The Shelby County Relative Caregiver Program (SCRCP) in the Center on Developmental Disabilities at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center has been designated as an Exemplary Caregiver Program by the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network.
The Shelby County Relative Caregiver Program provides services and support to relative caregivers to maintain stability and keep children in their family’s care when the parents are not able to care for them. Since the program was established in 2001, more than 9,000 children from 6,500 families have received support, and roughly 95% of these children have not entered the foster care system. The SCRCP is the oldest and largest program of its kind in Tennessee.
Operated by the nonprofit Generations United and funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living, the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network is the first national technical assistance center for supporting organizations and government agencies serving grandfamilies and kinship families.
With caregiver support groups, youth and teen groups, educational workshops, family advocacy and other services, the program continues to engage and support families throughout Shelby County. Relative caregivers are family members related to a child by blood, marriage, or adoption and meets the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services eligibility for the program’s services. Although the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services provides funding for the program, they are not directly involved in the management and operations of the SCRCP.
“We are thankful to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Thank you for allowing us to provide exceptional services, resources, and most importantly, hope to families caring for other relative’s children. A special thanks to DCS and the Relative Caregiver Program team for always putting our children and family’s needs first,” said Laura Teresa English, MSSW, program administrator in the Shelby County Relative Caregiver Program.
The Center on Developmental Disabilities also offers developmental and behavioral screenings for children as requested by the families and the program’s Family Advocate Counselors.
Relative caregivers may qualify to receive financial support through a monthly stipend by meeting the standard program criteria and the additional stipend criteria of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.
“The Shelby team are amazing public servants. I am so grateful they are being recognized for the caring way they lift up children and families in their area,” said Commissioner Margie Quin of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services in an email response to the recognition announcement.
The SCRCP is located at 239 South Dudley St. in Memphis. For more information about the program, call 901.448.3133 or email scrcp@uthsc.edu.