Kentucky child advocacy group alarmed after kinship assistance cut

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — The Beshear administration has announced that it is reducing benefits in a family assistance program due to rising costs. Kentucky Youth Advocates is raising an alarm, urging a temporary solution to keep kinship families from struggling.

“In more cases than we can imagine, that is a monthly struggle. Those families are really stretching it,” executive director Dr. Terry Brooks told FOX 56 News.

Nearly 55 thousand Kentucky children are being raised by close relatives due to challenging situations with their parents. According to KYA, the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP) is one of the only financial assistance programs available to kinship caregivers outside of the foster system.

Supported by a federal block grant, in 2023, payments were raised. Gov. Andy Beshear said both rising costs and a more than 50% increase in enrollment will result in smaller payments.

“Now costs exceed the total amount of the grant, requiring us to rebalance those payments,” Beshear said at Thursday’s Team Kentucky. “In some instances, funding is going to, be cut and others it will be cut some, but still be higher than it was before the adjustment in 2023,” he said.

“You know, participation is rising and costs are rising. I understand that, but there are more solutions than simply cutting,” Brooks said.

Brooks is hoping a temporary solution can be found to sustain the program through the upcoming budget session, when lawmakers will have an opportunity to reexamine the overall funding needed.

“To many of these families, it is a huge deal. You’re talking about arenas such as housing stability, food security that could be affected right away,” he said.

Brooks said in some cases the caregiver budget could be the deciding factor in seeking foster care, a decision he argued could cost the state even more.