Family Resilience Fund

What is the Family Resilience Fund?

The Fund provides assistance to adoptive parents, foster parents, kinship caregivers, and parents who themselves were formerly in foster care to meet short-term needs. This assistance is meant to help families bridge periods of financial instability, allowing them to focus on creating a stable, permanent home for the children in their care.

What types of circumstances might bring a parent to the fund?*

• Loss of employment
• Long-term unemployment
• Recent loss of a spouse, separation, or divorce
• Starting a new job and unable to cover child-care right away
• At-risk of eviction
• Emergency or unexpected expense
• Long-term or chronic illness
• Unexpectedly caring for minor relatives

* This list is not all-inclusive

What types of assistance does the fund provide?

• Short-term rent/mortgage assistance
• Utility (electric, gas, water, sewer) assistance
• Food assistance
• work-related clothing
• Work-related transportation
• Licensed child-care for work purposes
• Other short-term/emergency assistance

Who is eligible for assistance?

Recipients must be:

1. a) Adoptive parent of a minor child, or b) Foster parent, or Kinship caregiver - nonparent relative caring for a minor child whether as part of the county agency system or informally), or d) Parent who were themselves formally in foster care.

AND

2. A U.S. citizen or qualified alien and a resident of Cuyahoga County.

AND

3. Living with at least one minor child, pregnant, or the non-custodial parent of a child.

AND

4. The family’s monthly income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level guidelines, including liquid assets.

How to apply for assistance

Contact Janelle Poskocil, Program Coordinator at (216) 482-2332 or janelle.poskocil@adoptionnetwork.org with questions and to complete an intake over the phone.

Or

Complete a preliminary screening online: