How is kinship care different from foster care?
There are a growing number of U.S. families in which both of a child’s parents are absent and the child is being raised instead by a grandparent or other nonparent caregiver. In 1994 there were 2.15 million U.S. children (3% of all children under age 18) living in the care of relatives without a parent present, a proportion that varies substantially among the States. Such living arrangements are known as kinship care. Kinship care is more prevalent among African American children than among white children or Hispanic children of either race, and is more prevalent in the South than in other parts of the U.S. Relatives providing kinship care may receive assistance through TANF or through Federal or State foster care programs. Most children living with a relative caregiver, without a parent present, do not receive any cash assistance, even though many of them may be eligible. In most states, relative caregivers may apply for TANF benefits on behalf of the child while they themselves are
