Working With Kin Caregivers

Kinship care is the full-time care and nurturing of a child by a relative or someone with a significant emotional connection or longstanding relationship with the child, such as a close family friend. When parents cannot safely provide care, and the child must enter out-of-home care, kinship care can reduce trauma and help children maintain family bonds and community connections. Given the unique circumstances, strengths, and challenges of kin caregiving, child welfare casework practice may require a different approach than when working with traditional foster caregivers.  

This bulletin for child welfare caseworkers highlights why kinship care is important and how child welfare professionals can best support kin caregivers.

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