Greensboro, NC, April 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Children’s Home Society of North Carolina (CHS) has relaunched its Kinship Navigation program in response to the increasing number of caregivers who are responsible for providing care to relatives’ children.
Kinship care is when a family member (legally-related, biologically-related), or someone having an existing strong, loving relationship, cares for a child or children whose parents are unable to do so. Kinship Navigation provides kinship caregivers with information, training courses, referral services, and support groups to help them care for these relative placements. There is no cost to families to participate.
This program includes training that offers families the option to become a licensed kinship caregiver in North Carolina. Children who are in care with a licensed kinship provider have benefits over those who are unlicensed. A licensed provider receives financial assistance, can receive paid respite care, and have paid counseling services available to them to help the child live their best life.
With nearly 11,000 children in care and only 5,400 foster homes, there is a critical shortage of foster parents in North Carolina, and kinship care can help offset this shortage.
“Research shows that children who live in their family communities are able to have better and more successful outcomes than those who are placed outside of those communities,” said Donna Henderson, CHS Executive Director of Programs. “When children are in their natural environments, they are better able to connect with peers and keep relationships alive with those who have been in their lives.”
CHS kinship care grandparents share, “We wanted our grandson to be with family – with people who already loved him. We thought we could provide the best situation for him to grow and thrive.”
Part of CHS’s Kinship Navigation program includes a specialized training called Caring for Our Own, which, in addition to providing resources and support, meets the requirements for a kinship care license. Caring for Our Own is a state-approved curriculum specifically crafted for relative caregivers, and CHS is one of the few agencies in North Carolina that offers training like this.
For more information about Kinship Navigation support for kinship families, please contact Children’s Home Society at 1-800-632-1400, visit www.chsnc.org/kinship-navigation, or email kinship@chsnc.org.
Children's Home Society provides top-quality, evidence-based programs and services to children and families throughout North Carolina in support of our mission to promote the right of every child to a permanent, safe, and loving family. Our education and child welfare staff provided services to more than 22,000 individuals last year, educating and preserving families, supporting children and families through transitions, and creating new families.
About Children’s Home Society of North Carolina
Children’s Home Society offers a network of services and support throughout North Carolina to help establish and sustain healthy, loving relationships in every family. For 120 years, Children’s Home Society has provided a broad spectrum of programs and services including adoption, foster care, parenting education, family preservation, and teen responsibility. Children’s Home Society believes in the importance of family, not only in the life of a child but also in the foundation of a community. For more information, visit www.chsnc.org.
