Celebrating National Kinship Care Month
As September ushers in a season of changes, we’d like to take a pause to honor our kinship caregivers who change lives everyday, love unconditionally, and provide an unwavering commitment to many children.
Here at KinKonnect, we observe Kinship Care Month by shining a light on the incredible caregivers who step up to care for children when their birth parents cannot. Kinship caregivers include grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, or trusted family friends. They provide love, permanency, and a deep sense of belonging to many children.
In New Jersey, 183,430 children are living in homes where a relative is the head of the household and 54,000 children are being raised by kin with no parent present. Let’s recognize what the vital role kinship caregivers are playing in these children’s lives.
Kinship care helps maintain important ties to family origin, culture, and identity. This often means that children in kinship care will experience more stability, less trauma, and the ability to heal and thrive. Kinship caregivers are truly life savers and their love and support should always be recognized.
We take this opportunity to not only celebrate the strength and commitment of these caregivers, but to also raise awareness about the need for resources, policies, and community support to uplift them.
To all kinship caregivers: THANK YOU! Your commitment is a gift and your impact immeasurable.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/permanency/kinship-care/?p=3&top=123
https://www.fosterkinship.org/celebrating-kinship-care-month/