Too many children are being raised by relatives and close friends in Kentucky. That’s according to the nonprofit Kentucky Youth Advocates. Shannon Moody is their chief officer of policy and strategy.
“Kentucky has one of the highest rates in the nation. The current data that is available tells us that there are at least 59,000 children living with relatives, about 58,000 of them are expected to be living with grandparents.”
For those people, looking after their childrens’ children is often a severe financial burden, Moody says.
“We've had a lot of relative caregivers reach out to us, especially grandparents and talk about how they had to buy a new van. Because they have a sibling set of three, they had to move and buy a new house because they already rent a new place. We have had also relatives tell us that they have emptied the retirement accounts.”
Moody adds that when the General Assembly convenes in January, Kentucky Youth Advocates will ask for more support for kinship caregivers. She says many of the children in kinship care lost their parents, temporarily or forever, due to opioid abuse. Thus, one possible, if partial, solution could come from opioid settlement funds local governments across the state are receiving.
“We would encourage folks to think about what the opioid settlement funds in their communities could do to make sure that, you know, obviously basic needs are met, but also the ability to heal from that disruption and that traumatic event for the whole family.”
Moody says support could be as simple as helping people who’ve already raised their children learn about the services available to those who are now raising others.
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