- OVERVIEW OF KINSHIP CARE
- LEGISLATION/POLICY
- TRAINING
- IMPACT OF KINSHIP CARE ON CHILDREN
- TOOLS AND RESOURCES
- TOOLS FROM THE STATES
- WEBCAST & WEBSITES

OVERVIEW OF KINSHIP CARE

NRCFCPP Information Packet:  Relative Placements (Cohen, April 2008) This information packet prepared by NRCFCPP provides a good summary of kinship care including definitions, statistics, significant policy and legislation, model programs and practices, and websites.

White Paper:  Kinship Care (Casey Family Programs, May 2008) This white paper examines need policy changes so that more children can better benefit from kinship care.  The white paper explores the benefits of kinship care, as well as areas where research has shown that there may be concerns.  The paper also examines policies, programs, and supports that are available to kinship families.

State Fact Sheets for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children (October 2007) In a unique national partnership, AARP Foundation, Brookdale Foundation Group, Casey Family Programs, Child Welfare League of America, Children's Defense Fund, and Generations United have compiled and released state fact sheets and one national fact sheet that include census data, local programs and resources, state foster care policies, public benefit programs, important state laws, and important state laws.

LEGISLATION/POLICY

Help for Children Raised by Grandparents and Other Relatives:  Questions and Answers about the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Center for Law and Social Policy, 2009) The Fostering Connections Act of 2008 is one of the most significant pieces of child welfare legislation ever passed.  This user friendly document was put together by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and fifteen national organizations to provide an overview of the new Fostering Connections Act.  The article provides information regarding the impact the legislation will have for children living in kinship care.

Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act Offers Help to Children Raised by Relatives:  Summary This two page summary provides an overview of the most significant factors of the Fostering Connections Act that will impact relative caregivers.

Highlights of recent Kinship Care Legislation (National Conference of State Legislature Enactments, February 2008) This document from the National Conference of State Legislatures highlights recently enacted State legislation addressing kinship care for children receiving child welfare services. Legislation is described in the following areas: allowing grandparents and other relative caregivers to access medical care and treatment for children; allowing caregivers to enroll children in schools; promoting the placement of children with relatives; subsidizing guardianship and providing kinship foster care and other caregiver subsides and supports; allowing informal caregivers to qualify as de facto custodians with the right to initiate proceedings for appointment of a guardian; establishing a variety of study groups, task forces and oversight committees charged with examining issues facing kinship care providers; and authorizing kinship care navigator projects to help caregivers navigate their way through various systems such as child welfare, child care, TANF, health, legal/judicial, education and other services. Different State initiatives in each of these areas are described

Selected State Kinship Care Legislative Enactments, 1997-2006 This document from NCSL summarizes legislation that was enacted in 35 different States from 1997-2006 that addresses kinship care for children receiving child welfare services.

State Kinship Care Policies for Children that Come to the Attention of Child Welfare Agencies This report, State Kinship Care Policies for Children that Come to the Attention of Child Welfare Agencies: Findings from the 2007 Casey Kinship Foster Care Policy Survey, funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Programs, is the result of interviews with state child welfare agencies around the country about their kinship care practices. Particular attention is given to the engagement of relatives in order to divert the need for children to enter foster care. (December 2008)

Placement of Children with Relatives (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2008) In order for States to receive Federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance, Federal law requires that they "consider giving preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining placement for a child, provided that the relative caregiver meets all relevant State child protection standards." Current through January 2008, this information provided by the Child Welfare Information Gateway summarizes State statutes regarding relatives for placement or guardianship, requirements for placement with relatives, relatives who may adopt, and requirements for adoption by relatives.

TRAINING

State Training Requirements for Kinship Caregivers (2009) States have a variety of approaches regarding training and assessment for kinship caregivers. We have assembled information from the majority of the states here. States were contacted in Spring and Summer 2009.  Note that this is not a comprehensive list of all training policies

Training Kin to be Foster Parents:  Best Practices from the Field (Child Focus, 2008) This issue brief from Child Focus provides an overview of efforts to adapt foster parent training to the unique needs and circumstances of kinship caregivers. The following topics are addressed: federal licensing requirements, including requirements for foster care training as a condition of licensing; limitations of traditional foster parent training for kinship caregivers; state and county efforts to develop foster parent training programs tailored specifically for kin; common themes related to kin-specific training; and questions that states and localities should consider as they develop kin-specific training.  This document was updated in 2009.

Assessing Adult Relatives as Preferred Caregivers in Permanency Planning (NRRCFPPP, 2002) This competency-based curriculum was developed by the National Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice and Permanency Planning in March of 2002. It is intended to be used in coordination with your existing state laws, policies and best practices regarding safety and family study assessments, placement, permanency planning efforts, child and family well-being initiatives and foster/adoptive family licensing/approval procedures.

Achieving Permanency for Children in Kinship Foster Care (Pennsylvania Child Welfare training Program, Updated 2006) The actual curriculum for this workshop from the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Training Program can be downloaded for use.  The workshop is designed to enhance Child Welfare Professionals' understanding of the context of practice in kinship care, how to convene the kinship network, empowering the family, and supporting a permanency plan for the family all which is essential to the case planning and service delivery for children placed in kinship care.

Factors Leading to Premature Terminations of Kinship Care Placements: An Empirically-Based Curriculum  (California Social Work Education Center, 2006) This curriculum from the California Social Work Education Center may be downloaded for use.  The curriculum focuses on factors that may lead to differential placement outcomes for children who have become dependents of the court, as the result of abuse and neglect, and have been placed with kin rather than in traditional foster homes. The material is intended for use in training child welfare staff, including line workers, supervisors, and managers.  An accompanying PowerPoint Presentation is also available.

A Tradition of Caring (CWLA) This curriculum by Child Welfare League of America is designed specifically for preparation of kinship caregivers.  The nine session curriculum provides kinship caregivers with 27 hours of valuable information and support related to kinship care.  Sessions designed to facilitate interaction and the sharing of experiences and support among participants.  This program has been created for use by a broad spectrum of agencies: elder service programs; community social service and mental health agencies; kinship care resource centers; faith-affiliated, community-based, or other types of support groups; and public and private child welfare organizations. Rather than functioning primarily as a trainer, the person managing the group assumes the role of facilitator. Sessions are designed to allow the facilitator flexibility to respond to the needs, dynamics, and makeup of each group. This reasonably priced curriculum can be ordered by contacting: E-Mail:  order@cwla.org Website:  http://www.cwla.org/pubs/

The Kinship Care Practice Project (Jane Addams College of Social Work) These materials can be downloaded at no cost and are intended for preparing child welfare caseworkers to engage family members in the development of a permanent plan.  The material uses video clips to enhance learning.  The six modules covered include: The Context of Practice in Kinship Foster Care The Sociocultural Contexts of Kinship Care Substance Abuse and its Impact on Family Systems Convening the Kinship Network Decision-Making and Family Empowerment Supporting Permanent Plans

The Kinship Training Program and The Kinship Caregiver Forums  (The Center for Child and Family Programs at Eastern Michigan University) The Kinship Training Program is for child welfare workers and is organized around four 3-hour modules. Each module is designed to provide factual information, sensitize workers to the strengths and needs of kinship families, and to highlight strategies and techniques for developing effective helping relationships. Each module includes video or case stimuli, didactics and/or small group exercises. The Kinship Caregiver Forums are developed specifically for kinship caregivers.  The forums provide participants the opportunity to discuss issues of concern, exchange ideas, and develop supportive networks.. Each forum provides instructions for the presentation of the session as well as participant handouts. The individual forums include such topics as Family Traditions, Divided Loyalties, and Community Resources.

Empowering Grandparents Raising Grandchildren:   A Training Manual for Group Leaders.  (Cox, C.B.  2000) This manual is a 14-session workshop designed to help grandparents who are raising their grandchildren alone. Group leaders can revise and expand upon the themes presented here to fit the needs of their particular work groups. Some of the main issues that are explored are: useful tips for grandparents on how to communicate effectively with their grandchildren on all topics ranging from drugs and sex, to sexually transmitted diseases; helping them learn how to deal with loss and abandonment issues; helping them develop and maintain self-esteem; dealing with special behavior problems; and appropriate ways of instilling and maintaining rules in the home. For more information or to order:http://www.springerpub.com/prod.aspx?prod_id=13168

Kinship Care:  A Manual for Families and Kinship Care:  Trainer’s Guide by Charles E. Confer, LSW, ACSW,  RTC. Kinship Care:  A Manual for Families is a skills-based text that can be used as the text in group instruction or as an independent study for kinship caregivers.  You may order from http://www.afcr.com/content/9610-11.html, or from a general text supplier, such as Amazon. Kinship Care:  Trainer’s Guide by Charles E. Confer, LSW, ACSW RTC.  This kit is supplied intended to aid the facilitator in presenting curriculum to kinship care group members.  It is supplied with step-by step instructions, exercises, and overhead transparencies that can be used as a format and adapted for individual group work.  You may order from http://www.afcr.com/content/9610-11.html, or from a general text supplier, such as Amazon.

IMPACT OF KINSHIP CARE ON CHILDREN

Is Kinship Care Good for Kids?  (CLASP, March 2007) This brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy addresses benefits of and myths about kinship care.

Impact of Kinship Care on Behavioral Well-being for Children in Out-of-Home Care (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, June 2008) This study from the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine examined the influence of kinship care on behavioral problems after 18 and 36 months in out-of-home care. The authors concluded that children placed into kinship care had fewer behavioral problems 3 years after placement than children who were placed into foster care. This finding supports efforts to maximize placement of children with willing and available kin when they enter out-of-home care.

Keeping Them in the Family: Outcomes for Abused and Neglected Children Placed With Family or Friends Carers Through Care Proceedings (United Kingdom, Department for Children, Schools, and Families, March 2008) This project from the University of Oxford followed up a cohort of 113 children, removed from their parents’ care by the courts because of child protection concerns, who were then placed with members of their extended families or social networks.

Kinship Care in the United States: A Systematic Review of Evidence-Based Research  (Colorado State, July 2005) The Social Work Research Center at Colorado State University conducted this systematic review of quantitative research on kinship care in the United States. For this study, the child welfare outcomes were permanency, behavior problems, mental health service utilization, reentry, adaptive behaviors, family relations, mental health problems, and educational attainment. According to the research, children in kinship care experience better outcomes in regard to behavior problems, reentry, adaptive behaviors, family relations, and mental health problems than do children in foster care. However, children placed with kin are less likely to achieve permanency and utilize mental health services.

Child Welfare Outcomes in Colorado: A Matched Comparison Between Children in Kinship and Foster Care(Colorado State, 2006) This kinship care outcome study was conducted by the Social Work Research Center on behalf of the Applied Research in Child Welfare (ARCh) Project, which is a collaboration between the Colorado Department of Human Services twelve counties. The study employed a matched case design to compare children in kinship care with children in foster care on available child welfare outcomes. According to the findings, kinship care appears to be an evidence-based practice from both an outcome and cost-effectiveness perspective.

Support Relatives in Providing Foster Care and Permanent Families for Children (Generations United and the Pew Foundation, 2007) This report from Generations United presents the latest findings on the impact of relative care for children in foster care, describes the role of relatives as permanent families for the children in their care, and offers cost-effective ways to support relatives as caregivers through federal policy. It finds that children in relative foster care tend to be just as safe, or safer than, children placed with non-relative families. These placements often allow children to remain in their neighborhoods and schools and to live with their siblings.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

NRCPFC:    Tools for Working with Kinship Caregivers This document provides resources that will of assistance to kinship caregivers.  Child welfare professionals will also be able to find training materials, assessment tools, and handbooks for kinship caregivers. The resources are up-to-date, easy to access, and practical for caregivers.

NRCPFC: Tools for Permanency - Kinship Care The information in this NRCPFC tool can help child welfare agency and court practitioners evaluate whether or not kinship care is an option in any particular case.

NRCPFC:  Information Packet Health Care Issues for Children in Kinship Care (2005) This packet contains statistics, information, and descriptions of model programs for children in kinship care with health issues.

Financial Assistance for Kinship Caregivers (AARP) This article provides a good overview of financial assistance that is available, and practical advice for applying.  It also provides useful links to other sources of information.

Finding Health Insurance for your Grandchildren (AARP) This article provides a good overview of health insurance, and practical advice for applying.  It also provides links to other information and sites.

African-American Kinship Caregivers: Principles for Developing Supportive Programs (University of Washington and Northwest Institute for Children and Families, 2002) This 2002 report offers still-timely information regarding the provision of supports to African-American caregivers. African American Kinship Caregivers: Principles for Developing Supportive Programs was authored by Jennifer Szolnoki and Katharine Cahn. Originally developed to inform local grant making, it is based on a literature review of 45 published articles. Strengths, issues, and needs of African-American caregivers are identified and seven core principles for support programs are outlined.  The report concludes with a brief summary of each of the reviewed articles.

Ten Steps Public Child Welfare Agencies Can Take to Support Children in Safe and Stable Kinship Families ChildFocus® outlines the ten steps public child welfare agencies can take to support children in safe and stable kinship families, a few of which are required by provisions of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. (2009)

TOOLS FROM THE STATES

From Alaska, Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Children’s Services.  August 2007. A Guide to Child Protective Services for Relatives This guide provides an excellent example of a resource for relative caregivers that explains the child welfare and child protection process.  It is designed to help relatives understand the reasons children come into the care of the Office of Children’s Services, the responsibility of the state, the role of the court, the importance of relatives and the options available to relatives.

From Georgia,Department of Human Services. Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Website The Department of Human Resources (DHR) is reaching out to grandparents raising grandchildren by providing more access to resources through all of its services/programs. This website includes resources and services that are available statewide or countywide and will serve as a place for grandparents to get further referrals for their individual needs. It includes financial, health, and social services available for grandparents raising grandchildren provided by DHR's Divisions and Offices.

From Connecticut, United Way of Connecticut Connecticut Kinship Navigator A comprehensive list of kinship care family resources and services from the United Way of Connecticut

From New York New York State Kinship Navigator This program offers a comprehensive information and referral network for caregivers to learn more about services and to obtain referrals to legal, financial, educational, health/mental health, support-group and housing resources in their area. Information provided includes answers to frequently asked questions; eligibility requirements for public assistance, tax credits and childcare; access to official records; facts sheets on laws; and forums for service providers. Having a Voice & a Choice: New York State Handbook for Relatives Raising Children Developed by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) in partnership with the NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), Having a Voice & a Choice: New York State Handbook for Relatives Raising Children was written for relatives who are raising, or considering raising, children in need of a stable home because their parents are unable to take care of them. The handbook discusses the various options available to relatives so they can make the best decisions for their own situations. Chapters cover topics such as how children come into the care of relatives, legal arrangements, financial support for nonparent caregivers and foster parents, health care and health insurance, and school-related issues. At the end is a list of websites and other resources.

Washington State Washington Kinship Navigator Pilot Project Replication Manual (Casey Family Programs, 2005) This manual is intended to help service providers and policymakers use the lessons learned in the Kinship Navigator Pilot to expand and improve programs that support kinship caregivers of children and youth. The manual contents are based upon observations, interviews, and discussions with project staff, focus groups and surveys with kinship caregivers served by the pilot initiative. It provides a summary of the program’s background, philosophy and implementation steps offering a solid foundation for developing a Kinship Navigator program.

WEBCAST & WEBSITES

WEBCAST Supporting Kinship Families: What State Policymakers Can Do This webcast from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, in partnership with Case Family Programs, brought together national experts and state officials to discuss the benefits that kinship care affords children as well as examples of how leaders in the states are supporting kinship families.

WEBSITES Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center This resource center is a collaboration between Casey Family Programs, The American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law, and Generations United. This resource center serves as a national legal resource created to educate individuals about state laws and legislation in support of grandfamilies and to assist interested state legislators, advocates, caregivers, attorneys, and other policymakers in exploring policy options to support relatives and the children in their care both within and outside the child welfare system. This resource center consists of: a searchable database of current laws and pending legisltation; topical analyses, which include summaries and comparisons of state laws, legislative trends, and practical advocacy and implementation information; powerful personal stories from grandfamilies; and other relevant internet resources. Additionally, the ABA and Generations United staff are available to provide technical assistance and training to state policymakers and advocates or other interested parties. The Urban Institute The Urban Institute has published a number of discussion papers and policy briefs on kinship care. Childrens Defense Fund This portion of the Childrens Defense Fund website presents a number of useful publications on relative caregiving. AARP Grandparent Information Center The AARP GIC offers a website with lots of articles and message boards, booklets in English and Spanish, a free newsletter for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, information and referral to grandparent support groups and agencies, networking and assistance to local, state, and national organizations, research about grandparenting, support for AARP state offices that are working with grandparents at the local level, and advocacy for grandparents in collaboration with AARP's State Affairs and Legal Advocacy groups. National Data Analysis System - Kinship Care Data NDAS, at the Child Welfare League of America, has developed a website section that includes information pertinent to kinship demographics, funding, policies and providers. Center for Law and Social Policy:  CLASP is an advocacy organization whose roles is to support policies that strengthen families and create paths to work and education.  Brookdale Foundation Group:  The Brookdale Foundation Group works to advance the field of gerontology and improve the lives of senior citizens.  Their Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) provides support to grandparents assuming the primary caregiving roles. Generations United:  The mission of Generations United is to improve the lives of children, youth, and older people through intergeneration collaboration and policy development

                                                                                                                             
Last updated 11/06/09