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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Forgotten Families: Older People as Carers of Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Help Age International and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance , 2003

A publication by International AIDS Alliance and HelpAge International provides an overview of the issues identified by older people and orphans and vulnerable children themselves; examples of community-based programs that are improving the lives of older people and orphans and vulnerable children; recommendations that will help to prioritize orphans and their carers within HIV/AIDS and wider development policies, programs and research.

Family Matters: The Care and Protection of Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in Malawi

Gillian Mann, 01 Oct 2002

This paper describes a qualitative research study conducted in three villages in Malawi. It explores community mobilization and kinship care, as well as striking discrepancies between the perceptions of adults and children regarding care and support. The paper advocates for increased child decision-making, childcare protection policy, and support networks for orphaned children.

Kinship Care Providers: Designing an Array of Supportive Services

Maria Scannapieco & Rebecca L. Hegar - Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 01 Aug 2002

Adapting placement services to the needs of kinship care providers is the focus of this article.

Institutions vs. Foster Homes: The Empirical Base for a Century of Action

Richard P. Barth , 2002

A review of institutional care and family-centered care with a discussion of both positive and negative aspects of group care. This review paper is primarily focused on showing the inefficacy of group care and recommending other forms of care such as kinship care and even foster care as options that are more cost effective and better for children’s development.

Networks of Support: A Literature Review of Care Issues for Separated Children

Gillian Mann , 2001

This report reviews existing the literature on separated children and examines childhood, family, childcare practices and separation. It highlights the importance of context and child participation in designing programs and policies to assist separated children.

Fostering Kinship: An International Perspective on Kinship Foster Care

Roger Greeff, Editor, 1999

First published in 1999, this work draws together a multi-national collection of papers, and aims to stimulate the development of policy and practice in this often neglected area.

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Thailand Alternative Care Case Study

Khadijah Madihi & Sahra Brubeck - Key Assets & The Nippon Foundation,

As part of phase one of the development of the Martin James Foundation's Asia Care Network, comprehensive studies of the care system in each country were conducted to highlight the need for developing alternative care systems across South-East Asia. This case study highlights relevant data from Thailand.

Vietnam Alternative Care Case Study

Martin James Foundation,