Kinship Care

What is Kinship Care?

Kinship care is when a child lives with family or close family friends because they can’t stay with their parents for a while. This might happen if a parent is sick, in jail, having trouble with housing, or if it isn’t safe for the child to stay at home. Caregivers can be relatives or trusted adults like godparents, neighbors, or close family friends. Kinship care helps children feel safer, stay connected to people they know, and keep their family and cultural traditions.

Is Kinship Care Right for My Family?

When you’re thinking about becoming a kinship caregiver, it can help to talk through these questions with your agency case worker:

1. How could caring for this child change my relationship with the child’s parents and other family members?
2. How might this affect my own family, and do the people in my home support this decision?
3. Do I understand why the child had to leave their home?
4. Will I be able to set boundaries with the child’s parents?
5. Can I support the child in going back home when it’s safe, or give them a permanent home if they need one?
6. Will I need help to meet the child’s physical or emotional needs?

What Are the Different Ways I May Be Considered for Kinship Care?

There are different ways you may be considered for kinship care, depending on whether the child is involved with foster care or not: 

1. Parental Child Safety Placement Program
   • You care for the child for up to 90 days while the parents work on safety issues. This program is voluntary.
2. Custody Transfer
   • A court may give you legal custody so you can make important decisions for the child.
3. Kinship Resource Parent
   • If the child needs foster care, you may still be able to care for them by becoming an approved kinship foster parent.
4. Adoption
   • You may adopt the child if the court ends the parents’ legal rights.
5. KinGAP (Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program)
   • You become the child’s permanent legal guardian and receive monthly financial support to help meet the child’s needs.

To read more about these options, please visit our Kinship Resource Guide.

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.

Learn more about becoming a kinship resource parent by watching this video.

You can call Virginia 211 at 1-800-230-6977 to learn more about additional resources available.