have already taken steps to make sure that DYFS caseworkers apprise kinship caregivers of the programs for which they are eligible.

• DYFS is investigating a new form of guardianship that would be available to kinship caregivers and would make them eligible for subsidy similar to the foster care board rate.

• Finally, the department has already reached out to other state departments to establish an inter-departmental work group to try to address the multi-faceted needs of kinship caregivers. Many of the issues discussed in today’s report, including housing, education and health options, will be considered by the interdepartmental work group.