As a single man raising his sister's daughter, Bob Ruble knows that his life path has taken a unique and unexpected turn. Bob has been the primary caregiver for his niece since she was 8 years old and she was removed from her mother's care. Bob's sister was unable to care for her daughter and had many life issues that caused her to make poor and unsafe decisions. He made the decision to intervene and call Child Protective Services (CPS), who then took his niece out of his sister's home and placed her in group care. The next day Bob received a call from CPS and was asked to have his niece come live with him. He was told there were no other family members who could take her and that if he said no his niece would be placed with a stranger in foster care. With little guidance on how to proceed on his own, Bob's kinship journey began. Although he was fortunate enough to be able to handle the initial financial issues, it took a lot of stamina and hard work to track down the resources and supports his niece needed.
Bob became his niece's guardian after reunification with her birth mother failed. About four years into his time caring for his niece, she turned 12 and began adolescence. As Bob describes, "All heck broke loose" at this point, and his niece began experiencing serious emotional difficulties related to her past living situation. It then became even more important for both Bob and his niece to have access to support services like group counseling and therapy. In addition to attending support groups with his niece, Bob also took the initiative to seek out other vital supports: including parent classes and trauma training from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. Bob is grateful to have been able to utilize these services so that he could get support in helping his niece.
Today, Bob's niece is 22 and attending college, and he is proud of the young woman she has become. Bob has also become an important voice for kinship families in his local area through his work with Children and Family Services and organizing kinship recognition events. Bob has started his own non-profit and started offering support for other kinship caregivers. He is also the Vice President of the National Kinship Alliance and the relative caregiver voice for the Step Up Coalition. Bob's desire is to help improve support systems and services for kinship caregivers, so that more children's lives, like his niece's, can be saved.
