Cleveland Advocate - News
Making a difference: Grandmother won’t leave kids behind
 |
| Linda Boles speaks out the need for more support and resources for grandparents raising grandchildren at an AARP conference in Washington D.C. |
By ALEX WUKMAN
Linda Boles, 48, is a busy woman. Working full-time at a funeral home and raising four grandchildren doesn’t leave her a lot of time.
“I’ve been up since 2:30 a.m. I’ve got a sick child,” said Boles as her grandchildren, Isaiah Prince, 7, and Jesslyn Skinner, 8, investigate their surroundings.
Boles is one of the founders of a new non-profit organization named Kids Left Behind, an organization whose goal, Boles states, is “trying to help grandparents that are raising children.”
Boles wants to create a clearinghouse of information, provide financial and legal assistance and provide childcare support.
“When you get into your 50’s, you need a good night’s sleep,” Boles said with a weary smile.
Her decision to create a non-profit came after a protracted legal battle to get child support.
“I went to court 18 times in 14 months to get the judge to sign the paperwork,” said Boles.
She explains that a different court had awarded custody to her and that the paperwork had been sent to a family court judge in Montgomery County who let the paperwork to change the child support recipient sit for nine months. Her eyes twinkle a little as she sets up the explanation for how she overcame the bureaucratic slowdown.
“The Montgomery County jail lets you take in three white sports bras, three pairs of white underwear and three pairs of white underwear. They won’t take that away from you. So the last time I went to court I said to the judge if he wasn’t going to sign it he should send me to jail that day and I lifted my shirt,” she says with a smile.
According to her, after she was led from the courtroom, the judge went into his chambers and saw that everything was legal.
“He’d had the paperwork for nine months and saw that it was court-ordered,” said Boles.
In an age marked with increasing Internet connectivity and decreasing public satisfaction with almost all levels of government, Boles’ courtroom theatrics made her a folk hero to grandparents’ rights advocates.
“I got a phone call from the Grandparents Rights Organization (GRO). They’d heard I wasn’t scared of anything and asked me to come speak to 3,000 people at a rally in Washington. They asked me if I’d ever spoke before. I said ‘no but I’ll give it a try,’” said Boles.
Boles went to Washington D.C. in May of this year to speak at the Grand Rally, a gathering organized by the AARP, GRO and other groups dedicated to working on behalf of America’s senior citizens and grandparents. The rally was designed to garner support on Capitol Hill for a piece of legislation called “The Fostering Connection to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008.”
The bill, which was passed Oct. 14, provides assistance to children being raised by relatives. It offers things like support to states for what is called “Kinship Guardianship Assistance” and requires organizations like the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), formerly known as CPS, to notify family members when a child is about to enter foster care.
Boles has very strong opinions regarding the foster care system.
“I don’t like it. They [foster families] get so much and we got nothing,” said Boles.
She explains that while the state of Texas provides financial incentives, some would say very lucrative incentives, for foster families to house children, it offers very little in the way of aid for grandparents raising children.
“Texas is the third state from the bottom when it comes to [helping] grandparents,” said Boles. She stated that under the current system the state offers approximately $200 a month for four children in emergency aid measures through the Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) program. However, there’s a catch.
“If the child support gets over $200 for even one month, you get kicked off TANF and it takes three months of not getting it [child support] to get back on,” said Boles. The lack of government aid and assistance for what are described as ‘kinship situations’ was one of main factors that prompted Boles to file a notice with the Texas Secretary of State that she was starting a non-profit almost as soon as she got back from Washington.
Another motivating factor for creating Kids Left Behind was her desire to share the information she learned at the rally about how to increase what little benefits grandparents do get.
“If you have to apply for food stamps, just put down that they are for the child and not for an adult, too,” said Boles. “They [the State of Texas’ Health and Human Services Commission] can’t take your income into account then.”
Boles is currently in the process of scheduling a public meeting to find out how many children in the area are living with relatives.
“Cleveland ISD says they have 163 and Tarkington ISD says they have 63,” Boles said.
She is currently planning on having the meeting after the first of the year, if she can find a place.
“We’d like to do it at the senior citizens center but we haven’t talked to anyone over there,” said Boles.
The organization does have most of its officers in place, but it doesn’t have a website yet. Anyone wishing to contact her should call 281-865-0562 or send an e-mail to lbolestwin@yahoo.com.
However, don’t be surprised if she takes a little while to respond. After all, she is very busy.
Kids Left Behind
For more information on Kids Left Behind, an organization dedicated to promoting information and assistance to grandparents raising grandchildren, call 281-865-0562 or send an e-mail to lbolestwin@yahoo.com.
“I’ve been up since 2:30 a.m. I’ve got a sick child,” said Boles as her grandchildren, Isaiah Prince, 7, and Jesslyn Skinner, 8, investigate their surroundings.
Boles is one of the founders of a new non-profit organization named Kids Left Behind, an organization whose goal, Boles states, is “trying to help grandparents that are raising children.”
Boles wants to create a clearinghouse of information, provide financial and legal assistance and provide childcare support.
“When you get into your 50’s, you need a good night’s sleep,” Boles said with a weary smile.
Her decision to create a non-profit came after a protracted legal battle to get child support.
“I went to court 18 times in 14 months to get the judge to sign the paperwork,” said Boles.
She explains that a different court had awarded custody to her and that the paperwork had been sent to a family court judge in Montgomery County who let the paperwork to change the child support recipient sit for nine months. Her eyes twinkle a little as she sets up the explanation for how she overcame the bureaucratic slowdown.
“The Montgomery County jail lets you take in three white sports bras, three pairs of white underwear and three pairs of white underwear. They won’t take that away from you. So the last time I went to court I said to the judge if he wasn’t going to sign it he should send me to jail that day and I lifted my shirt,” she says with a smile.
According to her, after she was led from the courtroom, the judge went into his chambers and saw that everything was legal.
“He’d had the paperwork for nine months and saw that it was court-ordered,” said Boles.
In an age marked with increasing Internet connectivity and decreasing public satisfaction with almost all levels of government, Boles’ courtroom theatrics made her a folk hero to grandparents’ rights advocates.
“I got a phone call from the Grandparents Rights Organization (GRO). They’d heard I wasn’t scared of anything and asked me to come speak to 3,000 people at a rally in Washington. They asked me if I’d ever spoke before. I said ‘no but I’ll give it a try,’” said Boles.
Boles went to Washington D.C. in May of this year to speak at the Grand Rally, a gathering organized by the AARP, GRO and other groups dedicated to working on behalf of America’s senior citizens and grandparents. The rally was designed to garner support on Capitol Hill for a piece of legislation called “The Fostering Connection to Success and Increasing Adoption Act of 2008.”
The bill, which was passed Oct. 14, provides assistance to children being raised by relatives. It offers things like support to states for what is called “Kinship Guardianship Assistance” and requires organizations like the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), formerly known as CPS, to notify family members when a child is about to enter foster care.
Boles has very strong opinions regarding the foster care system.
“I don’t like it. They [foster families] get so much and we got nothing,” said Boles.
She explains that while the state of Texas provides financial incentives, some would say very lucrative incentives, for foster families to house children, it offers very little in the way of aid for grandparents raising children.
“Texas is the third state from the bottom when it comes to [helping] grandparents,” said Boles. She stated that under the current system the state offers approximately $200 a month for four children in emergency aid measures through the Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF) program. However, there’s a catch.
“If the child support gets over $200 for even one month, you get kicked off TANF and it takes three months of not getting it [child support] to get back on,” said Boles. The lack of government aid and assistance for what are described as ‘kinship situations’ was one of main factors that prompted Boles to file a notice with the Texas Secretary of State that she was starting a non-profit almost as soon as she got back from Washington.
Another motivating factor for creating Kids Left Behind was her desire to share the information she learned at the rally about how to increase what little benefits grandparents do get.
“If you have to apply for food stamps, just put down that they are for the child and not for an adult, too,” said Boles. “They [the State of Texas’ Health and Human Services Commission] can’t take your income into account then.”
Boles is currently in the process of scheduling a public meeting to find out how many children in the area are living with relatives.
“Cleveland ISD says they have 163 and Tarkington ISD says they have 63,” Boles said.
She is currently planning on having the meeting after the first of the year, if she can find a place.
“We’d like to do it at the senior citizens center but we haven’t talked to anyone over there,” said Boles.
The organization does have most of its officers in place, but it doesn’t have a website yet. Anyone wishing to contact her should call 281-865-0562 or send an e-mail to lbolestwin@yahoo.com.
However, don’t be surprised if she takes a little while to respond. After all, she is very busy.
Kids Left Behind
For more information on Kids Left Behind, an organization dedicated to promoting information and assistance to grandparents raising grandchildren, call 281-865-0562 or send an e-mail to lbolestwin@yahoo.com.
Copyright © 2009 - Houston Community Newspapers Online