Kinship Care
WHAT IS KINSHIP CARE?
Kinship care is the act of taking children into your home who have a family or community relationship to you and whose immediate family members are unable to provide care for them. Kinship care provides additional familial support to the children in care. Kinship care is rooted in traditional connectedness between children, caregivers and community, and has long been a custom in First Nations and other communities. If a child is unable to be cared for by their biological parents, then other family members or members of the community come forward to care for the child.
Kinship care is defined as a home that is approved to care for a specific child based on a family connection or significant relationship to the child, such as:
- Blood ties
- Family ties
- Common ancestry
- Community member
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF KINSHIP CARE?
Research tells us that compared to traditional foster care, children in kinship care:
- Maintain a stronger connection with their family, community and culture
- Are more likely to say that they feel loved
- Experience fewer moves and less trauma
- Are more likely to be placed with their siblings
- Are less likely to change schools
- Are more likely to indicate that they like living in a kinship home
- Are less likely to run away Are more likely to remain with their parents when they return home
HOW DO I BECOME A KINSHIP CARE PROVIDER?
If you know a child in your family or community who may need care and you would like to help, we encourage you to contact the child and family services agency working with the child’s family, if you know which on this is. If you don’t, you can contact one of the child and family services agencies listed on this website and they will be able to direct you to the appropriate agency.
For detailed information about the licensing process, please see the “How to Apply” section on this website.