Describes a multifaceted study of the needs of kinship caregivers and the children in their care. The report contains an overview of the project and its subject, including key objectives; data collection methodology; selection of the project’s jurisdictions; key kinship care issues and factors that necessitate kinship care; the needs of relatives and other caregivers in terms of financial assistance, health care services, legal services, and housing; the existing literature on kinship care, demographic and statistical information; characteristics of both kinship families and children in kinship care; and relevant legislation concerning kinship care. Also includes a survey of kinship care services in Baltimore, Maryland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Atlanta, Georgia, Los Angeles, California, and in other selected jurisdictions and at the national level. Discusses the findings from the perspectives of kinship care program administrators, relative caregivers, and youth. Describes kinship care strategies that encompass information and referral services, emergency and relief services, support and self-help services, and public and private programs. Supporting kinship families involves making existing resources and services more available to them and finding imaginative, practical ways to generate additional resources to fill in any gaps in services.
