TY - JOUR
T1 - KinNet
T2 - A demonstration project for a national support network for kinship care providers
AU - Smith, Carrie Jefferson
AU - Monahan, Deborah J.
N1 - Funding Information:
Modeled after the Brookdale Foundation’s Relatives As Parents Program (RAPP) and supported with Children’s Bureau funding, KinNET represents a collaborative between Generations United (GU), the Brookdale Foundation and the program evaluation team from the Syracuse University School of Social Work. The project was designed to: (1) create a national network among agencies providing support groups for relatives giving care to children connected to the formal child welfare system, and (2) to help establish support groups and related project activities that serve to facilitate ASFA’s goals of safety, permanency and wellbeing and to document lessons and best practices.
PY - 2007/8/28
Y1 - 2007/8/28
N2 - The KinNET project came into existence because of the need to support a growing number of grandparents and other relatives providing care for children within the foster care system. It was a demonstration project funded by the Children's Bureau designed to create a national network of support groups for older relatives-mostly grandparents-caring for children in and associated with the foster care system. Grandparents and other relatives are an invaluable resource to the child welfare system. However, these caregivers are also an overburdened population that needs creative and supportive interventions to enhance their capacity to provide quality care and reduce the risks to the children. In this intervention the support group approach was tested (a replication of the Brookdale Foundation model with project management from Generations United). Support groups often provide kinship caregivers with access to important emotional and community support, information and referral, relaxation, and respite. This article briefly describes the project, a profile of the caregivers (n = 102) and the children in their care (n = 226), and highlights from the survey data. In addition, we discuss the three key lessons learned from the project and make recommendations to better serve this population.
AB - The KinNET project came into existence because of the need to support a growing number of grandparents and other relatives providing care for children within the foster care system. It was a demonstration project funded by the Children's Bureau designed to create a national network of support groups for older relatives-mostly grandparents-caring for children in and associated with the foster care system. Grandparents and other relatives are an invaluable resource to the child welfare system. However, these caregivers are also an overburdened population that needs creative and supportive interventions to enhance their capacity to provide quality care and reduce the risks to the children. In this intervention the support group approach was tested (a replication of the Brookdale Foundation model with project management from Generations United). Support groups often provide kinship caregivers with access to important emotional and community support, information and referral, relaxation, and respite. This article briefly describes the project, a profile of the caregivers (n = 102) and the children in their care (n = 226), and highlights from the survey data. In addition, we discuss the three key lessons learned from the project and make recommendations to better serve this population.
KW - Child welfare
KW - Kinship care
KW - Relative caregivers
KW - Support groups
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U2 - 10.1300/J045v22n03_14
DO - 10.1300/J045v22n03_14
M3 - Review article
C2 - 17855248
AN - SCOPUS:34548681393
SN - 0897-7186
VL - 22
SP - 215
EP - 231
JO - Journal of Health and Social Policy
JF - Journal of Health and Social Policy
IS - 3-4
ER -