Extended family members have long played a role in caring for children when their parents were unavailable to do so.  Often times,  children are in the care of kin through informal arrangements among family members with no involvement of the child welfare system.  Beginning in the mid-1980s, however, state child welfare systems began to rely on relatives as foster parents when children entered the foster care system.  In these cases, the child welfare agency holds legal custody of the child and places the child with a relative.  Although relatives have no legal obligation to become children’s caregivers, they frequently step forward to assume responsibility for children in their family (Berrick, 1998).  Over the past two decades, the number of children and youth in foster care in the care of their relatives has grown significantly and federal and state legislation have encouraged this practice.   Preliminary data for FY 2010 indicate that 26% of the children in foster care (103,943 children) were in the care of relative foster parents (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2011). 

A number of factors help explain the increasing numbers of children in the care of relative foster parents.  Those factors include: (1) a shrinking supply of non-relative foster parents which prompted social workers in the 1980s to turn to kin as an essential placement resource; (2) the increase in the number of children in foster care from the 1980s to early 2000s, particularly of infants and other very young children; (3) changing societal attitudes about the importance of kin as a resource for children with a focus on the strengths, rather than the deficits, of family members; and (4) the introduction of financial support for relatives who care for children in foster care (Berrick, 1998).  With these dynamics in play, state laws began to recognize kin as preferred placement resources for children who must enter care.  State legislatures in California, Illinois, New York and elsewhere enacted laws giving a statutory preference to kin when children entered foster care. 

Research has documented the benefits to children when they are placed with relatives.  Keeping children with family members has been found to sustain their connections to their families, communities and cultures and to minimize the trauma of being separated from their parents (Scarcella, Ehrle, & Geen, 2003; Whitley & Kelley, 2007). In several cultures, including many communities of color, the family and home include the extended family and sometimes the community.  Kinship care represents an opportunity of states to provide children with the safety of foster care by placing them with families that are committed to permanency. At the same time, kinship care can enhance children’s well being by keeping them connected with relatives, their communities, and their ethnic, racial and cultural traditions (Conway & Hutson, 2007).

Specifically, studies show that children in kinship care:

• Experience fewer placement changes than children placed with non-kin parents  (Testa, 2001)
• Are more likely to live with their siblings when they are placed with kin (Shlonsky, Webster, & Needell, 2003; Wulczyn & Zimmerman, 2005).
• Are less likely to change schools than children in non-relative foster care or in group care (National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being [NSCAW, 2005).
• Have scores in physical, cognitive, emotional and skill-based domains that are more like children who are able to remain at  home after child abuse and neglect investigation than children placed in unrelated foster care or a group home (NSCAW, 2005).
• Are, after reunifying with their parents after kinship care, less likely to reenter foster care than those who had been in non-relative foster placements or in group care facilities (Courtney & Needell, 1997).

Children in kinship care, compared to children placed with non-relative foster parents, report more positive perceptions of their placements and have fewer behavioral problems. Children in kinship care are:

• More likely to report liking those with whom they live (93% compared to 79% for children in non-relative foster care and 51% of children in group care) (NSCAW, 2005).
  
  
• More likely to report wanting their current placement to be their permanent home (61% compared to 27% in unrelated foster care and 2% in group care) (NSCAW, 2005)
  
  
• Less likely to report having tried to run away (6% compared to 16% and 35%) (NSCAW, 2005)
  
  
• More likely to report that they “always felt loved” (94% compared to 82% in non-relative foster care (Wilson, 1996)
  
  
• Likely to be rated by their teachers and caregivers as having fewer behavioral problems than their peers in other out-of-home care settings (NSCAW, 2005).

Despite the many benefits of kinship care for children, there are many compelling stories from across the county of relatives who did not know that their grandchildren, nieces, nephews or siblings had been placed in foster care until well have the child had been placed or even adopted by a non-relative (Grandparent State Law and Policy Resource Center, 2011a).  Although most states had enacted legislation based on earlier federal law that that required states to “consider giving preference to an adult relative over a non-related caregiver when determining placement for a child, provided the caregiver meets all relevant child protection standards,” it was not uncommon to learn of situation in which relatives were neither identified nor notified when a child came into care, undermining the intent of placement preference for relatives (Grandparent State Law and Policy Resource Center, 2011a). 

Once relatives have been identified as potential placements for children, states vary dramatically in how they license relative caregivers   (Allen, DeVooght, & Geen, 2008).  A number of states have statutory provisions concerning the licensing of foster parents, including whether licensing requirements are the same as for non-relatives or whether relatives are exempt from certain requirements.  In those states that allow certain requirements to be waived, safety and health requirements cannot be waived, a position that is consistent with the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.  Many states, however, do not address the licensing of relative caregivers in statute.  Instead, the licensing rules are found policy manuals, regulations as well as unwritten polices (Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Center, 2011b).  The 2008 Child Trends survey of state kinship care policies found that in about two-thirds of the states, kin do not have to meet all of the licensing standards as non-relative caregivers (Allen, DeVoorght, & Geen, 2008).  The survey also found, however, that the number of states that do not allow any waiver or modification on an individualized basis was growing steadily, rising from 15 states in 2001 to 18 states in 2008 (Allen, DeVooght, & Geen, 2008).

For children entering foster care, a key kinship consideration is placement of siblings together to enhance their sense of safety and well being (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006).   When siblings are placed together, they often are able to provide natural support to one another and provide a sense of stability and belonging.  Continuity of sibling relationships assists children in maintaining a positive sense of identity and knowledge of their cultural, personal and family histories (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006).  Sibling placement may also affect permanency outcomes for children.  Research has found that placing siblings together is associated with a significantly higher rate of family reunification (Webster, et al., 2005). 

Studies, however, also show that a substantial proportion of the children in foster care with siblings are not placed together (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2006).  A number of demographic and situational factors appear to be associated with siblings not being placed together.  Among those factors are differences in the needs of siblings; organizational policies and procedures, including rules regarding the maximum number of children who can be placed in a foster home; and  adequacy of placement resources and supports (Hegar, 2005; Shlonsky, et al., 2003).   Beliefs and attitudes of caseworkers and agency personnel, therapists, and foster parents also can contribute to separating siblings.  In one study, over half of the caseworkers indicated that it was difficult to find foster parents willing to accept siblings and that the presence of sibling made it harder for foster parents to incorporate the child into the family (Smith, 1996).  Importantly, research documents that siblings are more likely to remain together when they are placed with kin (Hegar & Rosenthal, 2009).

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 addresses these critical kinship care practice issues in several ways:

1.  Notice of placement to relatives
The Act requires states "within 30 days after the removal of a child from the custody of the parent" to "exercise due diligence to identify and provide notice to all adult grandparents and other adult relatives of the child."   In addition, the state must inform relatives of their options "to participate in the care and placement of the child" and is required to provide information on the requirements "to become a foster family home and the additional services and supports that are available for children placed in such a home."  The Act also allows child welfare agencies to obtain state and federal child support data to help locate children's parents and other relatives.

2.  Foster care licensing standards
The Act codifies existing federal regulations that states may waive non-safety-related foster care licensing standards on a case-by-case basis for kin seeking to become foster parents, and may seek Title IV-E reimbursement for eligible children placed with these kin. The Act specifically states that the "non-safety standards" are "as determined by the state."

3.  Placement with siblings
The Act requires states to make "reasonable efforts...to place siblings removed from their home in the same foster care, kinship guardianship, or adoptive placement...and in the case of siblings removed from their home who are not jointly placed, to provide frequent visitation or other ongoing interaction between the siblings."

4.  Family connection grants
The Act authorizes grants to states, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations to implement programs designed to help children who are in, or at risk of entering foster care to reconnect with family members.  The Act authorizes $75 million over 5 years for the implementation of four specific program models: kinship navigator programs, intensive family finding, family group decision making, and residential family treatment.  Three percent of the funds authorized are set aside for conducting a rigorous evaluation of the programs funded.

Kinship/Relative Care, Related Organizations List, CWIG, May 2011: