Honoring Kinship Caregivers

September is Kinship Care Month. It is a time to honor the many grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, other family members, and close family friends who have stepped up to raise kin children whose parents cannot care for them.

Some arrangements are temporary and some are more permanent, but all provide a familial arrangement with relatives or near kin who are most often, but not always, well known to the child. Formal placements are usually supported with modest financial assistance, while informal placements are not. Once a relative becomes the legal guardian for the kin child, however, most states do provide some financial assistance and Medicaid coverage for the child.

History of Kinship Care

Kinship Care is as old as civilization. Indigenous cultures, for example, have tried to keep family bonds and cultural connections, as extended family or tribal members rallied to provide care when parents were unable to do so. Likewise, in ancient societies, informal arrangements of relatives participating in child-rearing were common. These traditions continue to this day around the world and in the US.

In the 19^th century, with the rise of orphanages and formal foster care, the emphasis shifted away from the reliance on families stepping up to care for kin children, and toward institutionalization of care away from family members. Extended family of the parent were dismissed as incompetent and unable to care for the child. Rather than following the belief that “it takes a village to raise a child,” the adage, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” was sadly more prevalent. It has taken many years for our child welfare system to recognize the value of kinship care.

In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act encouraged family preservation and kinship care, established adoption assistance, established Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, and established Aid to Families with Dependent Children. This was the first formal move toward recognizing the value of keeping children in their own family when possible, and acknowledging kin as a valuable resource.

The Act required, as a condition of receiving Federal foster care matching funds, that States make ‘reasonable efforts’ to prevent removal of the child from the home and return those who have been removed as soon as possible by establishing prevention and reunification programs for all children in foster care. Emphasis was placed on the least restrictive placement, proximity to the parents’ home, and the goal of an 18-month limit on placement in foster care.

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 placed an emphasis on kinship care as an alternative placement. The Act established kinship guardianship assistance payments and Medicaid eligibility for children in kinship guardianship. It also required background checks for relative guardians, educational benefits for youth in relative guardianship, increased access to programs designed to help youth reconnect with family members, and supported training for kinship caregivers. The Act also required title IV-E agencies to identify and notify all adult relatives of a child within 30 days of the child’s removal of the relatives’ options to become a placement resource for the child.

Since 2010, there has been a growing recognition and encouragement of kinship care as the preferred placement option, with most states developing programs to support a kin-first placement policy.

In 2018, Congress passed the Families First Prevention Services Act, further supporting a range of services to prevent out-of-home placement of children into the foster care system, and encouraging placement with relatives as the first choice when placement is necessary.

Why is kinship care considered beneficial for children?

The nationwide move toward placement with relatives when children cannot remain with their primary parent(s) has been in response to research that has shown that children do better emotionally and socially in kinship care than in traditional, non-relative foster care.

Kinship care is rooted in family ties — children are placed with relatives who may already be known to them, which can make things easier during such a traumatic time. Even if the relatives aren’t as familiar, family connections can help a child’s sense of identity and security.

What challenges do kinship caregivers face?

Kinship care also presents a few challenges, but they are manageable and there are resources to provide assistance.

• Legal issues – If the child is a court dependent and involved in the system , there are social workers to help navigate safety and legal requirements. If the placement is informal, guardianship issues may involve certain legal processes, and caregivers must ensure the child’s safety and well-being within the law. Most states have foster and kinship care support groups, such as Foster Parent Associations, that can help navigate the legal system.
• Balancing care with other responsibilities – Kinship care providers may have no preparation for the placement of a kin child as it often occurs as the result of an emergency. Making room in one’s life for an unexpected responsibility takes adjustment. It’s important for potential caregivers to make sure that they have enough time to give the love and care that a child needs.
• Emotional impact – The emotional impact on a child being removed from their home can be a lot to handle. Children will have big feelings of loss or confusion about their family situation. Caregivers also experience emotions when faced with a new situation and new responsibilities. There may also be conflicting family opinions to deal with. Patience will be necessary to sort feelings out and establish equilibrium.
• Financial concerns – Taking on the unexpected responsibility for one or more kin children will add an additional financial burden to even the most financially solvent family. This is even more crucial for older grandparents who have retired and are living on a fixed income. Housing may also be a concern, and moving to larger, more expensive housing to accommodate additional household members can create a financial burden.