DCFS Article top
1. State Policies on Kinship Care Vary top Leos-Urbel, Jacob, Roseana Bess and Rob Geen (1999). State Policies for
Assessing and Supporting Kinship Foster Parents. Washington DC: The Urban Institute.
64P. Available at http://www.urban.org/authors/leos-urbel.html In 1980, very few children in state custody were placed in kinship homes. But
during the late 1980s and 1990s, kinship placement increased dramatically because:
There is considerable debate about the appropriate use of kinship care and
how to support kinship foster homes. Are Kinship Homes Better? Should Kinship Caregivers be Paid for Services Provided? Are Support Payments Inappropriate Incentives? Federal Laws Promote Kinship Care State Policies Vary 1997-1999 Survey of State Policies Definition of Kin Varies Most states give preference to placing children with kin over non-relative
foster parents and actively seek kin caregivers. Most states also help arrange
informal kinship placements for some cases.
Usually Kin Homes Have Different Licensing/Approval and Payments at a Lower
Rate Same Caseworker Supervision Usually Allowed Usually when states help arrange informal kinship placements (without taking
the child into state custody), caseworkers are required to provide no supervision,
or less supervision than f or formal kinship placements. Experience and research suggest that kinship families receive less supervision,
but more research is needed to understand how caseworkers actually serve kinship
placements, how well informed kinship caregivers are of their options, and how
state policies affect the number of kinship caregivers. Permanency Options ASFA Final Rule Thus, states now have three options for supporting kinship foster care:
2. How Policies Developed in Illinois Kinship Care top
Gleeson, James P. (1999). "Kinship Care as a Child Welfare Service: Emerging
Policy Issues and Trends." Pages 28-53 in Kinship Foster Care: Policy, Practice
and Research. New York: Oxford University Press.
Gleeson, James P. (1999). "Kinship Care as a Child Welfare Service: What Do
We Really Know?" Pages 3-34 in Kinship Care: Improving Practice Through Research.
Washington DC: Child Welfare League of America.
Mason, Sally J. and James P. Gleeson (1999). "Adoption and Subsidized Guardianship
as Permanency Options in Kinship Foster Care: Barriers and Facilitating Conditions"
Pages 85-114 in Kinship Care: Improving Practice Through Research. Washington
DC: Child Welfare League of America.
Testa, Mark F., Kristen L. Shook, Leslie S. Cohen and Melinda G. Woods (1996).
"Permanency Planning Options for Children in Formal Kinship Care." Child Welfare
v75 n5 p451-470.
The authors summarize the dramatic development of Illinois kinship care over
the past 20 years, showing how kinship care has and continues to be a central
policy issue in child welfare.
Foster Care or Preservation Services? Supreme Court Ruling, 1979 After this ruling, most states supported relative caregivers at the lower AFDC
rate. However, Illinois, concerned about another lawsuit, interpreted the ruling
to mean that relatives should receive the full foster care support payment,
regardless of their licensing status. Thus the state bore the cost to support
unlicensed kinship homes, and most were unlicensed. Growth Takes Off in 1980s For the decade of 1976-1986, the growth in the number of children in custody
was only 1% per year. But between 1986-1995, the rate increased to 14% per year.
1989 Purchase of Service Contracts 1990, Court Ruling Encourages Nonremovals 1990 Court Injunction Discourages Private Guardianship After this ruling, private guardianship was rarely used as a permanency option,
thus blocking one avenue for cases to exit from state care. At the same time,
the number of new cases continued to increase. 1990-1995, Dramatic Growth State costs also increased dramatically, because many home of relative placements
did not qualify for federal funds and Illinois continued to support them at
the full foster care rate without federal assistance. Efforts were largely spent
on dealing with new cases and maximizing the number of cases eligible for federal
funds, rather than on permanency planning. Although family preservation programs
were being offered, they failed to divert children away from placement. 1995, Delegated Relative Authority However, the private agencies that served most home of relative placements
did not use the DRA frequently so it failed to reduce caseloads as much as hoped.
Agencies were reluctant to use the DRA because they received less funding for
the cases, which required no less work, and were concerned that providing less
case monitoring would still make them responsible if children were maltreated. The 1996 Home of Relative Reform Plan The Reform Plan intended to reduce the number of kinship care cases and reduce
costs overall by:
Other programs were announced in the Reform Plan, including initiatives to
help divert or exit cases from DCFS custody: Initial Effects of the Reform Plan The change in adoption subsidy for special needs children sharply reduced the
number of adoptions. Both caregivers and caseworkers were uneasy about considering
adoption, wondering if subsidies would be stable in the future. A 1995 lawsuit in response to the Reform Plan's reduction of the foster care
payment for unlicensed relative homes (Youakim v. Mcdonald) forced DCFS
to continue payments at the foster care rate for 9,000 children. 1996, Purchase of Service Redesign In 1997, the second part of this initiative, Performance Based Contracting,
instituted a managed care approach for agencies. In order to receive funding,
agencies have to close 24% of their cases through reunification, adoption or
guardianship, as well as accept a specified number of new cases, within a timeframe.
Similar staff performance objectives were established as a way to monitor the
performance of DCFS caseworkers and hold them accountable for the outcomes required
by the Permanency Initiative and the Adoption and Safe Families Act. 1997, Adoption Redesign As part of the State of Illinois Permanency Initiative passed by the legislature
in 1997, adoption policies and procedures were redesigned, although they could
not be fully implemented until 1999. The adoption subsidy cuts of a year earlier
were reversed. New permanency goals and timelines for termination of parental
rights and adoption were established, in accordance with the federal Adoption
and Safe Families Act of 1997. Procedures for adoption screening and termination
of parental rights were streamlined, including an expedited termination of parental
rights for cases of egregious harm. DCFS staff were trained in conducting family
meetings and discussing adoption with caregivers. The juvenile court also pursued
a federally funded Court Improvement Project in support of the permanency efforts. 1997-2002 Subsidized Guardianship Waiver Demonstration Project The advantages of subsidized guardianship are that parental rights do not have
to be terminated, and the family receives approximately the same payment as
the foster care subsidy, but without any DCFS involvement. However, it is not
yet known what will happen to the guardianship families when the 5-year demonstration
is over. Will families and workers feel safe to choose this option in the meantime? Progress in Reducing Caseloads Welfare Reform Will Reduce Subsidies How Will TANF Affect Child Welfare? Current Climate Supports Cost Containment
Review of Research on Kinship Care top U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2000). Report to the Congress
on Kinship Foster Care. 138P. Written in Oct 1998. Available on the Web at:
http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/HSP/kinr2c00 Scannapieco, Maria (1999). "Kinship Care in the Public Child Welfare System:
A Systematic Review of the Research." Pages 141-153 in Kinship Foster Care:
Policy, Practice and Research. New York: Oxford University Press. The author
reviewed the research dated 1980-1997 for studies about kinship foster care
and found only 12 limited studies.
Research on Kinship Foster Care is Limited Kinship Care is Not Like Regular Foster Care Children in Care - Compared to children in non-relative foster care,
children placed with relatives:
Studies report a variety of results about children’s well -being in kinship
care :
Parents of Children in Care - are more likely to be young and never
married and more likely to have substance abuse problems.
Kinship Caregivers - have significantly fewer resources and more problems
than non-relative caregivers. Studies report that most:
Kinship Families Receive Less Supervision and Service Caregivers and children request and are offered fewer services, and are less
likely to receive the services they do request. Children in kinship care are
significantly less likely than children in non-relative care to have seen a
health care provider in the past year. On the other hand, birth parents of children in kinship care are offered and
request services to the same degree as non-relative birth parents.
Kinship Care Maintains Family Connections Are Kinship Placements Safe? Are Increased Parent Visits Good or Bad? Children Stay Longer in Care But Children Have Fewer Placements Reunification is Less Likely Adoption is Less Likely However, studies by Gleeson and Testa in Illinois found that relative caregivers
were willing to adopt or consider adoption when they receive complete information
about it from caseworkers. Many Unanswered Questions New Projects Will Provide More Information
3. Factors That Affect Children's Well-Being top Altshuler, Sandra J. (1999). "The Well-Being of Children in Kinship Foster
Care." Pages 117-143 in Kinship Care: Improving Practice Through Research. Washington
DC: Child Welfare League of America. Past research suggests that children in kinship care function better than children
in regular foster care, although their functioning is still lower than that
of the general population. We assume that kinship care children 'do better'
because they experience less separation trauma than children placed with strangers.
Data From the Illinois Achieving Permanency Project Mothers Had Inadequate Housing Mothers Were Married Caseworkers Identified Caregiver Problems Use Genograms With Children
4. Kinship Care May Not Help Drug Exposed Children top Brooks, Devon and Richard P. Barth (1998). "Characteristics and Outcomes
of Drug-Exposed and Non Drug-Exposed Children in Kinship and Non-Relative Foster
Care." Children & Youth Services Review v20 n6 p475-501. The authors mailed a survey to over 1,100 kinship caregivers and foster parents
associated with Berkeley Children's Services and asked them to rate the children
in their care. The study collected information about four groups of children:
School Performance Similar Differences Due to Placement and Health Kin Placement May Not Help Drug-Exposed Children Services May be Less Helpful to African Americans
5. Children In Kinship Care May Have Fewer Behavior
Problems top Heflinger, Craig Anne, Celeste G. Simpkins, and Terri Combs-Orme (2000).
"Using the CBCL to Determine the Clinical Status of Children in State Custody."
Children and Youth Services Review v22 n1 p55-73. The authors studied 254 children in state custody in Tennessee, using the Child
Behavior Checklist (CBCL). They found that one-third of the children had significant
behavior problems. When children scored in the clinical range on the CBCL the
problems most commonly indicated were Aggressive, Delinquent, and Withdrawn.
However, children from kinship homes were more likely to score in the non-clinical
range than children from foster or group homes. The study suggests that children in kin homes may do better than other children.
However, a significant number of children in care have relatively high levels
of mental health problems and treatment needs. Case workers should be trained
to recognize these problems and refer them for treatment.
6. Less Homelessness in Adults from Kinship Care top Zuravin, Susan J., Mary Benedict and Rebecca Stallings (1999). "The Adult
Functioning of Former Kinship and Nonrelative Foster Care Children." Pages 208-222
in Kinship Foster Care: Policy, Practice, and Research. New York: Oxford University
Press.
There have been at least 27 studies about the functioning of adults who were
in foster care as children. Unfortunately, most of the studies are not very
rigorous. However, they suggest that as compared to the general population,
adults raised as foster children:
Children Raised in Care are Less Self-Sufficient Adults Less Homelessness in Adults From Kinship Care
7. Caregivers Share Their Experiences top Osby, Olga (1999). "Child-Rearing Perspectives of Grandparent Caregivers."
Pages 215-232 in Kinship Care: Improving Practice Through Research. Washington
DC: Child Welfare League of America.
The author interviewed 10 kinship caregivers associated with the Illinois DCFS
and attempted to understand their 'world view'. All were grandparents, 8 were
women, and 9 were African American. Most of the grandparents had taken the children
due to substance abuse problems in their mothers, and they were nonremoval cases.
The researcher reports the following impressions of the caregivers:
8. Caregivers Have Important Strengths top Petras, Donna D. (1999.) "The Effect of Caregiver Preparation and Sense
of Control on Adaption of Kinship Caregivers." Pages 233-255 in Kinship Care:
Improving Practice Through Research. Washington DC: Child Welfare League of
America.
The author studied 80 kinship caregivers who were located in Cook County and
associated with the Illinois DCFS. Most were African American women, single
heads-of-households, and employed at least part-time, with an average annual
household income of $20,000-$25,000.
Experienced as Caregivers Most Had Health Problems Caregivers Had Low Control But High Satisfaction Three possibilities may explain this difference:
Stress Related to Child Behavior Problems Depression and Satisfaction Co-Exist Strengths are Preparation and Faith Needs Include Health Problems, Depression and Child Behavior Problems
9. HIV-Affected Families Need More Support top Mason, Sally J. and Nathan L. Linsk (1999). Kin Caregivers of HIV-Affected
Children: Identifying Services That Support Permanency. University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, Children and Family Research Center.
The authors studied the caregivers of 28 children in kinship care with the
Illinois DCFS. Seventeen of the children were 'affected' by HIV, meaning that
a family member was HIV positive or had died due to HIV. Only a small number
of children are HIV-infected themselves. HIV-Affected Families May Keep it Secret HIV-Affected Caregivers Have Extra Burdens In demographic characteristics, the HIV-affected caregivers:
In use of services, the HIV-affected caregivers:
In describing their levels of burden, the HIV-affected caregivers:
In describing their coping methods, the HIV-affected caregivers:
HIV-Affected Families Need More Support
10. A Survey of Illinois Grandparent Caregivers top Shaver, Mike (1998). Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Family Challenge.
Illinois Department of Aging. 57P. There has been a 40% increase in grandparent-headed households in the U.S.
since the 1980s, due to increases in divorce and separation, substance abuse
- especially of crack cocaine, the drug used most by women - parental incarceration
and HIV/AIDS. Nationwide, 12% of African American children are now raised by
grandparents, while 6% of Latino children and 4% of white children are raised
by grandparents. A Survey of Illinois Grandparent Caregivers Grandparent Demographics
Grandparent Situations
Limit Resources Limited Legal Authority Parenting Plus Special Problems Service Providers Unprepared Illinois Department of Aging Efforts Public Education and Awareness
Supportive Services
Legal Services
11. Latino Grandparent Caregivers Have Extra Challenges top Cox, Carole B., Lisette Resto Brooks and Carmen Valcarcel (2000). "Culture
and Caregiving: A Study of Latino Grandparents." Pages 218-232 in To Grandmother's
House We Go and Stay: Perspectives on Custodial Grandparents . New York: Springer. The trend of grandparents raising grandchildren is increasing in the Latino
community as well as in other groups in the U.S. Nationwide, about 6% of Latino
children live with grandparents or relatives. Substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and
incarceration are some of the factors supporting this increase. Extra Challenges Face Latinos Latino Culture Supports Caregiving New York Program Helps Latino Grandparents Parenting Workshops in Spanish Latinos Hestiate to Seek Help Programs Must Understand Latino Culture
12. Support Groups Help Grandparents top Cohen, Carol S. and Rolanda Pyle (2000). "Support Groups in the Lives of
Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren." Pages 235-252 in To Grandmother's House
We Go and Stay: Perspectives on Custodial Grandparents. New York: Springer. Cox, Carole B. (2000). "Empowering Grandparents Raising Grandchildren." Pages
253-267 in To Grandmother's House We Go and Stay: Perspectives on Custodial
Grandparents. New York: Springer. Roe, Kathleen M. (2000). "Community Interventions to Support Grandparent Caregivers:
Lessons Learned From the Field." Pages 283-303 in To Grandmother's House We
Go and Stay: Perspectives on Custodial Grandparents. New York: Springer. Support groups for grandparents raising grandchildren can be extremely valuable.
The first support groups were started in the late 1980s, and as a result of
the growing 'grandparent's rights' movement, there were over 500 groups in 1998.
Currently, organizations supporting grandparent caregiving range from small
programs, to comprehensive service programs, to nationwide advocacy groups.
Important Grandparent Caregiver Programs
Some research indicates that kinship placements may offer benefits that regular
foster homes cannot, such as less trauma for the child and greater continuity
with the child's family and community. However, some experts believe that kinship
placements may not be safe because the same family that raised a parent who
has maltreated the child will now care for the child, and also may not keep
the child safe from the parent. Kinship caregivers also tend to have greater
need for support and services than non-relative caregivers.
Supporters of paying kinship caregivers believe:
Those opposing paying kinship caregivers make these arguments:
Federal laws now promote kinship placements. The 1996 Personal Responsibility
and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act requires states to consider giving preference
to relative caregivers, and the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) established
for the first time that placement with relatives can be a permanency option
for children in care.
Federal laws have been clear about how states must deal with foster parents
when states expect to use federal funds from Title IV-E to support them. But
federal laws have not been clear on other issues, so states have created policies
about kinship care that vary widely.
In 1997, the Urban Institute conducted a national survey of state policies and
updated the survey again in 1999. During that period, 18 states altered their
policies regarding kinship foster care, indicating that policies are still new
and being developed. The survey results summarized below include all 50 states
plus the District of Columbia, for a total of 51.
States vary in their definitions of kin. About half (24) of the states allow
only people related by blood, marriage, or adoption. The remaining 21 states
allow neighbors, godparents, or family friends, while 6 states have no definition.
States may support kinship foster care homes with the standard foster care payment
received by fully licensed non-relative foster care homes. But more often states
support kinship foster homes with smaller payments, usually from the federal
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The rate of payment
received by kinship foster homes depends on if kinship homes meet the same licensing
standards as non-relative foster homes, or less stringent standards.
Most states require caseworkers to provide the same amount of supervision to
kinship caregivers as to non-relative foster parents. Some states allow caseworkers
to provide less supervision to kinship homes that are assessed by a lower standard.
All states but one offer subsidized adoption to kinship caregivers for children
with special needs. Most (39) states will allow children to stay in kinship
care on a long-term basis, although it is rarely used. Most (43) states offer
an unsubsidized guardianship option, and 25 states offer subsidized guardianship
options. Subsidies for guardianship are not eligible for Title IV-E federal
reimbursement. However, Illinois is one of seven states issued Title IV-E waivers
to test the effectiveness of federally subsidized guardianship with kinship
families.
In January of 2000, a final rule was issued regarding state implementation of
the ASFA. It required that in order to be eligible for federal reimbursement
under Title IV-E, all foster homes must be fully licensed by the state. This
means that kinship homes must meet the same standards as non-relative foster
homes, with the exception of waivers on a case-by-case basis. Also, states may
not use federal funds for provisionally licensed or emergency placements. States
may continue to make their own policies when they are not using federal funds.
State policies about kinship care are shaped by how the service is viewed.
Prior to 1976, Illinois and other states placed children with their relatives
but did not allow caregivers to receive the full foster care payment - only
the lower Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) payments. A class action suit originating in Illinois in 1976 resulted
in the 1979 Supreme Court ruling Miller v. Youakim. The ruling made it
invalid to discriminate on the basis of kinship status and required states to
give kinship caregivers the same support as other foster parents if they meet
the licensing requirements.
In the next few years, Illinois and other states experienced large increases
in the number of children in care. In 1986, Illinois was one of the first to
establish a separate approval process for relative caregivers which helped increase
the number of relative caregivers who could qualify for licensing and federal
reimbursement. In 1988, the Illinois Children and Family Services Act was amended
to require that preference be given to relative caregivers, making Illinois
one of the first states to legislate this preference.
Beginning in 1989, home of relative cases were increasingly transferred to private
agencies under Purchase of Service contracts, in order to reduce DCFS caseloads,
and in the hope that the agencies would be more successful at providing services,
at permanency planning, and getting homes licensed. Unfortunately, these results
were not achieved. The licensing approval rate was only 40%-60% even though
standards were relaxed. This reduced the amount of federal funds that could
be obtained to offset state costs.
In 1990 an Illinois Appellate Court ruled in People v. Thornton that
a parent who left children with a grandmother and failed to collect them after
a reasonable length of time was guilty of neglect. Illinois interpreted this
decision as requiring DCFS to take children left with relatives into state custody,
because the ruling defined them as neglected children. In 1990-1992, 40% of
all new custody cases were these 'nonremoval' cases in which children were not
removed from their homes when they came to the attention of DCFS, but continued
to stay with relatives. Thus, many private kinship care arrangements were brought
under state supervision, and as nonremoval cases, they did not meet requirements
for receiving federal matching funds. This increased state caseloads and costs.
In 1990, a class action suit in a Cook County court, Reid v. Suter, was
brought by relatives who felt unfairly coerced by DCFS to become private guardians
(an option that did not receive support payments) instead of foster parents.
The injunction required DCFS to identify potential relative caregivers and inform
them without coercion about options for waiver of licensing requirements, guardianship
and foster parenting.
During 1990-1995, the number of home of relative cases more than doubled, due
to an increase in new cases and a decline in discharges. The routes for cases
to exit the system seemed to be increasingly blocked. Private guardianship was
little used and adoptions and reunifications were achieved at a lower rate for
kinship placements than for regular foster care placements. Home of relative
placements rose 232% and by 1995 represented 57% of all Illinois placements.
The Delegated Relative Authority (DRA) option was established beginning in 1995
as another permanency option. It allows relatives to continue to receive foster
care payments in return for taking over some DCFS responsibilities. This reduces
DCFS monitoring to the minimum required to obtain federal funds. The option
is available for cases in which adoption, reunification and guardianship are
not possible and the placement is safe and stable.
Determined to reduce the cost of child welfare services and believing that past
policy choices had helped to increase caseloads and costs, the Illinois legislature
passed the Home of Relative Reform Plan in 1995, to take effect in 1996.
The Reform Plan required extensive staff time to prepare for and implement,
inlcuding efforts to get homes licensed. Once again, staff time was diverted
from permanency planning.
As another method of reducing DCFS caseloads, the Purchase of Service contracts
with private agencies were redesigned. Previously, when cases were served by
a private agency they were also assigned a DCFS case manager. In the redesign,
the DCFS case managers are eliminated, those responsibilities are transferred
to the agency, and the case managers are replaced by a DCFS liaisons.
Concerned about the lower rates of reunification, adoption and guardianship
in home of relative placements, DCFS assessed a sample of over 1,100 cases.
Most of the relatives (83%) believed the children should stay with them permanently.
Of these relatives, 70% said they were willing to consider adoption, a much
higher rate than was perceived by the caseworkers who believed that relatives
did not want to adopt.
In 1996, the Department of Health and Human Services granted Title IV-E waivers
to seven states, including Illinois, to test the effectiveness of subsidized
guardianship. The 5-year project implemented in 1997 allows DCFS to use federal
matching funds to make monthly payments at the foster care rate to relatives
who take guardianship of children. Families are being assigned randomly to control
and experimental groups. Early results of the program suggest that it helps
achieve a permanent outcome.
Illinois is making progress in reducing the child welfare caseload, although
it not known how child well-being is affected:
1997
1998
Total foster
cases
51,105
41,800
Formal kin
placements
57%
51%
Adoptions
2,229
4,293 (most
by relatives)
The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act which
reformed welfare is likely to increase the demand for child welfare services.
According to the U rban Institute, it will put 1 million children into poverty.
It will affect people who are older, immigrants, non-white, and single heads
of households. Housing subsidies and drug abuse treatment programs have been
reduced and mandatory sentencing for drug crimes, which affects women with children,
have been imposed. Eligiblility for SSI disablity funds have been limited and
food stamp benefits have been reduced.
Under welfare reform, three programs, the Aid to Families with Dependent Children,
the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training, and Emergency Assistance have
been replaced by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The TANF
program, which is used to support kinship families that are not licensed, has
a work requirement and a 5-year lifetime limit. How will this time limit affect
child welfare decisions, and the future of a child exiting custody?
It is possible that social conditions that increase the risks faced by vulnerable
families, such as increased poverty, less public assistance, more single head
families, as well as the shortage of foster homes, may have contributed to the
growth in kinship care. However, the public as well as policy makers tend to
see the legislative, policy and program choices outlined above as helping to
explode the number of kinship care cases in Illinois. When policies are seen
as the reason for increased costs, the response is usually to restrict access
to services, divert families from service, and exit families from services,
rather than to focus on child safety and well-being.
This report was written by researchers at the Urban Institute. It attempts to
survey all available research on kinship care and includes publications through
1998.
The research on kinship care is very incomplete and the existing studies are
limited by these factors:
Data about kinship care families indicates that they are significantly different
from non-relative foster families. Studies report the characteristics discussed
below.
All studies report that services given to kinship care families are deficient.
Families are less likely to receive services than foster care families, and
91% of caregivers receive no training. Case workers provide fewer contacts,
less supervision, and less information about the child welfare agency to kinship
caregivers.
Formal kinship placements appear to reduce disruption and trauma for children
because:
Some writers are concerned that kinship caregivers may maltreat the children
in their care. Past studies have suggested that physical and sexual abuse is
transmitted from one generation to the next, so grandparents or other family
members may be abusive in addition to the birth parents. However, recent research
sees abuse more as the result of a variety of environmental factors. Also, most
kinship placements are due to neglect rather than abuse. There are two existing
studies on whether kinship caregivers abuse children, and one reports that abuse
is less likely, while the other reports that it is more likely in kinship placements.
Kinship placements provide more contact between children and their parents which
may be an advantage, although some writers are concerned that some of the contact
may be inappropriate or unsafe for the children. One study reports that only
43% of parental visits in kinship homes are prearranged, versus 80% for non-relative
homes. Because caregivers receive less training and have fewer resources, they
may be less able to respond when visits are unsafe. However, observation of
homes, caregiver reports and children's reports suggest that kinship homes are
as safe as non-relative homes.
Most studies report that children in kinship placements stay in care longer
than children in non-relative placements, although one followup study found
that both kinship and foster care children stayed in care an average of 12 years.
Some writers suggest that the children do not have a permanency plan or workers
consider the placement a permanent arrangement. Long term placement with relative
is a more frequent permanency goal for kinship placements than for non-kin placements.
Also, younger children and African American children are more likely to stay
longer in kinship placements, and they represent the majority of kinship placements.
Several studies report that children in kinship placements have fewer placements,
which is associated with better well-being. For example, two studies published
in 1998 found:
Study
1
Study
2
Kinship cases
with 1 placement
80%
52%
Non-Kin cases
with 1 placement
65%
36%
Kinship cases
with 3+ placements
3%
22%
Non-Kin cases
with 3+ placements
23%
38%
Studies report that children in kinship placements are less likely to return
to their parents than children in non-kin placements. However, when children
are returned home, they are less likely to reenter care. It is unclear if reunification
is more, or less, frequently a permanency goal for these children. Some writers
suggest that case workers may believe that reunification is not urgent for kinship
placements, or parents may not seek it because they do not want to lose the
support payments.
Adoption is a less frequent permanency goal for kinship placements, and the
adoption rate is also less than for non-kin placements. One study found that
caregivers were just as willing as non-relatives to adopt. However, several
studies suggested that caregivers may not be open to adopting, for these reasons:
There are many unanswered questions about kinship care, including:
The following research projects are in progress. They may be very helpful in
answering questions about kinship care:
The Achieving Permanency for Children in Kinship Foster Care project described
by Bonecutter on page 19 included an investigation of the well-being of children
in kinship care. Data on cases for 77 children were reviewed and six African
American children were interviewed. Although this was not a rigorous study,
the results suggest that poorer well-being of the children was associated with
the factors discussed below.
Children may have fared less well when their mothers lacked adequate housing
because the children worried about their mothers. Inadequate housing is also
an indicator of more severe problems such as substance abuse, mental illness,
poverty, or more severe child abuse or neglect, which would continue to affect
the children's well-being.
Children may have fared less well when their mothers were married because children
are removed less often from two-parent families. A child of married parents
in placement may indicate that the family problems were relatively severe, and
perhaps included domestic violence.
Children fared less well when case workers noted that their caregivers experienced
problems. It is important for case workers to understand caregiver needs and
determine if services can support them.
Interviews with six of the children in the study suggested that children faring
well had received love and kindness from their caregivers and had involvement
with their extended families, which helped them deal with trauma. The researcher
found that creating genograms with the children was very helpful in establishing
rapport with them and suggests it to case workers.
The study found that children in all groups were doing equally well with school
grades although the drug-exposed children were more likely to be enrolled in
special education classes.
However, there were important differences between the groups in emotional/behavioral
problems. Three variables were found to predict the likelihood of children showing
problem behavior:
0
Non drug,
kin placement
2.2
Non drug,
nonrelative placement
3.3
Drug-exposed,
nonrelative placement
3.8
Drug-exposed,
kin placement
Although non drug-exposed children may be better off with kin than with nonrelatives,
placing drug-exposed children with kin may create a challenge for them. One
explanation may be the relatively lower level of resources kinship caregivers
have to meet the needs of drug-exposed children. This study asked caregivers
about the services they received from their agency and found that they received
lower payments than the other groups as well as the lowest number of contacts
from case workers.
Also, African Americans were overrepresented in the group of drug-exposed kinship
placements. This suggests that African Americans have different help-seeking
behaviors than other ethnic groups, or that services provided are less sensitive
to or effective with African Americans.
Placement
Type:
Non-Clinical
Score:
Borderline
Score:
Clinical
Score:
Kinship
74%
8%
18%
Foster
67%
11%
22%
Group
60%
12%
28%
The authors studied 229 adults raised in regular foster care and 423 raised
in kinship foster care. The study did not find higher arrest/conviction rates
or clear evidence of higher rates of mental health problems in these groups.
But it did find that as compared to other adults, both groups were less self
sufficient. They:
However, the adults raised in kinship care were less likely to have been homeless
than the foster care group. This suggests how important it is to help children
maintain family ties while they are in care, because weak family ties may contribute
to homelessness.
Most (90%) of the caregivers had one child of their own, and 88% had three children,
thus most cared for more than one child. Sixty percent had previously held child
care jobs, and 80% had cared for friends or family children in the past. Thus,
71% said they were very good at caregiving.
Most of the caregivers had at least one health problem themselves, such as hypertension,
asthma, diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis. Over one-third cared for children
with at least one disability or health problem.
Studies of people who care for the elderly have found that an external (as opposed
to internal) locus of control is associated with depression in caregivers. However,
this study found that an external sense of control - here called 'caregiver
denial of responsibility for success' - was related to higher caregiver satisfaction.
Thus, the traditional 'locus of control' concepts may not apply well to these
caregivers.
Studies of people who care for the elderly have found that caregivers experience
more stress when the person in their care has more impairments. This study showed
a similar relationship between child behavior problems and the caregivers' depression.
The children they cared for were likely to have externalizing behavior problems
(acting out), which are difficult to deal with. The caregivers showed symptoms
of chronic, low grade depression.
Studies of elderly caregivers have also found that stress or depression can
exist along with caregiver satisfaction. The caregivers in this study were similar
– they had symptoms of depression, but also reported high levels of satisfaction.
This study suggests that kinship caregivers have important strengths. They are
confident in their caregiving abilities and have substantial preparation for
the role. They have a high level of satisfaction with their role, and the centrality
of faith in their lives supports them in dealing with its challenges.
However, this study also found that caregivers have significant health problems,
are dealing with children that have special needs, and suffer from depression.
Child welfare must do more to address these needs and provide adequate support
to kinship caregivers.
Case workers may not be aware that a child is affected by HIV, but affected
children have special health and mental health needs. The child's whole family
may experience stigma, guilt, anger, and fear, and be mourning the death of
a family member. Studies have found that caregivers commonly keep HIV within
the family a secret, so they experience little informal support, they withdraw
from interacting with others, and ignore their own needs.
This study revealed the following characteristics about the sample of HIV-affected
caregivers as compared to the non-HIV-affected caregivers.
This study suggests that caregivers of HIV-affected children are underserved.
The following supports are needed:
In 1996, the Illinois Department of Aging and the Illinois DCFS conducted an
informal survey of 350 Illinois grandparents who are raising their grandchildren,
including those not involved with Illinois DCFS. The survey found the following:
Caring for grandchildren has a major impact on the lives of grandparents. Many
have limited financial resources and struggle to meet basic needs. They may
need to learn about assistance programs that are entirely new to them in order
to make ends meet.
Grandparents have limited authority to make legal decisions about their grandchildren.
Their authority may not be accepted for school enrollment, medical visits, immunizations,
school field trips, day care, and religious instruction.
Grandparents may be overwhelmed with the challenges of taking on parenting once
again, especially since times have changed. But in addition to this challenge,
grandparents also face the difficult family situation that made the parents
unable to care for the children. The children may have developmental delays,
learning disabilities, health problems, behavioral and emotional disorders,
delinquency, or teen pregnancy. Grandparents may have health problems, or reduced
strength and energy, and may already have a spouse needing care.
Service providers have been unprepared to serve grandparent-headed households.
Most services, such as parenting classes, health care and job training, were
designed for parents and children. They may not help grandparents who are not
going to be employed again, have special health needs and already have parenting
experience. Schools may not cooperate with grandparents unless they have proof
of legal guardianship. State programs may not have clear guidelines about which
benefits grandparent can qualify for.
In 1997, the Symposium on Legal and Supportive Services for Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren was convened by The Illinois Task Force on Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren, The Illinois Department of Aging, and BlueCross/BlueShield of
Illinois. As a results of the symposium's recommendations, the Department of
Aging has undertaken the following tasks:
The challenges faced by Latino grandparents are substantial. The older Latino
population:
That grandparents should raise their grandchildren is also supported by traditional
Latino culture, which emphasizes familism, that the needs of family are more
important than the needs of individuals. Important cultural concepts are 'respeto,'or
respect toward family authority figures, and 'personalismo,' or the importance
of personal relationships. Elders are relied upon for child care and are expected
to play an important role in the upbringing of children. Women are expected
to help their children and grandchidren, and adults are expected to care for
their parents. However, when grandparents raise grandchildren, the missing parents
may not be available to support the grandparents.
In 1995, the Children's Aid Society Community Schools of New York started a
Kinship Parenting Education and Support Program to help the 40% of its students
cared for by Latino grandparents. In addition to the language barrier, high
rates of poverty, and the death or incarceration of the children's parents,
the families often moved frequently between homes in New York and homes in Puerto
Rico or the Dominican Republic.
The program offered 16-week parenting workshops taught in Spanish by Latinos.
Workshops were offered in homes for those homebound by physical and health problems.
Workshops were also offered on domestic violence, nutrition, special education,
and Alzheimer's. The group discussions revealed that the grandparents experienced
extensive grief and loss. Many felt that their parenting mistakes led to the
death, incarceration or illness of their children. Many were not born in the
U.S. and had not applied for citizenship or learned English well. Strong faith
was central to most grandparents.
The grandparents hestitated to seek help for several reasons:
The program helped the grandparents become active in the school and neighborhood.
The grandparents also became comfortable talking with their peers because the
groups promoted personal relationships between the participants ('personalismo')
who were thus able to see each other as extended family members. It is essential
that any services to the Latino community be offered in Spanish and be based
on a thorough understanding of its cultural background.
Some important nationwide or regional programs include:
Resource Centers About Grandparent Caregivers
Resource centers have also proved to be important in promoting advocacy and
the development of local programs. Some important resource centers include:
Video and Television Programs
Local television programs, professional videos and programs aired on national
public television are now being produced. Some examples include:
Suggestions for Support Groups
More support groups for grandparent caregivers are still needed. The experience
of existing groups and grandparent programs suggests the following points:
An Empowering Grandparents Project
Cox describes a project intended to help empower 14 African American grandmother
caregivers located in New York. The grandmothers were members of a grandparents
support group. For eight of the grandmothers their children had died due to
drug use or AIDS. The group held 12 sessions at a local university with transportation
provided.
The curriculum, Empowering Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: A Training Manual for Group Leaders by Carole B. Cox (New York: Springer, 2000) covered parenting and community advocacy skills. Role playing was a central teaching method and helped participants rehearse strategies for dealing with agency staff. Participants also made presentations to the group to improve their public speaking skills. An official graduation ceremony was held at the university, which was attended by a reporter from National Public Radio.
After this empowering event, the participants began making community presentations and attending community meetings. The success of this project suggests that although grandparent caregivers may have significant challenges, they also have resources and resiliency that can be developed to help meet their own needs and the needs of others.
13. Extra Burdens When Mothers are Incarcerated top Porterfield, Jeff, Paula Dressel, and Sandra Barnhill (2000). "Special Situation
of Incarcerated Parents." Pages 184-202 in To Grandmother's House We Go and
Stay: Perspectives on Custodial Grandparents. New York: Springer. Young, Diane S. and Carrie Jefferson Smith (2000). "When Moms Are Incarcerated:
The Needs of Children, Mothers and Caregivers." Families in Society: The Journal
of Contemporary Human Services v81 n2 p130-141. Rate of Incarcerated Mothers is Rising Children Affected Negatively Children Usually Live With Grandparents Grandparent Caregivers Have Pressing Needs Services Needed for Three Generations of the Family Support Mother's Parental Role Many Barriers to Helping Mothers Parent Programs for Mothers Show Some Positive Results The affect of the programs on caregivers and children was not studied, but
anecdotal evidence from the visitation program indicated that teachers and caregivers
found less anger, frustration and aggressive behavior in children, as well as
improvement in their school performance. Policy Changes Needed in Corrections Policy Changes Needed in Human Services
14. African American Fathers are Involved With Children top
O'Donnell, John M. (1999). "Involvement of African American Fathers in Kinship
Foster Care Services." Social Work v44 n5 p428-441.
O'Donnell, John M. (1999) "Casework Practice With Fathers of Children in Kinship
Foster Care" Pages 167-188 in Kinship Care: Improving Practice Through Research.
Washington DC: Child Welfare League of America.
African American Fathers Participate With Children Unemployment Can be a Barrier There is little research on how fathers contribute in female-headed families.
One study found that most of the fathers still contributed: 60% provided financial
support, 79% provided other child support, and 66% saw the children monthly.
The Illinois 1993-94 Achieving Permanency for Children in Relative Foster
Care Project Caseworkers Knew Little About The Fathers Caseworkers Had Little Contact With Fathers Fathers Had Low Service Participation Caseworkers Unconcerned About Fathers Possible Explanations Tradition and Attitudes May be Involved In addition, poor fathers may feel distress about not being good providers
and conflict about participating in their children's lives. From a father's
perspective, the child welfare agency may just be there to tell him that he
is not doing his duty. Some studies suggest that African American men make little
use of social services because they experience them as deprecating, demeaning
and coercive, demanding that men provide financial support but not offering
them help to succeed in that role.
From the worker's perspective, the fathers may seem hostile, indifferent or
perplexing, and the worker has no agency services to offer to help fathers fulfill
their provider role.
Research, Training and Services Needed
15. The Illinois Achieving Permanency Project top Bonecutter, Faith Johnson and James P. Gleeson (1997). Achieving Permanency
for Children in Kinship Foster Care: A Training Manual. Jane Addams College
of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago. Available on the Web at:
http://www.uic.edu/jaddams/college/kincare
Bonecutter, Faith Johnson and James P. Gleeson (1997). "Broadening Our View:
Lessons From Kinship Foster Care." Pages 99-119 in The Challenge of Permanency
Planning in a Multicultural Society. New York: Haworth Press.
Bonecutter, Faith Johnson (1999). "Defining Best Practice in Kinship Care Through
Research and Demonstration." Pages 37-59 in Kinship Care: Improving Practice
Through Research. Washington DC: Child Welfare League of America.
The Achieving Permanency for Children in Kinship Foster Care project was funded
by the U.S. Children's Bureau through the Illinois DCFS. Its aim was to develop
and test a practice model to improve the chances for children in kinship care
to return home, be adopted, or be transferred to legal guardians.
Cases of 77 Children Were Studied Obstacles Were Identified Training Curriculum Developed Practice Principles and Methods 1. A broad view of family:
2. Ongoing striving for cultural competence:
3. Collaboration in decision-making:
4. Building the case management capacities of kinship networks:
To Create Change, Training Must be Ongoing To support changes in practice, training sessions are not enough. This project
suggests:
16. Illinois Develops Kinship Care Evaluation Instruments top Wells, Susan J. and Jean M. Agathen (1999). Evaluating the Quality of Kinship
Foster Care: Final Report. Children and Family Research Center, School of Social
Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Available on the Web. Scroll
down to find it listed at: http://cfrcwww.social.uiuc.edu/pubs/listresults2.asp
In order to develop instruments designed to evaluate the quality of kinship
care, the Children and Family Research Center (CFRC) conducted a literature
review, a survey of state policies, a review of national standards, a review
of existing evaluation instruments, and a set of focus groups.
Instruments and Manual Available Ten Areas of Evaluation
17. Illinois Kinship & Professional Care Compared top Testa, Mark F. and Nancy Rolock (1999). "Professional Foster Care: A Future
Worth Pursuing?" Child Welfare v78 n1 p108-124.
In order to cope with the growing shortage of foster care homes, child welfare
agencies have increasingly relied on the altruism of relatives to provide care
for children in custody. Another option is to pay foster parents an annual salary
to care for children. Paying foster parents acknowledges the complex demands
placed on them and the value of the service they provide.
Various Foster Care Programs Compared Five Criteria Used for Evaluation HMR and Professional Programs Perform Best
The incarceration of women has increased three times since 1980, at a faster
rate than the incarceration of men. Women are usually incarcerated for nonviolent
property crimes and drug offenses. In 1999, 67% of incarcerated women were mothers,
most of whom previously lived with their children.
When their parents are incarcerated, children suffer. Studies suggest that children's
normal development may be impacted, and the nature of the affect depends on
the age of the child:
When fathers are incarcerated, their children usually continue living with their
mothers. But when women are incarcerated, their children usually experience
a disruption. Most go to live with grandparents or other relatives.
Taking custody of children when their mothers are incarcerated can create significant
stress and distress for grandparents, particularly in terms of finances, health,
and family relationships. The trauma of the arrest and separation and the stigma
associated with incarceration increase the distress for all members of the family.
The inherent difficulty of accessing services is increased because agencies
react negatively to the stigma of incarceration.
In recent years, public attention has been focused on the difficulties of grandparent
caregivers and on increasing support for them. However, we should not aim to
help one generation over another; the entire family across generations needs
to be supported. For example, programs that promote grandparent custody of children
may tend to undermine efforts to help mothers resume their roles when they are
released.
Policies and programs should help a mother continue and develop her parenting
role while she is incarcerated. Research indicates that mothers want to stay
involved with their children and that maintaining mother-child bonds reduces
recidivism. While she is in prison, a child is a mother's hope and reason to
change. Both mothers and children worry about each other during the separation,
adding to their loss, depression and stress.
A focus on supporting incarcerated mothers with parenting is difficult because:
There are a growing number of programs for incarcerated mothers, but few have
been evaluated. The authors summarize studies evaluating six programs:
Correctional institutions should consider the following policy and program changes:
Human service agencies need to:
There is little research or writing on the involvement of African America fathers
in child welfare services. However, there are a few studies on how African American
fathers contribute to their families. These studies indicate that African American
fathers play a variety of roles toward their children such as playing with them,
contributing to their socialization, and shared participating in caregiving.
One national survey reported that African American fathers are more involved
in child care than white fathers.
The provider role is an essential component of manhood and fatherhood and inability
to fulfil that role has negative personal consequences for fathers. Some studies
report that African American fathers are more likely to participate when they
have higher income; other studies have found that even unemployed fathers have
a positive influence on their families. Be aware that unemployment or underemployment
may be a barrier to fathers’ positive participation with their families.
This project described on page 19 gathered information about the fathers of
74 families being served by two private agencies in Illinois. Most (83%) of
the children had been placed as a result of neglect due to maternal drug use.
The caseworkers in this study had gathered limited information about the fathers.
They did not know the:
During the previous six months, the caseworkers had little contact with the
fathers. Almost two-thirds received no contact, and few of the contacts made
were home visits. Even the 39% of the fathers with children placed at paternal
relatives received no contact.
The fathers had low participation in service planning and delivery.
Caseworkers expressed little concern about the lack of fathers' involvement.
One implication of this study is that fathers and workers may have intentionally
avoided each other. However, the following barriers may have contributed to
the situation:
As compared to mothers, lack of involvement is a traditional paternal role in
child welfare. Courts routinely hold that mothers are better parents. Most case
workers are women and social work practice is generally geared toward serving
women.
This study highlights the need for research and program development to incorporate
fathers in child welfare services. These needs include:
In the first phase of the project (1992-1993), cases of 77 children in kinship
foster care were studied to learn about current practices. The cases had the
following characteristics:
The study found that the following conditions were obstacles to permanency for
children in kinship care:
67%
supervisors
45%
other service
providers
21%
mothers
5%
fathers
0%
other relatives
In the second phase (1993-1994) a draft training curriculum was developed based
on the information gathered. The complete training curriculum, with printed
materials and videos, is available on the Kinship Care Practice Project website
listed above.
The training curriculum is based on four practice principles and methods that
help incorporate the child's kinship network in decision-making about the child,
and support and strengthen the kinship network rather than replace it.
In the third phase (1994-1996) outcomes of the training program were evaluated.
A field test of cases for 267 children were assigned to a demonstration group
and a comparison group. In the demonstration group, case workers showed low
rates of applying the training they had received during the following six months.
Multiple demands on the workers, worker turnover, and especially supervisor
turnover were identified as major barriers.
The resulting instruments and the manual for using them is also available from
the web location listed above, under the title, "Evaluting the Quality of Kinship
Foster Care: Evaluation Package." Or you can telephone 217-333-5837 to request
the package. Included are:
The instruments cover ten areas of evaluation. For the first five areas, CFRC
developed new measures because these issues are new to kinship care. For the
remaining five areas, measures already used in non-relative foster care and
other social service settings can be applied to kinship care.
In this article, the authors update their 1996 evaluation of a professional
foster care program operated by the Illinois DCFS, comparing it to other DCFS
foster care programs. The programs evaluated during 1996 and 1997 included the
following:
The programs were evaluated according to five criteria:
Overall, the best performance was achieved by the Home of Relative Program and
the Professional Foster Care Program. I