Children’s Home Society of NC Provides Support for Kinship Caregivers Navigating the Care of Relative Children
April 18 2024 - 11:09AM
Children’s Home Society of North Carolina (CHS) has relaunched its
Kinship Navigation program in response to the increasing number of
caregivers who are responsible for providing care to relatives’
children.
Kinship care is when a family member (legally-related,
biologically-related), or someone having an existing strong, loving
relationship, cares for a child or children whose parents are
unable to do so. Kinship Navigation provides kinship caregivers
with information, training courses, referral services, and support
groups to help them care for these relative placements. There is no
cost to families to participate.
This program includes training that offers families the option
to become a licensed kinship caregiver in North Carolina. Children
who are in care with a licensed kinship provider have benefits over
those who are unlicensed. A licensed provider receives financial
assistance, can receive paid respite care, and have paid counseling
services available to them to help the child live their best
life.
With nearly 11,000 children in care and only
5,400 foster homes, there is a critical shortage
of foster parents in North Carolina, and kinship care can help
offset this shortage.
“Research shows that children who live in their family
communities are able to have better and more successful outcomes
than those who are placed outside of those communities,” said Donna
Henderson, CHS Executive Director of Programs. “When children are
in their natural environments, they are better able to connect with
peers and keep relationships alive with those who have been in
their lives.”
CHS kinship care grandparents share, “We wanted our grandson to
be with family – with people who already loved him. We thought we
could provide the best situation for him to grow and thrive.”
Part of CHS’s Kinship Navigation program includes a specialized
training called Caring for Our Own, which, in addition to providing
resources and support, meets the requirements for a kinship care
license. Caring for Our Own is a state-approved curriculum
specifically crafted for relative caregivers, and CHS is one of the
few agencies in North Carolina that offers training like this.
For more information about Kinship Navigation support for
kinship families, please contact Children’s Home Society at
1-800-632-1400, visit www.chsnc.org/kinship-navigation, or email
kinship@chsnc.org.
Children's Home Society provides top-quality, evidence-based
programs and services to children and families throughout North
Carolina in support of our mission to promote the right of every
child to a permanent, safe, and loving family. Our education
and child welfare staff provided services to more than 22,000
individuals last year, educating and preserving families,
supporting children and families through transitions, and creating
new families.
About Children’s Home Society of North CarolinaChildren’s Home
Society offers a network of services and support throughout North
Carolina to help establish and sustain healthy, loving
relationships in every family. For 120 years, Children’s Home
Society has provided a broad spectrum of programs and services
including adoption, foster care, parenting education, family
preservation, and teen responsibility. Children’s Home Society
believes in the importance of family, not only in the life of a
child but also in the foundation of a community. For more
information, visit www.chsnc.org.
Dillard Spring
Children's Home Society of North Carolina
800-632-1400
dspring@chsnc.org