KinConnector Helpline for Grandparents Launches
The Pennsylvania departments of Human Services (DHS) and Aging (PDA) have announced a new helpline for families in kinship care situations, including grandparents raising their grandchildren because of the opioid crisis.
Learn More
The KinConnector helpline can help kinship care families in Pennsylvania access local, state, and federal resources.
The KinConnector helpline is staffed by Kinship Navigators that may be able to help them with resources such as:
health, financial, and legal services, support groups;
training;
parenting advice;
locating physical or behavioral health services;
school enrollment;
finding support groups, and
other services designed to help caregivers.
Kinship Navigators will also be available to help families apply for federal, state, and local benefits such as Social Security, public assistance, or CHIP.
KinConnector can be reached by calling 1-866-KIN-2111 (1-866-546-2111.) Help is available Monday - Thursday 9 a.m.- 10 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. A website of resources is set to launch later this year.
Why Kinship Care Matters
Kinship care is becoming more common in Pennsylvania, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or siblings often stepping in to fill the role of parents who are seeking treatment or, in the most tragic cases, have died from the disease of addiction.
Kinship care guardians often make a selfless choice to care for a young relative and ensure that they receive care and support from a family member they know and trust, even when processing their own emotions around their family’s situation.
Children being cared for by relatives are less likely to end up in foster care and will experience better outcomes when they are living with a relative or someone they know. KinConnector will help ease the burden on these families and give them all the tools and resources they need to be successful.
More Info
KinConnector was created by Act 89 of 2018, which established a kinship navigator program for Pennsylvania. KinConnector will be the bridge that helps families identify resources that can ease this process for the entire family.