There is nothing quite like having the warmth and support of family to help get through difficult times. Kinship care helps families stay connected and can ease some of the trauma children and youth may experience when they must be separated from their parents. Parents can have some of their fears assuaged knowing their children are being taken care of by their own parents, siblings, or other family members while maintaining the vital supportive cultural connections children and youth need to thrive. This National Foster Care Month, give thanks to the family members who opened their homes to the children in their family when they were needed most—like Stephanie, who took in her sister's children when she became ill, and Marlowe, a grandfather using art to help change his family's future.
When Stephanie's sister became sick, her family had a decision to make. Who would care for her three children? What was best for them? What was best for Stephanie’s own children? After searching her heart, Stephanie knew the answer, "As a family though, we are here to support each other and hold each other up through the hard times." After her sister’s passing, she did what she would have wanted for her own family had the roles been reversed: she and her spouse became the legal guardians of her sister's heart children and biological daughter. While the absence of her sister is keenly felt, her children were able to stay in the neighborhood they grew up in, in their school, and with their friends. The opportunity to grieve together and stay connected is something only kinship care can offer. But they did not take it on alone. Stephanie's family had support from the Tribal kinship program in her community as well as those around her. "[…] kinship is so much greater than those that live in the walls of our home. The support from surrounding family and older children have been instrumental through this process. Living in a small community, it really does take a village to raise a child."
Being a grandfather was an opportunity for a second chance for Marlowe. When Marlowe was released from prison, he knew that he wanted to change the legacy of his family and give his grandsons a brighter future through art and being a good role model. The first thing he did when he got out was locate his grandchildren, as he knew their parents were unable to care for them. Things were challenging at first. After gaining custody, he struggled and didn't receive the support he and his boys needed. Marlowe made ends meet through handyman jobs and his skills as a self-taught artist. Help was coming. As his case was getting ready to be closed, Marlowe was connected with a kinship coordinator who helped him get in touch with a local resource center and a faith-based community who—along with the financial support for being a kinship caregiver—helped him start accomplishing his goals. Marlowe recognized the need to change the cycle in his family. With encouragement from the community and the concrete support of a kinship navigator program in Louisiana, he is well on his way.
Both Stephanie and Marlowe made the brave decision to become kinship caregivers for the children in their families. Neither could have succeeded without the support of their community, caseworkers, and kinship navigator programs. Their stories are part of the National Foster Care Month website. This year's theme, "Relative and Kin Connections: Keeping Families Strong," shines the spotlight on kinship caregivers and the important role they play. The resources on this year's website highlight kinship navigator programs across the country, culturally responsive kinship caregiver recruitment, and the ways that kinship care builds protective factors for children, youth, and families. These programs are designed to help kinship caregivers as they keep families together and strong.
The opportunity to maintain family and cultural connections is priceless. Family connections strengthen resiliency and contribute to better outcomes. Help families make those strengthening connections with both kinship caregivers and the programs that support them. Visit the website to learn more about helping youth in out-of-home care stay connected with their families and ensure that the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, siblings, and family friends who open their hearts and homes to these children have the support they need.