Kinship Caregiving: A Family-Rooted Approach to Child Well-Being

Kinship care occurs when relatives or close family friends step forward to care for children during times of family crisis. It has emerged as one of the most important, yet often underrecognized, forms of caregiving in the United States. Whether through informal family arrangements or formal child welfare systems, kinship care supports children’s well-being, preserves family connections, and helps mitigate long-term trauma. This type of caregiving typically arises when parents are unable to care for their children due to health challenges, substance use, incarceration, financial hardship, or safety concerns.

Kinship care typically comes in three forms:

• Informal kinship care: Families make private arrangements without child welfare involvement – can be with or without court action.
• Family Arrangement/Safety Plan: Child welfare agencies identify safety concerns and relatives’ step in to care for children.
• Formal kinship foster care: The state/county retain custody of child(ren) and relatives act as licensed or unlicensed foster parents.

Kinship Care and Child Well-Being

When children cannot live with their parents, they often feel scared, confused, and sad. Kinship care can help ease this trauma. Children feel safer when they stay with people they know, in familiar homes and routines. This helps them keep a sense of belonging, which is important for their emotional health.

Staying connected to family also helps children keep their culture, language, and family history. This is especially important for children of color, Native children, and children from immigrant families, who are more likely to be involved in the child welfare system. Keeping these connections helps children build strength and supports their long-term mental health.

Research shows that children in kinship care experience more stability than those in non-relative foster care. They move less often, change schools less, and have stronger caregiving relationships. This stability lowers the risk of behavior problems, poor grades, and long-term trauma. Kinship care also makes it more likely that siblings can stay together which is something children say matters most to them.

Kinship Care and Family Stability

Kinship care helps families stay connected during difficult times. When children live with relatives, parents often remain more involved in their lives and feel more supported as they work toward recovery or stability. This increases the chances that families can reunite and reduces the need for long-term foster care.

Kinship caregiving also brings families together. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings often share the responsibility of caring for children, strengthening family bonds across generations.

While kinship care saves money for the child welfare system, it can be financially challenging for caregivers, many of whom are older adults or live on fixed incomes. When caregivers receive financial support, health care, legal help, and childcare services, families are better able to provide stable and loving homes.

Kinship care is more than a temporary solution. It is a powerful way to care for children using existing family relationships to reduce trauma, support healing, and strengthen communities. Supporting kinship families is one of the most compassionate ways to help children grow up safe, loved, and connected.

The Family Resource Center operated by Family Service Rochester is the only family resource center in Minnesota that has received grant funding to have a additional focus on supporting kinship caregivers.

For additional information, see the Annie E. Casey Foundation, "Strengthening Support for Kinship Caregivers." For information about FRC kinship care services, check out our website or call 507-218-3255