WAMU: D.C. Council Should Support Grandparent Caregiver Program
In a commentary for WAMU 88.5, Children’s Law Center executive director Judith Sandalow encourages the DC Council to support an extension of the Grandparent Caregiver Program and other moves to keep children from entering foster care. The proposal “is one of many bold changes the city is making in a broad effort to keep families together and reduce the number of children entering foster care,” Sandalow said.
DC’s Child and Family Services Agency calls this narrowing the front door of the foster care system, and under new leadership the agency has already made significant progress in the goal. But as more children stay with their families, Sandalow notes, the District must help these families be safe and successful. “As we keep more and more children at home and with relatives, we need to provide the resources to support these families so that children can remain safe and families can move from crisis to success. As we reduce the population in foster care, we need to reinvest those funds in programs that can support children staying at home with their parents or with extended family.”