Kinship care: the challenges and opportunities

by Jan Wagner

I had the opportunity to chat with Cate Newbank, executive director of FACES of Virginia, as she was on her way to a briefing about kinship on Capitol Hill. We talked of kinship issues and the very wide gap in this country between licensed foster kinship families and informal or unlicensed kinship families, and she gave me a link to an organization called the National Committee of Grandparents for Children's Rights.

Let's talk kinship!

NFPA is gathering information regarding kinship care and needs your help. 

If you have any information regarding the following questions, please contact Jan Wagner, NFPA's Kinship sub-committee chair, at wagnerjan(at)live.com. You can also leave a comment here and we'll get it to Jan. 

Don't forget to tell us your state!

1. Are relatives in your state encouraged to become licensed or are they told to seek guardianship or other less formal arrangements?
2. Are relative families supported in any way by the state such as with special guardianship/kinship subsidies, even if they are not licensed foster families?
3. Are there specific state policies and procedures for relative families? (send us a link!)
4. Are kinship families informed of free, accessible trainings and parenting support for children at risk?
5. Is there a Navigator program in place where families can obtain information on services, benefits, trainings and information sharing?
6. Are the unique needs of kinship families being recognized by the state?
7. How can NPFA reach out and support kinship families?