Kinship Care

What is Kinship Care?

Kinship care is a way for Virginia’s children to stay connected to family when they are unable to live with their parents due to illness, incarceration, housing instability, and/or abuse or neglect. Relatives and other important people in their lives, such as neighbors, godparents or close family friends, can sometimes become their primary caregivers, also called “kinship care providers”. Kinship care can reduce trauma, promote stability, and maintain family and cultural connections. 

Is Kinship Care Right for Me?

Consider the following questions before agreeing to become a kinship care provider:

1. How might kinship care effect my relationship with the child's parents and extended family?
2. How will this impact my own family, and do I have their support?
3. Do I understand the circumstances surrounding the child's removal from the home?
4. Will I be able to set limits with the child's parents?
5. Will I be able to support this child to return home or offer them a permanent home if necessary?
6. Will I need assistance to meet the mental and physical needs of this child?

What Are My Kinship Care Options?

Local departments of social services will partner with the family and prospective kinship care providers to discuss what is best, but Virginia kinship care options include: 

1. Care for the child for a temporary 90-day period through a voluntary program called the Parental Child Safety Placement Program while the child’s parents work toward reunification. This allows the child to live with the kinship care provider, while their parents retain custody and legal rights to their child. Financial support may be available; speak with your family service specialist. 
2. Receive custody of the child through the court. The kinship care provider can then make educational and medical decisions for the child, and seek support from local and state agencies on behalf of the child. 
3. Become approved as a foster parent by the local department of social services if Virginia’s foster parent approval standards can be met. The child would remain in the custody of the local department of social services, while living with the kinship foster parent, who would receive monthly payments based on the child’s needs. 
4. For children in foster care who cannot return home, there are two paths for kinship foster parents to become permanent caregivers for children:
   • • Adopt the child if the court terminates the parental rights of the child’s parents.
   • • Become the permanent legal custodian and receive monthly financial support for the child’s needs through the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KinGAP). This path is available when adoption and return home are not options. 

If you are interested in becoming a kinship caregiver or have a child you want to be cared for by family or a close family friend, contact your local department of social services.

If you are already a kinship caregiver looking for free resources and assistance to help you thrive in your role of raising your relative, visit KinshipVirginia.com.