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| Twenty-eight of the fifty-seven alternative programs we identified have been operating for three years or less. |
Over the past few years, kin-specific programs designed as alternatives to either traditional TANF or foster care programs have proliferated rapidly. In fact, 28 of the 57 alternative programs we identified have been operating for three years or less. But while development of alternative kinship care programs is widespread and growing, the programs that state and localities have developed are very different. They vary in how and why they were established, the target population the programs hope to reach, and the goals they seek to achieve.
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The three basic goals of the child welfare system are to ensure the safety, permanency and well-being of children. The vast majority of identified alternative kinship care programs seek to achieve one or more of these goals.
Of 57 alternative programs, 34 are subsidized guardianship programs with the primary goal of making the kinship care placement permanent. Of the remaining 23, 18 also seek to make kinship care arrangements more permanent. Most of the programs also seek to increase the stability of kinship care arrangements (21 of the 23 programs not providing subsidized guardianship). Programs in Florida and Pittsburgh and Kentucky's child welfare alternative program all seek to increase permanency (the services these programs provide to increase permanency are described below). In contrast, only eight of the programs seek to reunify children in kinship care with their birth parents. Of the programs visited, Pittsburgh's program makes the most concerted effort to reunify kinship care children with their biological parents.
Most programs, whether child welfare-focused or not, also seek to improve the overall well-being of kinship care families. Of the 23 programs identified not providing subsidized guardianship, 21 cite improving the well-being of kinship care children as a program goal and 20 seek to improve the well-being of kinship caregivers. In addition 17 seek to prevent foster care placements.
Several of the programs we visited also have goals to improve more generally service delivery to kinship caregivers. Kentucky officials noted that one of the goals of its child welfare alternative program is to increase the use of relatives as foster parents. Some, such as Oklahoma's program, seek to improve overall community awareness of the needs of kinship care families and integration of available services. Some programs, such as the Kinship Support Network in San Francisco, focus on providing a wide array of community-based services for kin and the children in their care. Pittsburgh's program also has the goal of making kinship foster care services more culturally responsive and family focused.
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| Some programs, such as the Kinship Support Network in San Francisco, focus on providing a wide array of community-based services for kin and the children in their care. |
Researchers documented the events and individuals critical to the development of the programs. While each alternative kinship care program has a unique history, we observed a number of common themes:
In Denver, grandparent support groups were first organized by members of a local church. When the Department of Human Services (DHS) recognized the need for such support groups, they organized the groups through a staff member located at a local food stamp office. Currently, DHS funds Catholic Charities to facilitate a growing number of relative support groups across the city. Local officials in Denver noted that grassroots organizing by grandparent caregivers, including a protest in front of the DHS office, was influential in moving beyond support groups to the supplemental TANF financial assistance provided by the alternative program>.
In Florida, as part of an effort to improve family court procedures, relatives caring for children in state custody voiced their concerns about the required inspections and paperwork for foster care licensing. They also articulated their need for greater financial assistance than offered by TANF.
Officials in Kentucky credit the Homemakers clubs, which have about 30,000 members, for raising the issue of grandparents raising grandchildren — which led to the development of Kentucky's support group program.
| Both public and private agency officials were surprised by the size of the kinship care population and the extent of their needs. |
Both public and private agency officials were surprised by the size of the kinship care population and the extent of their needs. For example, in Kentucky, officials noted a seminar on grandparents caring for grandchildren that was sponsored by the Court Attorney's office and held in a Baptist church. Organizers prepared for 25 people but more than 300 attended.
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| Designers of alternative kinship care programs struggle to decide what segments of the kinship care population they should serve, and how. |
By definition, the alternative programs studied focus on meeting the needs of kinship care families. However, the populations the programs target vary considerably. Designers of alternative kinship care programs struggle with a key question: what segments of the kinship care population should the program serve, and how?
| The programs serving public kinship care families provide roughly the same amount of attention to the child and the caregiver, while the programs serving private kin appear to be more focused on the caregivers. |
In addition, programs vary as to whom they viewed as their primary client. The programs serving public kinship care families provide roughly the same amount of attention to the child and the caregiver, while the programs serving private kin appear to be more focused on the caregivers. With the exception of A Second Chance in Pittsburgh, none of the alternative kinship care programs target extensive services to birth parents and/or extended families. However, a few administrators noted that the lack of attention to birth parents is a program weakness they hope to address in the future.
In several of the programs visited, there have been efforts to expand the target population. For example, A Second Chance in Pittsburgh focuses on kinship foster care, but has recently expanded to provide some services to private kin. And in Florida, where the alternative kinship program serves only public kin, there have been repeated, yet unsuccessful, legislative attempts to expand the program to include private kin.
Program administrators of several of the programs we visited noted that when the programs were being designed, local officials expressed concern that providing additional resources or services to kin may provide an incentive for parents to hand off their children to kin. However, none of the programs reported such problems following implementation. (14)
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Each of the alternative kinship care programs visited is unique in its beginnings, founders, and goals. Regardless of the impetus or specific focus of the program, many states and localities came to the same conclusion that existing public agency support is not adequate to meet the needs of relative caregivers. Approximately half of all the alternative programs identified were developed within the last three years and several more have been implemented since the initial search. Meanwhile, some existing alternative kinship care programs have acknowledged that the size of the kinship care population and the severity of their needs are much greater than originally anticipated and are attempting to expand.
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14. Some officials in Pittsburgh noted that, when the county child welfare agency began offering foster care payments instead of TANF child-only grants to kin foster parents, there was an influx of private kin who sought out child welfare involvement to enable them to get the larger payment. Administrators noted that many of these kin were caring for children who had been abused and neglected and placed by the child welfare agency prior to the consent decree.
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Last updated: 10/29/01