Alternative Kinship Care Programs

["Leos-Urbel, Jacob" <JLeos@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The Urban Institute, under a contract from the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, is studying alternative kinship care programs throughout the
country. An increasing number of states and counties are concluding that
neither their foster care nor their TANF program are suited to kinship care
families and are setting up alternative program options specifically
intended for children raised by kin.  Some programs are intended to provide
a way to avoid placing children in foster care or to discharge them from
foster care, while still meeting the families' income needs. Other programs
are established to distinguish the handling of kinship care cases from
work-oriented welfare programs. 

For example, some kinship care programs provide maintenance payments and
services to kin caring for children who have had contact with the child
welfare agency but have not been taken into state custody. Other programs
use both child welfare and TANF staff to serve kinship caregivers. Some
states have developed subsidized guardianship programs for kin.  Still other
states use TANF funds to provide payments to kinship caregivers caring for
children who meet or are at risk of meeting the criteria to receive
protective services.   These are only a few examples of the alternative ways
in which states may serve kin.

We are in the very preliminary stages of our study, and we are asking for
your help in identifying any alternative kinship care programs that you may
know of in your state or in another state, occurring locally or statewide.
These programs may be funded with federal, state, or local dollars, and may
be administered publicly or through private contractors.  We would
appreciate it if you could provide us with the name of any such programs, a
brief description, and contact information.

Thank you for your help.

Jacob Leos-Urbel
The Urban Institute
2100 M St., NW
Washington DC  20037
(202) 261-5884