Kinship Caregivers in D.C. Say Child Welfare Agency Owes Foster Payments
Three years ago, a Washington, D.C., woman received a distressed call with an urgent request: Her sister was being admitted to a psychiatric hospital and needed help caring for her then-5-year-old daughter. Could she take her in?
Facing financial insecurity herself, the woman — who asked to be identified by her initials due to the sensitive nature of her case — nevertheless wanted to help her sister. But K.H. was quickly overwhelmed by the challenges of a child with significant emotional needs who arrived from a struggling, unstable home.