My husband and got custody of our four (4) grandchildren in 2014. The children had been living in our home with our daughter (their mother) and she had been receiving food stamps and medical health cards. As soon she disappeared, we filed for custody and got it. When I asked for the food stamps to continue, I was told though they were for the children, it had been based on Mom’s income and since she was gone, my income exceeded the allowed amount so we could not get food stamps for the children. We were only allowed to keep the medical cards.
When kinship was started back up, I applied over the phone and was told the amount I would be receiving. Imagine my surprise when I received a letter telling me I did not qualify. When I called to speak to a representative, I was told the decision was final and I could not ask for the case to be reviewed again. I have done everything in my power to get help for my grandchildren, and have been shot down. It’s been very unfair to see that Foster Parents (strangers to these children) get kinship, but our Grandparents can’t get any help at all. They have told me over and over again that since the children already resided in my home prior to their mother disappearing, we were not eligible. However, if they had taken the children into custody and then given them to us, then we would be eligible. I brought our daughter’s 5th child home from the hospital because I was called by CPS to see if we would take him in our home. I was the one that carried him out of the hospital and have been given custody to him when he was born in 2015. They say we aren’t eligible for kinship on him either. We’re just grandparents that love and provide as well as we can for our grandchildren. It would be nice if we could get some help from the government as well.