October 19 – PLAINS TWP. – Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D, D-121) said Friday that his support for the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren program began when three grandparents told him their stories.
Pashinski was the keynote speaker at the NEPA Inter-generational Coalition’s 18th annual Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (GRG) conference in The Woodlands.
Pashinski has shown his support for grandparents by introducing several pieces of legislation to the state General Assembly — the latest being House Bill 931.
Pashinski said the bill was “put on the table” in April, meaning discussion has been postponed. But if the bill passes, he says grants would be made to nonprofits that provide legal services to kinship care families.
“Many extended families find themselves in low-income households, and never expect to have to raise their grandchildren, let alone pay for the expensive legal services required to legally care for their grandchildren,” Pashinski said. “There is evidence that there are increased benefits from at-risk children staying in a stable family environment, while easing pressure on the local foster care system.”
Pashinski has long been an advocate for grandparents raising their grandchildren and fights for legislation to ease the burden on them.
Pashinski’s latest effort involves House Bill 931 – legislation that would establish the Kinship Care Legal Assistance Grant Program to help kinship caregivers who face legal and financial challenges when a child is placed in their care.
“I first became aware of this issue more than a decade ago when I was fortunate to meet several heroes in Northeastern Pennsylvania: grandparents who stepped in to raise their grandchildren when the overdose crisis reached their families,” Pashinski said . “In response, we passed three laws in 2018 to create important resources for grandparents.
Bills passed in 2018 include:
– Law 88 of 2018/HB1539 – A temporary emergency guardianship program for grandparents has been created.
– Act 89 of 2018/HB2133 – Establishment of the Kinship Caregiver Navigator Program.
–HR 390 – This resolution directed the Joint State Government Commission to study the trend of extended families in Pennsylvania and report its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly.
“This was a great start, but I and many others continue to hear that kinship caregivers and the organizations that support them are still struggling to access the resources they need and deserve when caring for their relatives’ children.” , Pashinski said. “These kinship caregivers, along with the 2019 JSGC report, all identified promoting access to legal assistance for kinship caregivers as one of the important next steps for policymakers in Pennsylvania.”
Pashinski said that is exactly what House Bill 931 is: a critical next step in supporting kinship care households who face complex issues and are often unable to navigate independently.
Pashinski said the Kinship Care Legal Assistance Grant Program would award grant funds to eligible nonprofit organizations that provide case management or legal services to kinship care families. The awarded grant funds may be used for administrative, civil legal services and other costs associated with a kinship caregiver.
This includes, but is not limited to, standby guardianship, adoption, power of attorney for medical and educational care, and assistance with informal kinship care arrangements.
“House Bill 931 could better inform and support Pennsylvania’s kinship care providers by providing more resources and assistance to those who have stepped up to care for a relative’s child,” Pashinski said. “As the Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children stated in their letter of support for the bill, ‘this legislation would give kinship caregivers the ability to navigate the legal system and access services to support the children and youth in their care.’”
Pashinski added that grandparents, kinship caregivers and advocates agree: Passing House Bill 931 will ensure that Pennsylvania remains committed to the grandparents and other family members who have stepped up to serve their families by becoming kinship caregivers.
“Although the bill only made it out of committee this session, I am determined and confident that we can move it forward next year,” he said.
Grossman praised for 20 years of leadership
Pashinski also took time to praise the work of Howard Grossman, who led the NEPA Intergenerational Coalition for 20 years.
“I can’t say enough about the hard work Howard has put into building this organization and I commend him for his dedication,” Pashinski said.
Grossman said every family has a different story, noting that parents may be unable to care for their children due to death, incarceration, illness, military service or other reasons.
“In 80 percent of the cases,” he said, “drugs are involved.”
At Friday’s event, grandparents were able to go table to table and get a lot of information, a lot of handouts, Grossman said.
“We always get a lot of questions, especially in the afternoon,” he says, when the legal advisors are present.”
The program targets grandparents who are raising their grandchildren under many extenuating circumstances.
“Suddenly the day-to-day work, the decisions, the discipline, helping with homework — it’s all your job,” Grossman said. “This is a very dynamic and growing demographic.”
Grossman cited figures such as that 21,000 families in Northeastern Pennsylvania are among the state’s 90,000, including grandparents — or aunts or uncles or other relatives — who are raising children.
He said he knows many of these caregivers could use some help, ranging from information about support groups to a chance to talk to attorneys about topics like obtaining legal guardianship.
For information, visit https://grgnepa.org/about/.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
