Family Processes in Kinship Care

Over thousands of years and across diverse cultures and contexts, extended families have provided care for children. When children cannot be cared for by their parents, care provided by other relatives and close nonrelatives, known as "kinship care," is increasingly recognized as the favored alternative for children in need of foster care. "Formal" arrangements involve the child welfare system; "informal" arrangements, without child welfare involvement, may still involve formal procedures, including legal custody and decision-making power. Informal kinship care is also referred to as "private kinship care," and formal kinship care is also referred to as "kinship foster care," when the state assumes custody of the child, and "voluntary kinship care," when the state does not assume custody (Geen, 2003b). Unless noted, this chapter uses the term "