Developed by Va Department of Education’s Family Engagement Network (FEN) and Formed Families Forward, this checklist is for any kinship caregiver who is enrolling a child or youth in schools and working with schools to get appropriate services and supports.
Checklist for kinship caregivers in PDF
web link to Checklists
From the Appalachia Regional Education Lab’s Kinship Caregivers and Grandfamilies Community of Practice, convened in 2023 and 2024, this collection offers a description of and links to Suggested Readings and Tools and Resources.
The Appalachia REL partners with key stakeholders in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia to develop resources as part of its Supporting Students, Grandfamilies, and Kinship Caregivers Community of Practice (COP). Learn more about the COP at https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/rel/region/about/appalachia.
FFF participates in the COP and FFF resources are included in the Resource List.
Kinship Resource List
From the Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network, a national technical assistance center:
This toolkit contains five actions for K-12 school professionals and kinship service providers to better support students and caregivers in kinship/grandfamilies. The five actions each include specific steps and embedded tools to help children and their caregivers thrive in K-12 settings, and is a companion piece to Pathways to Success: K-12 Education Support for Kinship and Grandfamilies, the Generations United 2024 State of Grandfamilies & Kinship Care Report, which is available at www.gureport.org
Five Actions Toolkit
During the 2024 General Assembly, Senate Bill 39, introduced by Senator Favola and House Bill 27, introduced by Delegate Callsen, focused on increasing foster care prevention through kinship placements. The bills were passed and signed into law by the Governor on May 21, 2024.
The legislation offers protections for both the child and their family, reinforcing the goal of reunification.
This summary is based on information from Voices of Virginia’s Children.
Eligibility Criteria:
The proposed legislation outlines specific criteria for a child to be considered eligible for the foster care prevention program:
Key Provisions:
Once a child is deemed eligible, the local Department of Social Services and the relative with custody will enter into a written agreement. This agreement includes provisions for financial assistance under the Foster Care Prevention Program and may also include ongoing case management services, ensuring comprehensive support for kinship caregivers.
The local board is mandated to identify and provide necessary services and support for the child, the relative, and the child’s parent or guardian. Importantly, the legislation emphasizes due process, informing parents or guardians of their right to seek legal counsel before entering into the agreement.
Additional provisions in the agreement cover visitation arrangements, requirements for the child’s parent or guardian to meet for reunification, and safety plans in case of the child’s return home. The agreement is time-limited to an initial period up to 90 days, and provisions for extension, emphasizing the need for accountability and periodic review.
Amendments to § 63.2-900.1 of the Code of Virginia
From the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, this guide offers Virginia-specific guidance and links to services and supports for kinship care families.
A program of the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS):
As of February 2024, this program is available to kinship/relative caregivers.
The Virginia Lifespan Respite Voucher Program (VLRVP) provides reimbursement vouchers to Virginia caregivers for the cost of temporary, short-term respite care provided to individuals of any age.
The goal of this program is to increase access and reduce barriers to respite care, as well as enhance education and awareness about respite care. Respite funding is limited to $595.00 per family through June 30, 2026, or until funds are exhausted. This program prohibits the use of these funds for rent, cleaning, medical supplies, food, or other household expenditures. Due to its limited funding, not all eligible applicants will be approved.
Virginia Lifespan Respite Voucher program DARS webpage
Fillable applications for the Lifespan Respite Voucher Program
Voucher Program Flyer Feb 2024
From the Virginia Department of Social Services, this guide overviews options for relatives and close family friends of children in foster care. Legal and financial implications of each option are reviewed. Includes links to other kinship care resources.
Kinship Care Guide
From the US Administration for Community Living, Health and Human Services, this 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers was created to support family caregivers of all ages, from youth to grandparents, and regardless of where they live or what caregiving looks like for them and their loved ones.
The strategy was developed jointly by the advisory councils created by the RAISE Family Caregiving Act and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, with extensive input from the public, including family caregivers and the people they support. It will be updated in response to public comments and will evolve with the caregiving landscape.
Link to Caregiver Strategy and related documents
This January 2023 resource from Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center at Generations United covers some areas of educational access for kinship families.
Fact sheet
This federal letter from the US Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services issued 11/10/22 to State Special Education Directors clarifies requirements for highly mobile children and youth such as military-connected children, migratory children, children who are homeless, and children in the foster care system.
Specific issues addressed are:
This brief article from Understood.org overviews some education issues specific to children and youth in foster care to foster/resource parents.
Kinship Caregiving Options: Considerations for Caregivers was developed in partnership with the ABA Center on Children and the Law, Children’s Defense Fund, and Generations United, with support from Casey Family Programs. The publication provides a broad, national overview of choices that may be available to caregivers, along with related considerations, to help caregivers make more informed decisions about pathways to pursue.
Report
Slides from a FFF-hosted webinar presented live on January 14, 2022. The presentation features Monique Lilakos, DSW, LCSW, of Higher Purpose Coaching and Mentoring, LLC. Dr. Lilakos presented on challenges faced by kinship caregivers, how self care can support resilience, and offered specific self care techniques.
Webinar presentation slides
Generations United operates the first National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families (NTAC), funded through a five-year cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Community Living (ACL).
Contact Generations United directly for more information. https://www.gu.org/projects/ntac-on-grandfamilies-and-kinship-families/
Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center
From the US Administration for Community Living and the Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Advisory Group, a compilation of resources for kinship care families.
From Generations United, updated in 2021.
This chart is designed to help kinship foster parents compare adoption and transfer of legal custody as two options that kin caregivers and the children in their care can pursue to exit foster care and create permanent families. In Virginia, children can exit foster care with their kin caregiver through adoption or transfer of legal custody.
This white paper explores current barriers, evidence for the benefits of kinship care, historical information on the foster care system, best practices and principles, and highlights the kinship work currently being done at UMFS. It addresses Virginia-specific barriers to kinship care.
From July 2020, this report examines (1) what is known about the numbers of grandparents and other kin serving as primary caregivers for children, and the reasons for that care; (2) challenges kin caregivers face and how officials report addressing them in selected communities; and (3) the extent to which HHS has supported states’ efforts to use relevant federal programs and initiatives.
GAO analyzed U.S. Census Bureau survey and HHS administrative data; reviewed relevant literature, federal laws, regulations, guidance, and other documents; and interviewed officials from HHS, national organizations, and in four states (Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, and Ohio) and communities, selected for their relatively large numbers of grandparent caregivers and to reflect geographic and demographic diversity.
GAO Report
This brief explains questions asked on the US Census American Community Survey about grandparents as caregivers. Data from 2018 is shared.
From JFS Connecting Hearts, this 25 minute video reviews the basics of kinship care in Virginia, including Family First Act implementation.
Video link
A column from Heidi Redlich Epstein, director of Kinship Policy and director of State Projects at the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law.
Legal Issues column