Monday, February 05, 2007

Getting Financial Help

At the time we were awarded custody (guardianship) of the other children in our home we felt that we would be able to provide for them with the financial means that we have. We also felt that if we went to the State for financial assistance (which is available in some states) that the State would go to the parents for child support. We felt that this would be much like bleeding a turnip. We just didn’t feel it was in the best interest of the parents to pursue it.

Two years later the parents hadn’t progressed, in fact, their situation looked bleaker than before. My husband felt that in considering the best interest of the parents he was overlooking another side of this—the children. We also realized, as we talked this over, that the parents still had an obligation to support their children. It was at this point that my husband sought help from the State of Utah.

He learned that there was a financial program for people just like us. It is called Specified Relative Assistance. We also learned that this program would indeed go after the parents for child support to recoup some of the expense of the assistance.

This program gave us a monthly payment for caring for these children plus free school lunch and additional (secondary) insurance for them. It is actually cheaper for the state to assist in this manner than for those same kids to be cared for in the foster care program.

As for the parents participation in the child support; they have yet to pay a dime. But the state continues to provide assistance. The obligation the parents have to provide for their children remains in effect as the child support bill continues to rise.

Each state has its own regulations. Some may have a similar program to that of the State of Utah. Others may not have anything at all. It doesn’t hurt to find out what is available. Contact your state.

2 comments:

nanc said...

you really need to get an:

http://angelfoodministries.com/

started in your state - there are no income requirements, and the food and meat packages are exquisite. if you feel guilty in purchasing such great food for such a low price, buy extra and donate it to a needy family in your area.

this would not only be a blessing to you but to hundreds, if not thousands of other families.

for every fifty who order, your church or ministry receives the equivalent of $50.00 - which could be used for those occasions you run across a family in need.

yours is one of the only states who does not use this valuable resource.

the menu changes every month.

check it out, kelly - sometimes we need to swallow our pride to keep from choking on it.

Kelly said...

This link might explain why Utah doesn't have the Angelfoodministries resource.

Provident Living a welfare resource of the LDS Church.

Also... LDS Humanitarian Services

Nanc, I am sure that many will benefit from this resource as we cater to those outside of Utah as well as inside.

If anyone has links to other financial resouces please include them in your comments.

If this site has helped you, please donate via PayPal so we can continue to bring you more resources and information.