Across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, grandparents, relatives and close friends of families step up to raise children when their parents are unable. We call them ‘kinship families’ and they are important members of communities who add to the strengths of our Commonwealth. September is Kinship Care Awareness Month – a time to recognize and celebrate kinship caregivers and all that they do to support and care for the children in their care.  Kentucky utilizes kinship [...]

In recent years, there has been a growing movement to ensure that when children cannot remain safely in their parents’ care, they are placed with relatives (kin) or trusted family friends (fictive kin). These types of placements are preferred over entering the traditional foster care system since research shows that children in kinship care often experience more stability, maintain stronger connections to their family and culture, and have better long-term outcomes. To support this shift, [...]