On Their Own Terms:
Supporting Kinship Care Outside of TANF and Foster Care

Prepared for:
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Prepared by:
Rob Geen, Pamela Holcomb, Amy Jantz,
Robin Koralek, Jake Leos-Urbel, Karin Malm

The Urban Institute

September, 2001

This report is available on the Internet at:
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/kincare01/

How to Obtain a Printed Copy

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Executive Summary
• Policy Context and Report Overview
  • Trends in Kinship Care
  • Federal and State Kinship Care Policies
    • Foster Care
    • TANF
    • Other Federal Programs
  • Study Purpose and Overview
• Overview of Alternative Kinship Care Programs
  • The Goals of Alternative Kinship Care Programs
  • Impetus for Program Development
  • Target Population
  • Summary
• The Needs of Kinship Care Families
  • Characteristics of Kinship Families
  • Needs and Challenges of Kinship Caregivers
  • Opinions on Permanency Options
  • Summary
• Administering Alternative Kinship Care Programs
  • Program Administration, Structure, and Staffing
  • Program Funding Levels and Sources
    • Funding Levels
    • Funding Sources
  • Program Eligibility
• Alternative Kinship Care Programs Service Delivery
  • Program Outreach and Referral Sources
  • Financial Assistance
  • Services
    • Caregiver Support Services
    • Support Groups
    • Respite Care, Transportation, Child Care
    • Services for Children
  • A Different Service Delivery Approach
• Lessons Learned:  Meeting the Needs of Kinship Care Families
• Lessons Learned:  Developing and Operating Alternative Kinship Care Programs
• Policy Implications
  • Implications for Child Welfare Policy Makers
  • Implications for TANF
  • Implications for Other Public Agency Policy Makers
  • Implications for Future Research
• References
• Appendix A:  Summary Information about Alternative Kinship Care Programs Identified
• Appendix B:  Descriptions of Alternative Kinship Care Programs Visited
  • A Second Chance, Inc.
  • The Grandparents and Kinship Program
  • Relative Caregiver Program
  • Kinship Care Program
  • KinCare Project
  • Kinship Support Network
  • Oklahoma Kinship Care Services

Acknowledgements

The Alternative Kinship Care project was funded by the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under a contract to the Urban Institute. The project benefited greatly from the oversight and input of Laura Feig Radel and Colleen Rathgeb, the ASPE Project Officers.

This study could not have been completed without the commitment and assistance of dedicated and diligent staff at each of the seven sites visited. We are indebted to the persons we interviewed for the study, but also to the many other individuals who helped arrange our visits. We would also like to thank officials from the alternative programs we did not visit, but who provided written materials about their programs. In addition, we would like to recognize the numerous experts and advocates who helped identify alternative kinship care programs to include in this study. Most of all we would like to thank the kinship caregivers who spoke with us openly and honestly about their often painful experiences in the hopes that doing so would help inform policy makers and administrators seeking to better address the needs of this population.

At the Urban Institute, Renu Shukla assisted in the editing, and Helena Mickle with the formatting of the final report.

How to Obtain a Printed Copy

To obtain of this report, send or fax the title and your mailing information to:

Where to?

Top of Page
Contents

Home Pages:
Human Services Policy (HSP)
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Last upated: 02/28/02