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
From the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this reports on comprehensive survey of kinship care policies, fielded in 2022 for the Annie E. Casey Foundation by Child Trends. Although states have many strong policies in place to identify, notify and support kinship caregivers, there are some notable gaps and differences.
Data tables also are shared.
Report on State by State survey on kinship care policies
Data tables
Originally broadcast live on August 13, 2024 this webinar features attorney Valerie L’Herrou of Virginia Poverty Law Center sharing timely information about navigating the system of financial supports, health care, legal issues, education concerns, barriers to finding help, and maintaining family relationships.
Recording of webinar
Child Custody Fact Sheet
Virginia TANF Payee Manual
Virginia Relative Maintenance Payment information
Grandfamilies Opioid Report
Know Your Rights as a Relative Caregiver from VPLC
Kinship Guardian Support Chart from VPLC
This checklist developed by Virginia Department of Education’s Family Engagement Network (FEN) and Formed Families Forward offers schools a checklist for school staff to use when working with relative or kinship caregivers raising children and youth.
School checklist for Working with Caregivers in PDF
web link to Checklists
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
From the National Child Welfare Information Gateway at the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, this fact sheet is designed to help kin caregivers—including grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, and other relatives as well as family friends caring for children— work effectively with the child welfare system.
It also includes resources, such as links to more detailed information or places to find support, to help you learn about and navigate the child welfare system.
May 2022
Fact sheet
From the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center, this fact sheet address a number of key issues kinship caregivers face when support their kin in school.
Education is high on the to-do lists of kin and grandfamily caregivers. Accessing educational services for children in their care can be difficult. Frequently, kin/grandfamily caregivers lack legal custody of the children and/or are unfamiliar with the local education system. This resource is designed to help direct-service professionals assist caregivers in ensuring the children they raise have the educational experiences needed to thrive.
January 2023
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.