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Kinship Caregiver Support Act
Kinship
care is when grandparents, other relatives or someone
else who is emotionally close to a child becomes a
foster parent(s) to that child. In some cases, if the
child has no qualified family members a mentor, a
teacher or a coach could become a foster parent. The
ultimate goal of kinship care is permanency for that
child, whether it is achieved through adoption,
guardianship or reunification. Kinship care families
in all states are eligible for a foster care payment, if
they meet a state-specified foster care standard.
Strengths of Kinship Care
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Enables children to live with people they know and
trust.
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Reduces the trauma of living with persons who
initially are unknown.
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Supports the transmission of a child’s family
identity, culture and ethnicity.
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Helps children stay connected to siblings.
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Encourages families to rely on their own family
members and resources.
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Increases opportunities for children to stay
connected to their own communities, and encourages
community responsibility for its children and
families.
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Promotes the ability of children to receive support
and services in their own families.
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Reduces the unfortunate stigma that children may
experience from being labeled as “foster children.”
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Improves continuity of children’s experiences, as
kin caregivers are often involved in children’s
lives before and after placement.
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Helps children to stay connected to birth parents
during placement, as more visits occur in kin
placements.
*Child
Welfare League of America, (1994). A Natural Bridge.
Washington, DC: Author.
To find
out more about kinship care, visit
http://www.cwla.org/programs/kinship/factsheet.htm.
The Kinship
Caregiver Support Act
Senators Hillary Clinton,
Tom Daschle and Olympia Snowe sponsored a bill in August
of 2004 known as The Kinship Caregiver Support Act. This
act would help the many children many children being
raised by grandparents or other relatives. To assist the
children and families, the act:
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Establishes a Kinship
Navigator Program
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Establishes
a Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program to provide
federal assistance to states for subsidized
guardianship programs to assist relative caregivers
and their children; and
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Ensures
notice to relatives when children enter foster care.
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