Reports on the findings a 2001 survey of state kinship foster care policies, with an emphasis on tracking changes in these policies that could affect millions of foster children in the United States. The report provides information on (1) the number and characteristics of children living with relatives; (2) federal and state law governing kinship care; the definition and identification of kin; (3) kin involvement with the foster care system and requirements concerning licensure, waived or modified standards, separate approval processes, and pre-approval placements; (4) financial reimbursement of kin available under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program; (5) cases of voluntary placement with kin; non-removal placements, or children already living with kin when the state child welfare agency becomes aware of them; (6) permanency planning, including long-term foster care and subsidized guardianship; (7) flexibility of state kin policies as correlated to the number of kin placements; and (8) the special needs of kin. Although child welfare agencies have been using relatives to act as foster parents for many years, continuing changes in state policies reflect ambivalence toward kinship care as states try to balance serving the unique needs of kin with keeping children in kinship care safe from harm.
