Kinship (Relative) Care

Kinship care is when a relative or other adult (fictive kin) who has a bond with the child agrees to provide full-time care, nurturing, and protection for the child who has been separated from their parents due to neglect, abuse, death, or another traumatic situation where the Child Welfare Agency is involved. Kinship care is very important in supporting children to remain in a loving family environment.

Kinship Care arrangements fall into three categories:

1. Formal care, where a Child Welfare Agency has legal custody, and a child lives with relatives or fictive kin in a foster care arrangement.
2. Voluntary or informal care, where the Child Welfare Agency is involved, but does not have formal legal custody of the child.
3. Private care, placements made by a relative without Child Welfare involvement. These placements represent the largest number of kinship care arrangements.

What Services do Kinship Caregivers Need?

• A safe place to come together
• Vouchers for diapers
• Legal services
• Place for seniors and children to live (lots of senior housing does not allow children)
• More awareness of kinship “problem”
• Computers for caregivers to utilize with children
• More education
• More voice in the system: not just called on when system determines a problem.

Other Names for Kinship Care:

• Grandfamilies
• Second-time Parents
• Relatives as parents
• Kin care
• Kin Foster Care

Cash Benefits for Children Living With Relatives Other than Parents. Kinship Care Program

Some Kinship Caregivers are eligible for Payment Allowances:

• Up to $418 per month when the only child is 0-12 years of age;
• Up to $401 per month for each child when there are 2 or more children 0-12 years of age; and
• Up to $463 per month for each child age 13 and older.

Eligibility Requirements include the following:

• Be age 62 or older;
• Be a non-parent, non-needy relative caregiver (not requesting assistance for yourself);
• Be caring for and residing with a child who is related by blood, adoption, or marriage for at least six consecutive months;
• Have obtained Nevada court approval of legal guardianship;
• Comply with court-imposed requirements;

Relative household members must have a combined income below 275% of the Federal Poverty Level AND the child(ren) must meet the age, citizenship, and resource eligibility requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

Kin-Finding Practices Kin-Finding Toolkit

1. Ask Youth About Their Kin
2. Use an Expansive Legal Definition of Kin
3. Require Senior Staff Sign-Off for Non-Kin Placements or Implement a “Firewall Policy”
4. Maintain a Shared List of Kin
5. Dedicate Kin-Finding Responsibility
6. Use Social Media to Find Kin
7. Use a Variety of Contact Methods
8. Involve Kin Prior to Removal
9. Make a Plan to Keep Youth Connected to Their Supportive Adults
10. Use Genograms
11. Use a Heart Map to Identify a Youth’s Important Relationships
12. Leverage the Court System to Encourage Kin-Finding
13. Use the Snowball Method
14. Use Gentle Commitment Escalation with Kin
15. Never Stop Looking for Kin
16. Test Your Communications with Real Kin
17. Make Keeping in Touch with Kin a Formal Foster Family Responsibility
18. Use a Red Team to Prevent Adverse Placements
19. Make Sure Kin Have a Robust Presence at Meetings
20. Use “Extreme Family Finding”
21. Create Life Books for Youth in Care
22. Use DNA to Find More Family Connections

Kinship 101: General Kinship Terms and Overview of Kinship Families

Other Resources

DCFS RelativeFosterCare

Foster Kinship

Grandfamilies.org

Generations United

The Imprint

JIT Nevada: Just in Time Training Network

Kinship Care Division of Welfare and Supportive Services

Kinship Navigator Program