Below is a template letter that will be sent to the Office of Children and Family Services, the Legislature, and the Governor.
Click this link to sign on to these letters: SIGN ON
Please sign on no later than Tuesday April 14, 2020
Re: NYS Budget and Local Kinship Services
Dear Commissioner Poole/Speaker Heastie/Leader Stewart-Cousins/Governor Cuomo,
We are writing to share our concern with the reduction in funding in the NYS budget for local kinship programs.
The Coalition has worked to ensure that kinship caregivers are not forgotten, specifically those who are not in foster care, and has helped encourage the funding of services for informal kinship families every year. Unfortunately, this year the funding for services in the final budget was cut to $1,288,750, a $950,000 reduction.
During these difficult times, we now face a reality that will lead to many kinship caregivers losing services. These caregivers are often the most vulnerable population, being asked to care for children with little or no notice, and who subsequently struggle with access to financial resources, legal resources, and other sources of support for the children in their care. Our local kinship programs have helped stabilize families in crisis, offering much needed support and permanency to a child welfare population that is often left on the fringes to fend for themselves.
We are also concerned with the budget in light of the recent RFA issued by the Office of Children and Family Services for kinship services, with the expectation that there would be $2,238,750 available for the new contracts in September 2020. The cut in funding means a substantial reduction in the number of programs that will be funded, and the potential for programs who are currently serving caregivers to close their doors with no program replacement to assist families.
We hope that there might be some way to sustain the programs until the next year’s budget.
We request that you consider how OCFS could sustain these local kinship services. We know you have had a long standing commitment to the kinship community, and we are certain that you share our wish to continue these valuable services. We are committed to doing whatever we can to ensure kinship caregivers and their families have access to much needed assistance and support.
Thank you for your consideration of the kinship community during this difficult time.
With Regards,
The NYS KinCare Coalition
NYS Kincare Coalition 
Please restore the $1 million lost to kinship care. Children need to be protected even more in this crisis.
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The kinship program is such an amazing program!
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Good morning .The kingship care support program loses lots of funding in the 2020 state budget so I am asking for you support on helping to fund this program as our grandparents who are raising grandchildren is badly in need of this to help raise there grandchildren as mostly there fixed income is not enough thank you
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This program is so essential for families to be able to stay together !
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I raise my nephew and I’m on a limited income I couldn’t afford to give him a safe place without this help please keep these children in mind
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The Kinship program is vital in this time that we are living in. Please continue to fund this program.
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Kinship is a good program it helps
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I understand the need to trim the budget, but the kinship program actually is already financially very sustainable, as family members have stepped in to fill the gap at reasonable, even negligible recompense. They work out of love and commitment. Please reconsider re-evaluating this decision.
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