Kinship care - Voices of Lived Experience - Center for States - Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Voices of Lived Experience Logo inside Speech Bubble

Capacity Building

CENTER FOR STATES

Kinship care

Explore the stories of grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and family friends as they make life adjustments to step into the role of kinship caregivers. Gain a deeper understanding of the support they need to navigate the child welfare system and negotiate the complex dual roles they play to provide stability and normalcy for the children in their care, some with special needs. Hear from kinship navigators, administrators, case workers, family finders, and peer mentors who help connect children, youth, caregivers, and parents to the support and resources they need.

Find kinship care stories that best meet your needs by selecting filters on the left and use them with activities from the discussion guide to build understanding and connections between people as you advocate, inspire, support, recruit, train, and coach individuals and teams.

Showing 1 - 5 of 45 Voices of Lived Experience Stories
Video

Listen to a foster care advocate’s mental health journey.

Video

Learn about Catherine’s journey recovering from trauma and addiction to be successfully reunified with her daughter.

Video

This video highlights the story of a kinship specialist with the New York City Children’s Services and how she collaborates with fellow child welfare agencies in identifying kinship guardians to result in successful kin placement.

Video

This video highlights the story of a family specialist in Ohio and her experience working with families to successfully place children with kin.

Video

This video highlights the story of a school social worker in Rhode Island and her experience becoming a foster parent to a student who did not have a relative placement.