Honoring Kinship Caregivers

September is Kinship Care Awareness Month, a time to honor the grandparents, relatives, and close family friends who provide a stable, loving environment when a child's parents are unable. Kinship caregivers help children remain with the people they love and communities they know, providing stability and strengthening sense of belonging.  

Children are placed in foster care when a juvenile court judge deems it necessary if their safety is compromised at home. Their biological parents then partner alongside the Georgia Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) to address these issues and set goals in order to hopefully have a successful reunification.  

When identifying placement options for children placed in foster care, DFCS first seeks out any kinship care arrangements. Kinship care arrangements are when a relative or non-relative adult who has a long-standing relationship or bond with a child or their family opens their home to provide temporary or permanent care. Keeping children within their existing family networks helps children maintain crucial family bonds, cultural connections, and a sense of identity, promoting their overall health and well-being. Currently in Georgia, there are over 85,000 children and youth being provided with caring and stable homes by dedicated relative and non-relative kinship caregivers. Not all kinship care arrangements require DFCS involvement.

Kinship caregivers answer an urgent and often unexpected call to action, showing commitment to family, even when caregiving may not have been a part of their original life plan. This decision is a testament to their strength, resilience, and unwavering dedication. The State of Georgia could not thrive without our kinship caregivers' commitment to helping keep Georgia’s children and families safe, and DFCS is dedicated to enhancing the resources and services available to our kinship families.  

This month, in partnership with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, DFCS hosted four informative webinars to educate kinship families on the topics of positive parenting, healthy relationships, body safety, and the legal system. DFCS also held three Kinship Caregiver Celebrations throughout the state to provide resources and networking opportunities for kinship caregivers. DFCS was able to serve nearly 100 kinship caregivers during the webinars and during the Kinship Caregiver Celebrations. Internally, DHS and DFCS employees wore yellow on Sept. 9. to celebrate Kinship Care Awareness Month and Georgia’s kinship caregivers.  

For more information about kinship care, or to explore resources and supports for kinship caregivers, visit our Kinship Care Portal at dhs.georgia.gov/organization/about/kinship.  

Related to: 

• Division of Family & Children Services