WEEKLY SENATE UPDATE

FOSTERING THE FUTURE

I recently had the opportunity to meet with one amazing couple that has dedicated their lives to helping children in need. While raising four children of their own, Tim and Mary Ellen Roma of Portland wanted to share their lives with orphaned children. Through the tenacity of the Roma Family, former State Senator Mike Carpenter and the Maine Adoption Placement Services (MAPS) of Northern Maine, three little girls were placed with them: Thea, Teri and Tori. To be able to provide for their seven children, the Romas took a second mortgage on their home. Shortly after paying off their second mortgage, Mary Ellen, who is a nurse, saw a picture of a Korean boy, Tyler, with a life threatening disease. Had Mary Ellen not adopted Tyler, he would not be alive today.

The Romas wanted to help more children and began the Foster/Adopt Family Building Program. They adopted Taylor, Thomas, Trianna, Tucker and Tony. All five of these children had multiple diagnoses and significant special needs. These included serious bowel disease, mental retardation, autism, global developmental delays, fetal alcohol and several mental diagnoses. Not only have Tim and Maryellen parented 13 children, 9 with special needs, but they have also found the time to train potential foster parents for the Department of Human Services and Casey Family Services. They have lead workshops and have traveled to various places to speak with groups about their experiences in parenting the medically fragile, emotionally disturbed, and mentally challenged.

Along with foster care, there is another phenomenon that is quietly changing the face of the American family and creating new challenges for our nation’s child welfare system – the growth of kinship care. This is simply when family members take on the responsibility of raising their grandchildren, nieces and nephews when parents are unable to raise their own children. Nationwide, 4.5 million children are living in grandparent-headed households – 6 percent of all children under age 18 or 1 in 12 households. This represents a 30 percent increase from 1990 to 2000. In Maine, 59 percent of children cared for by relatives are cared for by their grandparents.

These are staggering statistics. Grandparents and other relatives have stepped forward, often at great personal sacrifice, to provide safe and loving homes for the children in their care allowing countless children to live with extended family rather than strangers. For many, the decision to open their home to a child is easy. But raising children the second time around is hard work, both emotionally and financially. Sadly, almost 20 percent of Maine’s grandparent-headed households are living in poverty.

We must do everything we can to help families to stay together and provide them the support they need. That’s why I support the Kinship Caregiver Support Act to expand the support and services available to these selfless relatives. The bill provides a “kinship navigator” program designed to help families sort through the maze of services out there, including how to enroll children in school or obtain health coverage for them. This legislation is a common-sense approach to help these children live productive lives with the love and support they deserve.

The issue of caring for children- whether through adoption or foster care or by one’s own family- has a very special place in my heart. I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle in Lewiston. Their home, love and support were essential to me throughout my life. It is through the prism of my own experience that I will always fight for the welfare of our children. I believe we as a nation can and must do more to better equip those who sacrifice so much to provide safe, loving homes. Because of the open arms offered by foster parents and kinship caregivers across this country, children who would otherwise feel alone in the world instead find a welcoming family to call their own. There is no greater gift one could give a child.