The Strength of Family: Honoring National Kinship Care Month
What comes to mind when you think of the word kinship. Do you think of blood ties, marriage ties, or social ties? Do you think of patrilineal or matrilineal tracing family descent, passing on surnames, and/or inheritance?
When I think of kinship, I think of a human connection or bond between a child and an adult not necessarily related by blood or by law. All are synonymous with the word kinship. The latter is sometimes overlooked but these connections can be just as valuable and essential to a child. Like-kin may include teachers, church members, mentors, coaches, neighbors, family friends, and others who share a meaningful bond with the child or children. Regardless of the relationship kind, these adults are champions for children,
They take on the most important role in a child’s life, which is to care for and raise them in a safe, loving, nurturing, and healthy home. They create a garden with fertile seeds, and this helps a child grow and flourish. This becomes critical when children need a home and with love, care, compassion and safety, they can experience being a child. The roots that are formed during the cultivation process take shape into a healthy root to form a flourishing foundational garden where children can learn to thrive extending roots beyond childhood years. Every child deserves this to thrive.
Kinship steps in and accepts the sacrifices, responsibilities of raising a child/ren for a short time, lengthy time or for the lifetime of the child. This includes all the happy and joyful moments as well as the struggles a child may have because of their past experiences such as abandonment, shame, blame, neglect, abuse, and most importantly the loss and separation from a biological parent. There are joy and contentment that comes from caring for children and it cannot be overstated.
Kinship may not see the positive long-term impacts they have on a child’s developmental, emotional, psychological, physical, and mental well-being for years or even into a child’s adulthood. It is for these reasons that we celebrate the month of September as National Kinship Care Month.
If you know someone in this role, make sure to reach out and ask them how they are doing, offer to help, give support, send flowers or a card.
In honor and recognition of kinship care providers across the country.
Respectfully submitted by Angie Halbert, CASA Case Supervisor
For more information and resources, please go to:
Child Welfare.gov
Administration for Community Living.gov
Co4kids.org
Aecf.org (Annie E. Casey Foundation for data on 2026 kids count data book)