Describes the haphazard evolution of kinship care as the preferred placement option for children who cannot remain with their parents. Despite the growing reliance on kin caregivers, kinship care policies have developed with little coherent guidance. Kin caregivers face more challenges as foster parents than do non-kin caregivers because they tend to be older and have lower incomes, poorer health, and less education. The links between payment and licensure, as well as inconsistent licensing policies, complicate efforts to provide fair compensation for these caregivers. Moreover, because kin caregivers receive less supervision and fewer services than do their non-kin peers, they may not receive the support they need to nurture and protect children in their care. Kinship care also challenges traditional notions of permanency; for example, research has demonstrated that children placed with kin are less likely to be reunited with their parents or to be adopted, compared to children placed in non-kin care. Research, however, has yet to demonstrate whether children in kinship foster care have better developmental outcomes than do those in non-related placements or to identify what combination of factors makes kinship care appropriate for a given child.
