In recognition of the growing number of kinship caregivers and the needs of these families, the 123rd Ohio General Assembly passed Am. Sub. H.B. 283, the FY 1999 – FY 2000 Biennial Appropriations Bill, which established the Kinship Care Services Planning Council. The purpose of the Planning Council was to develop recommendations, based upon the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Task Force Report, that specify the types of services that should be included as part of a statewide program providing support services to kinship caregivers.

The Planning Council Identified Core Services as Areas of Need by Kinship Caregivers

Information and Referral

• Locating and identifying kinship caregivers in the service area.
• Maintain an up-to-date list of community services and resources for kinship care providers.
• Respond to inquires from kinship care providers, link them to community resources and provide follow-up and advocacy on an as-needed basis.

Legal

• Provide general information to kinship caregivers about the different legal relationships that caregivers may pursue, relative to the child(ren) in their care, e.g. legal custody, legal guardianship, adoption, etc.

Childcare

• Link kinship care providers to publicly-funded childcare services, and provide information about eligibility requirements.

Respite

• Respite should not be confused with childcare. Childcare is utilized when a caregiver is working, involved in a work-training program, or involved in school. Respite is often needed when caregivers are faced with challenges, which causes an overall increase in stress within the family. Respite can be a critical resource in helping caregivers cope, providing short-term relief thereby preventing placement disruption, and stabilizing the family.

Education and Training

• Identify training, workshops, seminars, and support groups, that may be of interest to kinship care providers, regarding re-parenting skills, support network, attachment and separation issues, discipline, communication, and life transitions.

Financial Assistance

• Educate kinship care providers about available financial assistance.

What is Kinship Care?
Kinship Care refers to a temporary or permanent arrangement in which a relative or any non-relative adult who has a long standing relationship or bond with the child and/or family, has taken over the full-time, substitute care of a child whose parents are unable or unwilling to do so for reasons such as death or chronic illness (e.g. HIV/AIDS), substance abuse, incarceration, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, teenage pregnancy, unemployment, poverty, and other problems. Kinship care includes those relationships established through an informal arrangement, a legal custody or guardianship order, a relative foster care placement or a kinship adoption. Regardless of the type of kinship care arrangement, the kinship caregiver’s voluntary commitment to devote their lives to the children in their care is a courageous, life-changing decision.

Kinship Care is typically categorized in two ways – informal and formal:

Informal Kinship Care is when the family decides that the child will live with relatives or other kin. In this informal kinship care arrangement, a social worker may be involved in helping family members plan for the child, but a child welfare agency does not assume legal custody of or responsibility for the child. Because the parents still have custody of the child, relatives need not be approved, licensed, or supervised by the state.

Formal Kinship Care involves the parenting of children by kin as a result of a determination by the court and the child protective service agency. The courts rule that the child must be separated from his or her parents because of abuse, neglect, dependency, abandonment or special medical circumstances. The child is placed in the legal custody of the child welfare agency, and the kin provide the full time care, protection and nurturing that the child needs. Formal kinship care is linked to state and federal child welfare laws.

Why Kinship Care?
Kinship care represents the most desirable out-of-home placement option for children who can not live with their parents due to abuse, neglect, dependency, death, incarceration, etc. It provides the greatest level of stability to children, and it maintains their sense of belonging, and enhances their ability to identify with their families culture and traditions. It further preserves family heritage. Children tend to fair better in homes where there is a prior relationship, when they can no longer live with their biological parents. Grandparents provide care for their grandchildren in approximately 10 percent of Ohio’s households with children. According to the Ohio Department of Aging Grandparents’ Raising Grandchildren Task Force, 32,340 and 8,384 other relatives are raising children in their homes without a parent present. Based on this data, concluded in 1998, there were approximately 73,300 children being raised by kinship caregivers.

On This Page:

Care Services
What is Kinship Care?
Why Kinship Care Exist