Children's Bureau Express

Effective Foster Parent Training for Kinship Caregivers

Child welfare agencies face special challenges in developing training programs and policies that meet the needs of relative caregivers. Of particular concern is the need to structure foster parent training for kinship caregivers in ways that provide needed information while respecting existing family relationships.

A new publication, Training Kin to Be Foster Parents: Best Practices From the Field, published by Childfocus, provides an overview of efforts to adapt foster parent training to the unique needs and circumstances of kinship caregivers. The issue brief addresses the following topics:

Federal licensing requirements, including requirements for foster care training
Limitations of traditional foster parent training for kinship caregivers
State and county efforts to develop training programs tailored specifically for kin
Common themes related to kin-specific training
Questions that States and localities should consider as they develop kin-specific training

The report describes examples of kin-specific training in three States and one county. A checklist for making training relevant to kinship caregivers also is included.

Shalonda Cawthon was the report's principal researcher and author. The publication is available on the ChildFocus site:

www.childfocuspartners.com/images/Training_Kinship_Caregivers_0708.pdf (100 - KB)

Related Item

For more on kinship caregivers, read "Comparing Outcomes for Children in Kinship and Foster Care" in this issue.

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