| Kinship Care Resource Center |
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Kinship care is a common occurrence throughout the nation. It is the full-time caring, nurturing, and the protection of children by relatives, members of their tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, or any adult who has a kinship bond with a child (Child Welfare League of America, "Fact Sheet", December, 1998).
There are several factors that contribute to the need for kinship care. According to the U. S. Bureau of the Census, 1998, factors that contribute to the increase in grandparents and other relatives raising children included, but were not necessarily limited to, the following:
- Death of a parent
- Child abuse and/or neglect
- Abandonment
- Teenage pregnancy
- Alcohol and drug abuse
- HIV/AIDS
- Unemployment
- Incarceration
- Divorce
- Mental health problems
- Family violence
- Poverty
The Child Welfare League of America (1998) agrees and suggested an additional factor which contributes to the need for kinship care, a decline in the availability of traditional foster homes for placement of children. Kinship care plays an essential role in the array of child welfare service options. When children cannot be reared safely by their parents, kinship care provides an opportunity to protect children and meet their needs separate from their parents (Child Welfare League of America, "Fact Sheet", December, 1998).
The Child Welfare League further noted that kinship care often is informally arranged by the family without any involvement of child welfare agencies. In addition, kinship care also may be an option for formal placement of children with kin by child welfare agencies.
