Kinship Care
Becoming a kinship care provider is challenging for all involved. Usually, you have only a little time to make the decision to bring a kinship placement into your home. Often, you love the child’s parents and your heart is already breaking because of the situations that have led to you becoming the primary caregiver for this child. The child you are caring for is struggling with the changes in his or her life as well. There is a lot to navigate.
One of the first decisions you will have to make is what type of legal arrangement is best for you, for the child, and for the child’s parent. There are emotional, legal, and financial issues that must be considered. You also may need to decide whether you become a licensed foster parent, a guardian, an informal childcare provider, or some variation of these arrangements.
Creating a Family has many resources to help you sort out your options when considering Kinship Care. We also have resources to make the transition from the grandparent, aunt, or cousin to the parent easier for everyone. A few of our most recently published resources we think you will find particularly helpful are here:
- Helping Family Visits Go Well (blog post)
- Navigating the Internet with Adopted or Foster Tweens and Teens (blog post)
- Common Challenges in Kinship Care and How to Overcome Them (blog post)
- When Your Child’s Trauma Impacts Your Marriage (blog post)
- Attachment 101 (1 hr. radio interview w/ expert)
- What Do Kinship Caregivers Need to Succeed? (1 hr. radio interview w/ experts)
- Family First Prevention Services Act (1 hr. radio interview w/ expert)
- Relationships with Birth Parents Who Struggle with Addiction (FosterEd for Foster Parents/Kinship Providers course)
Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the other resources we have on Kinship Care in the form of blogs/articles, radio shows/podcasts, tip sheets, fact sheets, and expert Q & A’s.
Additional Resources
