After working many years as a secretary at Kimball High School, Donna Steichen knew that she needed to continue to work with children after she retired. Steichen learned about the foster grandparent program and knew this would be a perfect fit for her. She started as a foster grandparent in the Eden Valley-Watkins head start program in the fall of 1997. She currently teaches in Mrs. Rippentrop’s kindergarten classroom. “I went from the big feisties to the little feisties,” joked Steichen. As a foster grandparent, Steichen’s days are spent in a classroom full of kindergartners. In the morning the kids work on projects, sometimes go to music or physical education and come back to their classroom with energy to burn. They have a snack and can check out books from Steichen while Mrs. Rippentrop prepares the lesson for the day. “Occasionally, I will work one-on-one with children who are struggling,” said Steichen. Sitting at the Kindergarten classroom tables, Steichen helps the young pupils with math problems and reads books. Throughout the day, Steichen eats lunch with the children, supervises them during playtime and helps the students put out resting mats for nap time. Even while the children are resting, Steichen doesn’t take a break. “I work on projects during this time. I color and cut out different things for Mrs. Rippentrop. If she doesn’t have anything for me, I will ask the other teachers if they need help,” said Steichen. “We really couldn’t get on without her,” says Mrs. Rippentrop. “She is another pair of hands and another grown-up in the room. All of the kids think of her as one of the teachers.” Service for minimal compensation For their services, “Foster grandparents are paid $2.65 or less an hour, depending on their income,” said John Pribyl, director of senior companion and foster grandparent program. “Seniors must volunteer 40 hours or more [a month] to get this stipend.” While $2.65 doesn’t sound like a lot of money, senior volunteers use this money to offset the cost of prescription drugs and provide for their basic necessities. Cutting the program In his proposal to balance the state’s budget, Governor Pawlenty cut all funding to the Senior Corps program, which is the umbrella that Foster Grandparents fall under. The governor questioned if seniors were volunteering, why should the state pay them to volunteer? “The governor is missing the whole point of the program,” said Pribyl. “If you look at the history of our country and service projects, you see that volunteers are reimbursed for their services.” Pribyl cited the example of the Peace Corps, started by JFK, with the expectation of providing reimbursement to service workers who are volunteering a significant amount of time. Funding is a must Pribyl explained that Senior Corps are funded by the federal and state government. If the state legislators followed the governor’s proposal to cut all state funding, “It would eliminate all rural presence of these programs.” He said that federal funding would cover the cost of the program in metro areas, but rural services would be lost. Saving the program In hopes of keeping the program alive, many seniors have been lobbying their congressmen and women. In recent weeks, seniors lobbied in the capitol rotunda, have written letters, made phone calls and attended town meetings to bring these issues to the attention of their legislators. State Senator Michelle Fischbach said that the senate is currently working on its health and human services bill that covers the foster grandparent program. When discussing program cuts the senator said, “I absolutely support the foster grandparent program.” Before voting on the issues, Sen. Fischbach will review the whole package. She said, “I don’t want to see a total elimination of the state funds, I want to keep as much of the program intact as possible.” Representative Doug Stang took a similar stance. He said, “I have been supportive of funding for the program in the past.” He also said that he will support the upcoming house bill which will restore 85 percent of state funding to the program. The biggest loss of the program will be to the children. As Mrs. Rippentrop said, “Donna is an all-around help with the kids. It is the little jobs she does that makes the classroom run smoother.” If the program is cut, children will have less one-on-one time with adults. Many teachers throughout the state credit the foster grandparent program with keeping whole classes on track. Pribyl described one teacher who said if four or five children are falling behind, foster grandparents can work with these children. Since teachers don’t have to focus on these individual students and reteach topics. Pribyl said “With foster grandparents, the whole class wins.”
