Thousands of grandparents, aunts and uncles and others who raise their relatives’ children could see their support services drastically reduced if the state legislature approves Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget.
Up to two-thirds of the state’s kinship care programs – which offer legal guidance and benefits information, housing help and support groups for relative caregivers – could be eliminated this year.
“Those children are in need,” says Patricia Bell, 57, who lives on disability and food stamps and raises her grandson, Rasheen, 13, in Bed-Stuy. “They need all the funding they can get.”
