When a child cannot be placed with a birth parent, preference should be given to relatives, or kin. This type of arrangement is known as kinship care. Currently, more than 2.5 million children are being raised by grandparents and other relatives because their parents are unable to care for them.

Most research shows that children in kinship care benefit from being placed with relatives. While some policies and programs currently exist in states to support relatives, they are limited in scope and depth and are not consistent across the states.

Changes in federal policy are needed so more children can benefit from a type of care that we know works.

Download the PDF of this white paper by clicking the link in the right column.