Kinship care connection: A school-based intervention for kinship caregivers and the children in their care

Whereas child welfare has championed efforts in kinship care practice, policy, and research, there is a growing need for other systems of care, specifically the school system, to improve the ways in which kinship care families are supported. This study highlights outcomes from the Kinship Care Connection (KCC), an innovative school-based intervention designed to increase children's self-esteem and to mediate kin caregiver burden. Current issues regarding the status of kinship caregiving families involved in the school system are highlighted using quantitative data and case studies based on: (1) 34 caregivers participating in support groups and case management services, including counseling, advocacy, and resource procurement, and (2) 63 children participating in tutoring, mentoring and counseling, advocacy, and resource procurement. Two case studies describing the familial experience in KCC will detail the process evaluation related to this intergenerational intervention. Results indicate increased self-esteem in children and mediated kin caregiver burden for families participating in the KCC. Implications for social work practice include suggestions for ways social workers and the school system can better support kinship caregiving families.