Kinship Care | Better Care Network

Kinship Care

Kinship care is the full-time care of a child by a relative or another member of the extended family. This type of arrangement is the most common form of out of home care throughout the world and is typically arranged without formal legal proceedings. In many developing countries, it is essentially the only form of alternative family care available on a significant scale.

In the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, kinship care is the primary mechanism that has enabled a vast majority of children who have lost both parents to remain in family care in their community.

Kinship care offers many advantages over other forms of care for children not able to live with their parents. It allows family relationships to continue, maintains the child within her culture and community, and avoids the anxieties related to placements with unfamiliar adults.

Kinship care is more successful with immediate family members, rather than distant relatives. Children may be treated differently than the caretaker’s own children, and exploited, abused or denied access to education and health services. Kinship care has also been shown to result in the delayed reunification of a child and parents, either because the family is comfortable with the situation, there are financial disincentives for returning the child, or social services are less active in moving the case forward.

In order to reduce the incidence of such problems, the use of kinship care should be appropriately monitored by the local authority or a protection agency. Children in kinship care have a right to protection and family support services. However, it must be recognized that kinship care has a positive effect on many children's lives. Placing requirements on kinship arrangements that unnecessarily intefere with or interrupt this traditional caretaking practice should be avoided.

Kinship care may be an option for child protection agencies to consider when a child is without adequate family care. The decision to use kinship care will depend on what is in the child’s best interests, and should involve a careful assessment of the child’s opinions, the family’s ability to care for the child, and permanency planning in order to work towards timely family reunification. Financial support is an area for debate since, while it can enable a family to care for a child, it may also encourage relatives to keep a child for monetary gain.

The resources found in this section provide policy guidance and country examples on the use of kinship care.

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Children's Voices: Experiences and Perceptions of European Children on Drug and Alcohol Issues

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction , 02 Sep 2010

The purpose of this paper is to give meaning and insight into some of the key drug and alcohol issues that affect children from the perspectives of the children themselves. Research shows that large numbers of children who are separated from their parents are particularly vulnerable to developing drug and alcohol problems. Special attention is paid throughout the report on children looked after by relatives, foster carers, and institutions.

Families, Not Orphanages

John Williamson and Aaron Greenberg , 31 Aug 2010

With particular attention to lower income countries, this paper examines the mismatch between children’s needs and the realities and long-term effects of residential institutions. The paper examines available evidence on the typical reasons why children end up in institutions, and the consequences and costs of providing this type of care compared to other options. The paper concludes with a description of better, family-based care alternatives and recommendations for policy-makers.

The experiences and priorities of young people who care for their siblings in Tanzania and Uganda

Dr. Ruth Evans , Geography and Environmental Science, School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading , 13 Aug 2010

This report presents key findings from a small-scale pilot research project that explored the experiences and priorities of young people caring for their siblings in sibling-headed households affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Uganda.

'We are managing our own lives ': Life transitions and care in sibling-headed households affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Uganda

Ruth Evans, Department of Geography, University of Reading, UK, 01 Jul 2010

Explores the ways that young people express their agency and negotiate complex lifecourse transitions according to gender, age and inter- and intra-generational norms in sibling-headed households affected by AIDS in East Africa.

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Children and adolescents without parental care in Latin America: Contexts, causes and consequences of being deprived of the right to family and community

RELAF and SOS Children’s Villages International, 01 Jun 2010

This paper is based on The Latin American Report: The situation of children in Latin America without parental care or at risk of losing it. Contexts, causes and responses, which was prepared using reports from 13 countries in the region. The paper gives an overview of the state of one of the most fundamental rights - the right to parental care, a keystone for the right to live in a family and a community.

Les lignes directrices relatives à la protection de remplacement pour les enfants

L'Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies A/RES/64/142, 24 Feb 2010

Les lignes directrices pour la prise en charge alternative des enfants ont été endorsées par l'Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies, dans le sillage de la commémoration du 20e anniversaire de la Convention des Nations Unies relative aux droits de l’enfant.

Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children - Arabic

UN General Assembly A/RES/64/142, 24 Feb 2010

The Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children were endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly on 20th November 2009, in connection with the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This momentous day marked a culmination of years of discussions and negotiations led by the Government of Brazil, in partnership with Group of Friends and civil society.

Directrices sobre las modalidades alternativas de cuidado de los niños

UN General Assembly A/RES/64/142, 24 Feb 2010

Las directrices sobre las modalidades alternativas de cuidado de los niños fueron endosados por la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas el 20 de noviembre de 2009, en conexión con el 20a aniversario de la Convención de los Derechos del Niño de la ONU.