Serves Grandfamilies
Relatives Stepping In To Raise The Children
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YOUR HEALTH One of the challenges for a caregiver is to maintain your own health while you take care of others. Not only do you need to get yourself to the doctor for a checkup, you also need to eat right and get enough sleep, exercise, and relaxation. It is difficult to make time for these things if you have a two year-old in the house or if you are working full time and trying to get to the kids’ evening basketball game. Remember, your family is depending on you to take care of yourself so you can continue to take care of them! Look after your mental health as well. You and the child have experienced enormous change. Sometimes it is hard to deal with all that is expected of you. You may need a break from the whole family. Counseling may be very helpful. Some people think counseling suggests a weakness. Actually, it is a strength to recognize the limits of what you know how to do. You are facing a new and difficult situation. A counselor may help you to find the best way to deal with your new challenges. It may take time to find the right counselor. Ask lots of questions and choose someone with whom you feel comfortable. What if I need time off from work? If you work, it may be a challenge to get time off to attend to all the family responsibilities. Find out your company’s policies regarding use of sick days, vacation time, and personal days. If you run out of paid leave, unpaid leave may be an option. Talk to your employer and try to problem-solve together. Maine’s Family Medical Leave Law requires employers with 15 or more employees to allow up to 10 weeks unpaid leave. This is available when the employee has a child placed in connection with an adoption by the employee. The Federal Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers with 50+ employees to allow up to 12 weeks unpaid leave when the employee begins parenting a foster or adopted child. Both the state and federal laws allow time off to care for a seriously ill member of the employee’s immediate family, which is defined as a child, parent, or spouse. It includes only birth or adopted children. You can read more about the Maine Family Care Act from The Maine Equal Justice Project. THE CHILD’S HEALTH How do I get medical care? When a child comes to live with you, take him or her to the doctor as soon as possible. You will want to have the doctor look for possible past injuries or medical conditions. You will also want to make sure the child is up-to-date on immunizations. Find out where the child received medical care in the past. It may be helpful if you can take the child to the same provider. If not, ask the new doctor’s office to request the medical records from the past provider(s). In order to provide medical care, the medical provider may require documents to prove you are the child’s legal guardian or that you have Power of Attorney. If this is not the case, you will need a letter from the legal guardian or parent giving you permission to sign for medical care. The letter must state the time frame for this permission. For example, it might give permission for Mary or Tom Smith to consent to Jane Brown’s medical care from January 2010 to July 2010. If the child is in state custody, talk to the child’s caseworker about getting routine medical care. How do I know if the child is growing normally? Each child grows in his or her own unique way. It is important to keep an eye on your child’s development. There are ways you can encourage healthy development in your child. If your child is struggling in some areas it may be that your child has special needs. Early intervention can make a big difference. It may be a short-term problem or a long-term problem as the child adjusts to the changes in his or her life. There are many great resources to learn about child development. Check out your local library, web sites, and pamphlets at social service agencies. Contact the Child Development Services Program in your area. You can receive free photocopies of The Growing Years, a series of fact sheets on child development from the Maine Cooperative Extension. You can contact them at 1-800-287-0274 and request the order form, or visit their website at www.umext.maine.edu. Does the child need counseling? Like you, the child has experienced enormous change and will probably be struggling. Here are some signs that counseling may be needed:
Talk to your pediatrician as a first step to considering counseling. You need to find a counselor who will work with you as well as the child. Try to find someone with whom you are both comfortable. Is my child eligible for in-home behavior services? Sometimes families need a mental health specialist to come to the home and help them learn to manage a child with behavioral challenges. To qualify for this assistance, a child needs to have a mental health diagnosis, a diagnosed developmental delay, or a medial diagnosis. If you feel your child would benefit from having in-home support, you will need to call the Maine DHHS Children’s Behavioral Health Services at 624-7960. You can also self-refer to any agency that provides in-home support. For more information on the Maine DHHS Children’s Behavioral Health Services, and to see a listing of agencies providing in home assistance, visit www.maine.gov/dhhs/ocfs/cbhs/index.shtml.You can also contact Families And Children Together (F.A.C.T.) for assistance with a referral. How do I pay for the child’s health care? Medical benefits may be the single most important benefit you can get for a child who is living with you. The child may be covered by a parent’s insurance or by your insurance. Most children living with relatives are eligible for MaineCare. MaineCare provides comprehensive coverage to low-income and disabled people. Your family may be eligible if you have few assets and your income is not more than 150% of the poverty level ($2,289 for a family of three in 2010), you and the child may both be MaineCare eligible at no monthly cost. If your income is below 200% of the poverty level ($3,052 for a family of 3 in 2010), you may qualify for low-cost coverage ($8 - $64 per month). These income guidelines increase a little each year, usually in February. Visit www.mejp.org/medicaid.htm to view the income chart to help you see if you are eligible. Your child may be eligible for MaineCare even if you are not. If you are not the child’s parent, you can choose to apply to MaineCare for the child only. DHHS may ask about your income and assets, but if you are not applying for yourself, your assets and income will not be counted. You do not need to share this information with DHHS. If you are the child’s adoptive parent and your child has severe emotional disturbances, your child may be eligible for MaineCare services under the Katie Beckett option. This provides MaineCare coverage to children with specific types of handicaps. A disabled child who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) automatically qualifies for MaineCare. In addition to medical services, MaineCare may provide for some non-medical therapeutic services. For example, MaineCare may pay for dental work, other therapies, counseling, or sometimes therapeutic day care. If you think your child needs other kinds of therapeutic services, talk to your child’s doctor or counselor. MaineCare will pay relative caregivers 22 cents per mile to transport their children to and from medical appointments. Reimbursement is available through local transportation providers. A transportation provider in your area may also be able to provide transportation for your child to his or her medical appointments. For the contact information about your local transportation provider, visit www.mejp.org/transportagencies.htm. How do I apply for MaineCare? Call 1-877-543-7669 or go to the nearest Department of Health and Human Services office. You may need:
One of the challenges for a caregiver is to maintain your own health while you take care of others. Not only do you need to get yourself to the doctor for a checkup, you also need to eat right and get enough sleep, exercise and relaxation. It is difficult to make time for these things if you have a two-year-old in the house or if you are working full time and trying to get to the kids’ evening basketball game. Remember, your family is depending on you to take care of yourself so you can continue to take care of them! Look after your mental health as well. You and the child have experienced enormous change. Sometimes it is hard to deal with all that is expected of you. You may need a break from the whole family. Counseling may be very helpful. Some people think counseling suggests a weakness. Actually, it is a strength to recognize the limits of what you know how to do. You are facing a new and difficult situation. A counselor may help you to find the best way to deal with your new challenges. It may take time to find the right counselor. Ask lots of questions and choose someone with whom you feel comfortable. What if I need time off from work? Maine’s Family Medical Leave law requires employers with 15 or more employees to allow up to 10 weeks unpaid leave. This is available when the employee has a child placed in connection with an adoption by the employee. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act requires employers with 50+ employees to allow up to 12 weeks unpaid leave when the employee begins parenting a foster or adopted child. Both the state and federal laws allow time off to care for a seriously ill member of the employee’s immediate family, which is defined as a child, parent, or spouse. It includes only birth or adopted children.
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