Kids & Kin is a statewide program to provide support and assistance for relative caregivers.

“We are training and resources for relative caregivers, that means grandparents and uncles, foster parents that are raising their grandchildren or another family members child,” said Tammie Hill with the Family Guidance Center.

Hill thinks of these classes as “updating classes.”

“If an older person gets young folks, a lot of them aren’t tech savvy. They don’t know what’s going on now. They don’t know what’s positive, what’s negative. So I always consider myself to be an update source,” Hill said.

Hill also updates relative caregivers on discipline practices, “discipline is not the same in school as when they raised their children,” Hill said.

The program also helps caregivers get electric bills paid and sign up for SNAP benefits and perform other tasks that ensures the relatives are able to provide the best care for their kin.

“Some of them all of a sudden just have four grandchildren in two days time, they get called, and if they’re willing to take this on, they need help, Hill said. “They need help with clothes; they need help with everything.”

Activities and benefits offered by Kids & Kin

• Educational workshops
• Events for providers and children
• Quarterly newsletter
• Meet and gain support from other relative providers
• Connections to community resources
• Annual provider recognition day

Participants will have an opportunity to receive

• Up to $150 in free toys and educational materials
• Their choice of a smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detector, or first aid kit
• Free children’s books and door prizes

Upcoming Kids & Kin events are located in the Limestone Ledger on page A4.

For more information about Kids & Kin, reach out to Tammie Hill at (256)-724-2554 and thillkidsandkin@yahoo.com.