Tag Archives: Kinship Care

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The Lost Ones: Reconciling Kinship Care with Undocumented Immigrant Children

Although unintended, deportation often results in the children of undocumented immigrants being placed into the foster care system.

Madison, WI, USA- February 18, 2016 - group of people protesting new Wisconsin immigration laws

The Cost of Deportation

A table describing various reasons and ways undocumented immigrant children enter New Jersey.

This table shows a snapshot of some ways children may enter the country. (New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect Conference, 2013)

In the United States in 2011, 5,100 children in the foster care system were U.S. citizens born to deported undocumented immigrant parents. From 2010 to 2012, 204,810 deportees were parents of U.S.-born children. According to a report by the National Center for Child Welfare Excellence, “For every two immigrants taken into custody, one child is left behind.” Quoting the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe, Lianne Pietro states:

…those who elect to enter our territory by stealth and in violation of our law should be prepared to bear the consequences, including, but not limited to, deportation. But the children of those illegal entrants are not comparably situated. Their “parents have the ability to conform their conduct to societal norms,” and presumably the ability to remove themselves from the State’s jurisdiction; but the children who are plaintiffs in these cases “can affect neither their parents’ conduct nor their own status.”

Especially in border states, the topic of illegal immigration spurs on hours of rhetoric and in-fighting, whether on the floor of the legislature or at home. While our politicians battle it out, however, something is forgotten:

The children.
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Kinship Care: The Way It Was vs. The Way It Is

Family being there to support one another during hard times is nothing new. The idea of grandparents taking care of their grandchildren or aunts and uncles providing for nieces and nephews is perhaps as old as time itself. What started as a traditional practice among relatives has now evolved into a leading form of foster care.

Kinship Care: The Way It Was vs. The Way It Is

Conventionally, kinship care has been provided without the inclusion of child welfare agencies. Instead of involving the state in family affairs, adults have taken on the responsibility of taking care of the abused and neglected children within their families. Continue reading →

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The Cost of Kinship Care: Caring for Relatives Limits Budgets of the Elderly

Thousands of elderly in the United States who have retired from full-time jobs become parents all over again. Without assistance from local child welfare agencies, more and more kinship caregivers, especially senior citizens, don’t have enough money to make ends meet.

the cost of kinship care

Many grandparents are living on fixed incomes like retirement or disability. Since that only scratches the surface of their basic needs, it’s not nearly enough to cover the cost of kinship care.

The Cost of Kinship Care: Nationwide Trend

Kinship care is one of the most common forms of foster care, and grandparents are usually the providers. However, in Idaho, there are about 11,000 grandparents who are raising grandchildren on their own without state help. Unfortunately, about 14 percent of them are also living in poor conditions. To take care of the needs of the kids, a lot of grandparents are overlooking their own necessities. And it’s not just in Idaho – this trend is nationwide. Continue reading →

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What is Kinship?

Kinship is a method of care that emphasizes familial bonding and the preservation and strengthening of close relationships between caregivers and children in the child welfare system. There are varying types and degrees of kinship. This article will explain what kinship is and the benefits of becoming a licensed kinship caregiver.

what is kinship

What is Kinship: The Go-To Solution for Out-of-Home Placement

Most of us can agree that living in a close-knit family environment is a crucial stepping stone on the pathway to a strong future. With this logic in mind, child welfare organizations decided that if a child must be removed from her birth parents it would be best to keep her in the care of someone she knows. The decision led to an increase in the number of children and families involved in kinship care, where children are raised by relatives or close family friends when their birth parents are unwilling or unable to do so.

Studies suggest that the new focus on kinship care has worked well for children and their families. It is associated with a reduction in the number of out-of-home placements a child experiences, an increase in the likelihood of reunification with her birth parents and an increase in a child’s ability to maintain connections to her community, school and family – all hugely important parts of becoming a confident adult. Continue reading →

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Kinship Care in the United States: An Overview

kinship care in the united statesThe number of children in kinship care in the United States is growing. This shift has led to new challenges for families and the development of special programs to meet their unique needs.

Across the United States, many aunts, uncles, grandparents, other relatives and family friends are providing care to children who are unable to live with their birth parents. This method of care is commonly referred to as kinship care. Relatives and family friends, who are known to a child, can often help ease the pain and sorrow of separating from a parent by offering a safe and nurturing environment. Continue reading →

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Kinship Care on the Rise

While foster parents continue to be the safety net for our country’s abused and neglected children, in recent years a significant change has begun to take place. More and more, instead of placing these children in the homes of strangers, caseworkers strive to place them in the homes of relatives or family friends, also known as kinship homes.

kinship careThis change has resulted in more grandparents raising grandchildren then ever before. In 2012, National KIDS COUNT reported that 4% of all children under the age of 18 in the United States were living in a home where a grandparent was their primary caregiver. This number is likely to rise going forward.

New Jersey follows this trend, with grandparents, aunts and uncles and family friends being approached first to take in at risk children, rather than sending them immediately to foster homes. Kinship caregivers must become licensed, just as foster parents must, to take in children who are in the custody of the State. Continue reading →