The Kinship Program has knowledgeable and empathetic staff that can help connect kinship families with a variety of supports and services. AFFM’s Kinship Specialists are certified Grandfamily Leaders and can assist families in navigating an array of systems that can be often difficult to manage when trying to provide day-to-day care for the children in their home and their families’ divided loyalties.
If you are working with a kinship family and would like to provide a direct referral, please complete the Permission to Contact Form with the family. Once it is completed you may upload the form and send it to AFFM through the contact us page or email the completed form to info@affm.net and a kinship specialist will reach out to the family.
Maine Kinship Family Resource Guide
The kinship guide takes an in-depth look at kinship care in Maine and can assist families by providing much need information, support, and guidance. (i.e. information on obtaining Birth Certificate, Social Security Card, etc.)
Grandfacts – State Fact Sheet for Grandfamilies – Maine
The GrandFacts state fact sheets for grandfamilies include state-specific data and programs as well as information about public benefits, educational assistance, legal relationship options, and state laws.
211 Maine
211 is a free, confidential information and referral service that connects people of all ages across Maine to local services. 211 Maine is based in Maine and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Our Specialists are trained and friendly; they know we all need help sometimes. You can access their database by calling 211 or by clicking here for their website
Local Area Agencies on Aging
Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) are experts at answering questions about in-home care services and other types of long-term support. Maine’s five AAAs are also Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) that:
- provide information and assistance to individuals needing either public or private long-term care resources,
- serve professionals seeking assistance on behalf of their clients’ long-term care needs,
- serve individuals planning for their future long-term care needs, and
- serve as the entry point to publicly administered long-term supports including those funded under Medicaid, the Older Americans Act and state funded programs.
Maine’s Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) are designed to serve all older adults, people with disabilities, and their care partners who have long-term care community or program needs.
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps keep families safe and healthy through initiatives that assist families with energy costs. We provide federally funded assistance in managing costs associated with home energy bills, energy crises, weatherization, and energy-related minor home repairs.
LIHEAP can help you stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer through programs that reduce the risk of health and safety problems that arise from unsafe heating and cooling practices.
The following core values are the foundation of the Chapter’s mission to “improve the lives of children and adolescents in Maine”:
- We believe all children and adolescents deserve access to quality mental and physical health care.
- We believe that pediatricians must provide leadership in promoting excellence in health care for children and adolescents.
- We believe in advocacy for the well-being of children and adolescents, their caregivers, and other adults important in their lives.
- We believe that maximizing the well being of children and adolescents is a sound investment in the future of families and communities.
Our vision is to be the leading authority, advocate, and voice for the health of Maine’s children and for the profession of pediatrics.
If you can’t afford to pay for medical care right now, MaineCare can make it possible for you to get the care that you need so that you can get healthy – and stay healthy. Click here for more information about MaineCare or to get a MaineCare application.
Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes Maine a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. For more information about WIC and how to apply please click here.
Community Care
Mission: To provide quality community-based services that are timely and effective in promoting the health, well-being, and independence of individuals and families.
Parents. Guardians. Caregivers.
Family Respite is Here to Help
-We understand that raising a child with developmental or behavioral health needs can present unique challenges. Family Respite Services is here to help you find balance. Our respite care gives you the opportunity to recharge, so you can be the best caregiver possible. Let us support you in creating a healthier, more balanced life for your family. Learn more here: Maine Family Respite Services & Support | Community Care
National Resources
Generations United
Generations United’s National Center on Grandfamilies works to enact policies and promote programs to help grandfamilies address challenges. Our work is informed by a national network of grandfamily caregivers. For information on existing state laws and policies affecting grandfamilies visit the Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center at www.grandfamilies.org.
Grand Families.Org
Grandfamilies.org serves as a national legal resource in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child welfare system. Their goals are to:
- educate individuals about state laws, legislation, and policy in support of grandfamilies
- assist interested policymakers, advocates, caregivers, and attorneys in exploring policy options to support relatives and the children in their care
- provide technical assistance and training
The American Bar Association, Center on Children and the Law
The ABA is the largest voluntary professional association in the world with nearly 400,000 members. The ABA Center on Children and the Law improve children’s lives through advances in law, justice, knowledge, practice and public policy by focusing on child abuse and neglect, child welfare and protective services system enhancement, family preservation, adolescent health and other children protective legal issues.
ABA Center on Children and the Law’s contact for grandfamilies.org is Heidi Redlich Epstein, JD, MSW
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