National Kinship Care Month
September is National Kinship Care Month. Kinship care is the full-time care and nurturing of children by relatives, members of their Tribes or clans, godparents, stepparents, fictive kin, or extended family member. Some kin are related to the children and others are not related by blood, but rather relationships. Whether these are formal arrangements through the child welfare system or informally through arrangements made within families, kinship care is a critical component of a successful child welfare system as it reduces trauma for children and youth and allows for ongoing families, community, and cultural ties.
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Specifically, estimates indicate that 2.7 million grandparents are currently raising their grandchildren, and there are 6.1 million children under the age of 18 who live in a grandparent’s household. It is absolutely critical that grandparents who are raising their grandchildren have access to resources specific to their needs. We would like to highlight a number of resources specifically for grandparents who are engaging in the immense and immeasurable task of raising their grandchildren:
Resources for Grandparents
Grandfamilies.org is a national legal resource in support of families where grandparents are raising their grandchildren, both within and outside the context of the child welfare system. Their mission is to provide education, inform policy options, and provide technical assistance. The website has a host of resources available.
RetireGuide is a website committed to providing accurate information and research on a variety of retirement topics. They have recently published a guide specifically for grandparents who are taking the lead in raising their grandchildren. The guide focuses on resources for self-care that support physical, mental, and financial health.
AARP provides a number of resources for grandparents raising grandchildren. The resource guide focuses on a variety of topics, including but not limited to housing and safety, health, finances, and family challenges.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has publicly available training videos presented by Dr. Joseph Crumbley, a leading expert in the field of kinship care. These training videos are specifically targeted for Child Welfare Professionals regarding how to engage kinship care providers. However, the information contained in the trainings could be beneficial for a variety of populations.
Fosteringnc.org is a learning site for NC foster and adoptive parents, as well as kinship caregivers. Trainings can be accessed on demand and cover topics that range from child welfare court proceedings and parenting LGBTQ youth to risks for human trafficking and supporting visitation with birth parents.
Grandparents in NC who are responsible for the care and well-being of their grandchildren and are interested in adoption, can consider a relative adoption. To learn more about relative adoption, visit a previous blog post on our website entitled “Adopting a Child Who is Your Relative.”
