Resources in this section will help child welfare professionals locate and work with kinship caregivers. This section will also assist them in understanding kinship family relationships and how to engage and support kinship families.
- Resources about recruiting and retaining kinship caregivers
- Examples of kinship recruitment strategies
- Examples of kinship caregiver support services
Resources about recruiting and retaining kinship caregivers
Client Voices: Youth, Parent, and Relative Perspectives on Family Finding
Child Trends (2013)
Examines ways in which child welfare agencies can improve family-finding services based on client perspectives of the process.
Kinship Process Mapping: A Guide to Improving Practice in Kinship Care
The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2013)
Discusses the use of kinship process mapping in child welfare agencies as a means of standardizing the kinship search process and utilizing kinship caregivers effectively.
Revitalizing Recruitment: Practical Strategies for Finding and Keeping Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Homes (PDF - 10,107 KB)
New York State Office of Children and Family Services (2015)
Helps professionals navigate the challenges of finding foster and adoptive families who are equipped to meet the needs of children and youth entering foster care.
Using Kinship Navigators to Assess the Needs of Kinship Caregivers
Sutphin (2015)
GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, 2(1)
Discusses the resources needed to effectively support kin caregivers. Using the Family Needs Scale, the article details a kinship navigator program designed to address the service needs of kinship caregivers.
Voices From the Field: Stakeholder Perspectives on Family Finding
Child Trends (2014)
Provides child welfare practitioners with an overview of the Family Finding model, an intensive search and engagement method that identifies family members or other adults connected to children in foster care. This brief discusses the importance of establishing permanent relationships for children in out-of-home care and the barriers that often prevent those relationships.
Examples of kinship recruitment strategies
Diligent Search Resources
Florida's Center for Child Welfare (2017)
Provides forms and information for conducting a diligent search for relative caregivers of children in foster care in Florida.
Diligent Search Packet: Legal Services Initiative (PDF - 1,536 KB)
Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network (2013)
Assists Legal Services Initiative paralegals and caseworkers in county agencies throughout Pennsylvania with their diligent search requests. The packet illustrates each county's unique efforts and procedures in searching for parents or other possible placement resources for children.
Examples of kinship caregiver support services
Maryland Kinship Care Services
Maryland Department of Human Resources (2017)
Provides kinship adoptive parents in Maryland links to support groups in the State, as well as links to services for families formed through kinship adoption.
Kinship Care Support Group
Official Site of the County of Fairfax, VA (2015)
Lists Fairfax County, VA, support groups for grandparents and other kinship care relatives raising minor children whose parents are unable to care for them. Groups are led by social workers from the Fairfax County Department of Family Services. Free child care assistance is provided while the caregiver participates in the support group.
Kinship Care Services
Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
Provides lists of services in Washington State, including a list of support groups and resource persons for grandparents and relatives raising children.
Kinship Care
Fairhill Partners (2017)
Provides services, including peer-to-peer support groups, monthly adult and teen workshops, children's activities, summer and holiday camps, adult support groups, and more, to grandparents raising grandchildren in Cuyahoga County, OH. The program also offers teen leadership and entrepreneurial activities as well as housing possibilities for kinship families.
| Series Title | Bulletins for Professionals |
| Author(s) | Child Welfare Information Gateway |
| Availability | View Download (PDF - 355KB) Order (Free) |
| Year Published | 2018 |
Support Matters: Lessons from the Field on Services for Adoptive, Foster and Kinship Care Families (PDF - 1,454 KB)
AdoptUSKids (2015)
Discusses the importance of effectively evaluating the needs of foster and kinship caregivers and partnering with community-based organizations.