Title
Urging the members of the General Assembly to enact Senate Bill Nos. 167 and 171 in support of State Senator Anthony Williams and Senator Rafael Musto for their leadership role on kinship care.
Body
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 167 would aid citizens of the Commonwealth who have taken on the added responsibility of raising grandchildren or other children whose own parents are no longer willing or able to care for them; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 171 would also aid grandparents or other relative caregivers whose parents are unwilling or unable to serve a primary caregiver for the child; and
WHEREAS, According to the 2000 Census, there are over 64,000 children not residing with a parent in the city of Philadelphia alone; and
WHEREAS, Older caregivers, such as grandparents, face numerous emotional, physical, and financial challenges and are often unprepared to assume responsibility for raising relative children; and
WHEREAS, The lack of access to resources such as medical assistance, legal assistance and guidance regarding educational matters available to older relative caregivers undermine their ability to provide a child a stable, healthy and prosperous environment; and
WHEREAS, State funding for intergenerational housing units would provide older relative caregivers with the financial means to care for and nurture the children in their care, as well as improve the living conditions of many children; and
WHEREAS, Day-care subsidies for heads of house-hold who are employed outside the home allow children to remain safe when the relative caregiver is unavailable; and
WHEREAS, Education of Commonwealth employees and publication of printed material regarding the services and benefits available to relative caregivers, including affordable housing, legal assistance and medical assistance will increase the ability of intergenerational families to access services and stable, affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, Case management service and technical a...
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