National Kinship Resources
The following are a collection of national kinship caregiver resources. Have another one? Let us know!
Online Resources
- AARP Grandfamilies Guide: If you are just starting to care for a grandchild, these are the basic things you need to know.
- AARP Grandfamilies Resources: Listings of public and private assistance to help grandparents and other relatives raising children.
- AARP Grandfacts: Links to local resources in your area.
- Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: US .gov site- If you take care of grandchildren, find grandparent programs in your state and get information about benefits, assistance, and more.
- http://www.raisingyourgrandchildren.com: For grandparents raising grandchildren and relatives parenting children- realizing you are not alone.
- Kinship Care Tips: Tips for relatives raising children.
- GrandsPlace: For grandparents and special others raising children.
- Grandparents Resource Center: Grandparents Resource Center (GRC), a nonprofit organization that assists grandparents who are seeking custody, visitation, or adoption of their grandchildren.
- Grandparenting.org
- Grandfamilies.org: The Grandfamilies State Law and Policy Resource Center serves as a national legal resource in support of grandfamilies both within and outside the child welfare system.
- RaisingKin.com: This website is dedicated to the very courageous kinship caregivers who are raising their relatives.
- Generations United: Grandfamilies Resources- Generations United’s National Center on Grandfamilies works to enact policies and promote programs to help grandfamilies address challenges. Despite facing many barriers, research shows that the children in grandfamilies thrive. Caregivers also experience benefits like an increased sense of purpose in life.
- Relative Adoption information from adoption.com
- Legal Options for Relative Caregivers
Books
For new kinship foster caregivers, we recommend:
- Advocating for Children in Foster and Kinship Care by Mitchell Rosenwald and Beth Riley: “A guide to getting the best out of the system for caregivers and practitioners.”
Especially for grandparents who are raising their children’s kids (but any relative will find the topics useful), the following books are recommended:
- Raising Our Children’s Children by Deborah Doucette-Dudman.
- Raising Your Children’s Children: Help for Grandparents Raising Grandkids by Martha Evans Sparks.
- Grandparents as Parents: A Survival Guide for Raising a Second Family by Sylvie de Toledo and Deborah Edler Brown.
- The Sacred Work of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren by Elaine K. Williams.
The following collections are more academic in nature:
- Relatives Raising Children: An Overview of Kinship Care edited by Joseph Crumbley and Robert Little.
- Kinship Foster Care: Policy Practice and Research edited by Rebecca L Hegar and Maria Scannapieco.
Blogs by relatives raising children
- http://www.grandparentingblog.com/
- http://grandnana.com/
- http://raisingaaron.weebly.com/index.html
- http://elainekwilliams.authorsxpress.com/
- http://www.womenoftheelca.org/blog/grandparents-raising-grandchildren
- http://jdwags.blogspot.com/?spref=tw
Online Support Groups
- http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Grandparents-Raising-Children/support-group
- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kinship-Care-Support/220647391305920
- GrandsPlace: For grandparents and special others raising children
- Relative Adoption Forum
- Kinship Caregiver Support Group Discussion Boards