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MAINTAINING CONNECTIONS AND MINIMIZING TRAUMA
Placing children with relatives helps to maintain family connections and cultural traditions that can minimize the trauma of family separation and relieve the anxieties that come with traditional foster placements. This creates a safe space while parents get the help they need to enhance their care giving skills. Kinship care can be a lifeline for both children and parents, as placement with a family member can create a sense of belonging for a child and comfort for a parent in knowing the child is not with strangers. Parents may feel more encouraged to seek help with the support of family members. By providing children with a familiar environment and their parents with family support, kinship care creates several protective factors that can strengthen families and keep them together (e.g., maintaining family connections, enhancing the social and emotional competence of children, and boosting resilience in parents and children).
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