	Kinship Care Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

KC 8: Services for Parents

Parents receive services that help them recognize and develop strategies to address the behaviors or conditions resulting in the child’s placement in kinship care, and that facilitate permanency for the child.

Interpretation: When the case involves an Indian child, services offered by the tribe or local Indian organizations should be considered when identifying services for parents.

NA The organization, by virtue of law or contract, does not serve parents or only serves children whose parental rights have been terminated.

NA The organization only provides informal kinship care services.

KC 8.01

Parents receive information about kinship care services that includes:

an orientation to the kinship care service and the child's need for a permanent, safe, stable home;
their rights and responsibilities while the child is in care;
the importance or parental involvement and contact with the child and the organization according to the service plan;
expectations and timeliness associated with participation in services; and
legal implications if reunification efforts are unsuccessful.

KC 8.02

Parents receive assistance in using organizational and community resources to prepare the family for reunification or another permanency option.

KC 8.03

Culturally-relevant services are available, directly or by referral, to help parents meet their needs and to help the child return home, including:

child care;
homemaker and home health aide services;
parent education;
respite care;
transportation services;
vocational and educational assistance;
treatment for medical, mental health, and substance use conditions;
domestic violence services; and
housing referral and assistance.

Interpretation: When such services are not readily accessible, the organization advocates for greater availability and works with the family to consider alternatives, which can include informal support services.

Research Note: The literature identifies inadequate access to support services, such as treatment for substance use conditions, as a barrier to achieving permanency for children.

KC 8.04

Workers have access to comprehensive, up-to-date information about culturally-relevant community services, and maintain regular contact with collateral providers to share information about service delivery.

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	PURPOSE: Kinship Care Services maintain the family system as the primary source of care and preserve the continuity of care, culture, relationships, and environment essential for child safety and well-being.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	PARENTS Parents can include: birth, foster, kinship, and adoptive parents. Please see service standards for more specific information about use of this term.


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	INDIAN ORGANIZATION As defined in ICWA, "Any group, association, partnership, cooperation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians."


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	SERVICE PLAN A written plan of action based on the assessment of consumer needs and strengths that identifies problems, sets goals, and describes a strategy for achieving those goals and engaging in joint problem solving with the consumer. Also known as a "treatment plan".


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.