Kinship care plays a vital role in providing stability and support for children and families in need. In New Hampshire, the Ascentria Home Care Nh Kinship Program stands out as a crucial resource, offering comprehensive services designed to strengthen families and ensure children thrive within a nurturing home environment. Understanding the intricacies of this program and its impact on the community is essential for appreciating the landscape of home care and family services in the state.
Kinship care, at its core, is about family. It recognizes that when parents are unable to care for their children, relatives are often the best option to provide a safe, loving, and familiar home. This arrangement not only minimizes trauma for children by keeping them within their family network but also preserves cultural and familial connections that are crucial for their well-being. Ascentria Home Care’s Kinship Program in New Hampshire is built upon this foundation, aiming to empower kinship caregivers and support the children under their care.
The program addresses a spectrum of needs that kinship families often face. These can include navigating the legal and administrative processes involved in kinship care, accessing financial assistance, and connecting with resources that provide emotional and practical support. Ascentria understands that kinship caregivers, who are often grandparents, aunts, uncles, or other relatives, may step into this role unexpectedly and require tailored assistance to manage the challenges. This support extends to ensuring access to healthcare, education, and other essential services for the children in their care, recognizing the unique circumstances that kinship families encounter.
New Hampshire’s commitment to supporting vulnerable populations is reflected in programs like Ascentria Home Care’s Kinship initiative. Medicaid, a significant payer for long-term care services in the state [i], plays a crucial role in funding various home and community-based services. While the original article focuses on endnotes related to broader healthcare and economic contexts in New Hampshire, it’s important to recognize that programs like Ascentria’s Kinship Care operate within this larger ecosystem of care and funding mechanisms. The rising costs of healthcare and the complexities of Medicaid reimbursement rates [ii] underscore the need for efficient and effective programs that deliver quality care while being mindful of resource utilization.
Moreover, New Hampshire’s Choices for Independence Program [iii], which aims to provide options for individuals needing long-term care, aligns with the goals of kinship care by promoting home-based and family-centered solutions. The legal framework in New Hampshire, as indicated by RSA 166:8 [iv] and RSA 167:18-a [iv], further establishes the state’s commitment to providing care and support for vulnerable individuals, which implicitly includes kinship care arrangements.
The demand for home care services and support for kinship families is likely to grow in New Hampshire, given the state’s demographic trends and the increasing need for long-term services and supports [v]. Understanding the economic context of New Hampshire [vi], including its labor market and unemployment rates [vii] [viii] [ix] [[x]](#_ednref10] [[xi]](#_ednref11], is crucial for addressing workforce challenges in the care sector. Occupations like home health aides and personal care aides [[xii]](#_ednref12], essential for delivering in-home care, often face wage pressures [[xiii]](#_ednref13] and workforce shortages. Medicaid’s role in funding these services [[xiv]](#_ednref14], alongside state minimum wage laws [[xv]](#_ednref15], directly impacts the availability and quality of care provided through programs like Ascentria’s Kinship Program.
As New Hampshire’s population ages [xvi] and the need for family support services evolves, programs like Ascentria Home Care NH Kinship Program become increasingly critical. These initiatives not only provide direct support to families but also contribute to the broader social safety net, ensuring that vulnerable children and families receive the care and resources they need to thrive. By focusing on kinship care, Ascentria Home Care is investing in the strength and resilience of New Hampshire families, building a stronger community for the future.
References
[i] For more on Medicaid in New Hampshire, see NHFPI’s Issue Brief Medicaid Expansion in New Hampshire and the State Senate’s Proposed Changes, March 30, 2018.
[ii] To read more about Medicaid costs and Medicaid reimbursement rates relative to Medicare and private insurance, see Lisa Clemans-Cope, John Holahan, and Rachel Garfield, Medicaid Spending Growth Compared to Other Payers: A Look at the Evidence, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, April 13, 2016. See also Robin Rudowitz, Rachel Garfield, and Elizabeth Hinton, 10 Things to Know about Medicaid: Setting the Facts Straight, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, March 6, 2019.
[iii] For more information, see the State of New Hampshire, Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Community Based Care Services, Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, Choices for Independence Program Overview, August 6, 2014.
[iv] See RSA 166:8 and RSA 167:18-a, as well as the Choices for Independence Program Overview referenced above.
[v] For more information, see the AARP Public Policy Institute, Across the States: Profiles of Long-Term Services and Supports, August 2018.
[vi] For additional background on the New Hampshire economy, see NHFPI’s June 2018 Issue Brief New Hampshire’s Economy: Strengths and Constraints and NHFPI’s November 2018 presentation New Hampshire’s Vulnerable Families in the Post-Recession Economy.
[vii] The full list is available at The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Unemployment Rates for States, Seasonally Adjusted, with presented figures representing the preliminary figures for January 2019.
[viii] See Slide 9 of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston New England Public Policy Center’s presentation from Dr. Bo Zhao, Economic Update: Nation, New England, New Hampshire, January 11, 2019.
[ix] For historical records for state unemployment rates, see The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Current Unemployment Rates for States and Historical Highs/Lows, Seasonally Adjusted, accessed when the most recent state-level rates were preliminary December 2018 rates. New Hampshire’s historical low unemployment rate was 2.2 percent, recorded in March 1988. The data series began in January 1976. Estimates are subject to periodic revision.
[x] For more discussion of this relationship and low unemployment nationally, see the Sylvian Leduc, Chitra Marti, and Daniel J. Wilson, Economic Letter: Does Ultra-Low Unemployment Spur Rapid Wage Growth?, The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, January 14, 2019.
[xi] See Josh Bivens and Ben Zipper, The Importance of Locking in Full Employment for the Long Haul, The Economic Policy Institute, August 21, 2018 and Jared Bernstein, The Importance of Strong Labor Demand, The Hamilton Project (The Brookings Institution), February 27, 2018.
[xii] These two occupations were highlighted by the AARP Public Policy Institute in the 2018 analysis Across the States: Profiles of Long-Term Services and Supports. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics describes the Home Health Aides occupation with: “Provide routine individualized healthcare such as changing bandages and dressing wounds, and applying topical medications to the elderly, convalescents, or persons with disabilities at the patient’s home or in a care facility. Monitor or report changes in health status. May also provide personal care such as bathing, dressing, and grooming of patient.” The Personal Care Aides occupation is described with: “Assist the elderly, convalescents, or persons with disabilities with daily living activities at the person’s home or in a care facility. Duties performed at a place of residence may include keeping house (making beds, doing laundry, washing dishes) and preparing meals. May provide assistance at non-residential care facilities. May advise families, the elderly, convalescents, and persons with disabilities regarding such things as nutrition, cleanliness, and household activities.”
[xiii] Available data are based on employer surveys, which are aggregated over several years and include potential error introduced from statistical sampling; as such, these wage levels are estimates often resulting from certain amounts of imputation, rather than the definitive result of a census, and relative comparisons are likely more valuable than specific dollar amounts. However, these are the best publicly-available data for these purposes. For more on these data, see The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, Overview. All data presented are from the release in May of the calendar year represented.
[xiv] See Robin Rudowitz, Rachel Garfield, and Elizabeth Hinton, 10 Things to Know about Medicaid: Setting the Facts Straight, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, March 6, 2019 and Lisa Clemans-Cope, John Holahan, and Rachel Garfield, Medicaid Spending Growth Compared to Other Payers: A Look at the Evidence, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, April 13, 2016.
[xv] For a full table showing a history of minimum wage law changes in states, see The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, Changes in Basic Minimum Wages in Non-Farm Employment Under State Law: Selected Years 1968 to 2018.
[xvi] The Office of Energy and Planning was renamed the Office of Strategic Initiatives in 2017. The data detailing these projections for all age groups are available on the Office of Strategic Initiatives website, published as State of New Hampshire, State and County Population Projections, September 2016.
