Canal Winchester Messenger - September 19th, 2021

PAGE 6 - MESSENGER - September 19, 2021
Active Lifestyles
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Franklin County Board of Commissioners: President Kevin L. Boyce • Commissioner John O’Grady, and Commissioner Erica C. Crawley
The Franklin County Board of Commissioners and The Franklin County Office on Aging join with the Messenger Newspaper in providing this update on aging issues in Franklin County.
Kinship Care Month
This month we would like to recognize Kinship Care Month.
According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services,
“Kinship Care refers to a temporary or permanent
arrangement in which a relative or any non-relative adult
who has a long-standing relationship or bond with the child
and/or family, has taken over the full-time, substitute care of
a child whose parents are unable or unwilling to do so”. Kinship
Care allows for a child to be within a stable environment
in which they feel comfortable, appreciated, and wanted.
In July 2020, The United States Government Accountability
Office found that “in 2018, an estimated 2.7 million children
lived with kin caregivers”, which included grandparents. In
fact, the report found that “62.1 percent of children living in
a kinship arrangement, were living with grandparents”. As
we have seen the number of older adult caregivers increase,
we have also seen the need for resources to effectively care
for the caregiver themselves, and the children they are looking
out for.
The Center for the Study of Social Policy reported that “more
than half of all children in kinship care live in families with
incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, yet
less than half of kinship caregivers receive Medicaid or Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits,
and less than 12 percent receive Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF)”. COVID-19 has surely made the
need greater for families participating in kinship caregiving.
Even the most basic of necessities such as food, water, formula,
diapers, or shelter, may be hard to afford due to the
ongoing pandemic. Finances are not the only issue facing
older kinship caregivers, but maintaining their physical
health, to be able to care for the children, is in jeopardy.
“Almost half of grandparent caregivers are age 60 and older
and at heightened risk for COVID-19”, according to the Generations
United. As statistics have proven, older adults are
more likely to become ill and even die from COVID-19. It
becomes imperative to keep both the children, and the kinship
caregivers safe and healthy because their health will
affect one another, especially since they are living within the
same home.
The Franklin County Office on Aging is determined to keep
older adults safe, while simultaneously maintaining their
independence. The Franklin County Office on Aging has a
Kinship Support Program, which is an extension of the Caregiver
Support Program. In this program, a kinship caregiver
age 55 and older living within Franklin County, can access
resources such as appliances, durable medical equipment,
infant, toddler, and children health maintenance supplies,
kinship counseling, mattress and box spring sets, and other
items and services that may be beneficial to the caregiver.
If you are or know of a kinship caregiver that is age 55 or
older living within Franklin County that is in need of assistance,
please call the Franklin County Office on Aging at
614-525-6200.