WHEREAS, in the State of Maine, nearly 13,000 children are residing in grandparent-headed households; and

WHEREAS, about 2,500 children are being raised by kinship caregivers without involvement of Maine's Child Protective Services, and another 988 children are in foster care with a grandparent or another relative caregiver when the parents are unable or unwilling to provide safe nurturing care to their children; and

WHEREAS, kinship caregiving is found in all socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds, providing many opportunities as well as unique challenges; and

WHEREAS, every child in the State of Maine deserves the opportunity to grow and flourish in a supportive, nurturing, and safe home environment while retaining their sense of belonging to their family, culture, and community ties; and

WHEREAS, the State of Maine is committed to partnering with public and private organizations to prioritize kin-first culture where children are raised with their families whenever possible; and

WHEREAS, State of Maine is in alignment with the Office of Child and Family Services, the Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine Inc., and the Kinship Program, as well as other statewide organizations to form supportive policies and/or laws to assist families in providing quality care to their grandchildren and relatives’ children; and

WHEREAS, kinship families continue to need services like AFFM and the Kinship Program's support groups, training, education, material goods, and guidance when seeking assistance with other needed services and information about permanency options;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the great State of Maine, do hereby proclaim the month of September as

Grandparent/Kinship Awareness Month

throughout the State of Maine, and I urge all citizens to recognize this observance.

In testimony whereof, I have caused the Great Seal of the State to be hereunto affixed GIVEN under my hand at Augusta this first day of September Two Thousand Twenty-Two