Reaffirms the importance of the larger kinship network through analysis of extensive data on the clients of one social agency. The authors show that the less kinship-oriented caseworkers often attempt to change clients' kin relationships in the direction of less involvement, raising questions about value differences in therapeutic practice. The book also points to the importance of concepts, such as those dealing with family kinship, that will enable the caseworker to appraise the client's social relationships more fully. The authors emphasize the benefits to be derived from a closer liaison between social work and social science.

Since the early 1980s, states child welfare agencies' use of relatives as foster parents has grown rapidly, yet little information is available on this practice. This lack of information has made it difficult to evaluate how well kinship care ensures children's safety, promotes permanency in their living situation, and enhances their well-being--three basic goals of the child welfare system. Kinship Care: Making the Most of a Valuable Resource sheds light on this changing issue. Using a study involving focus groups of child welfare workers and kinship caregivers, in addition to interviews with local administrators, advocates, and service providers, the authors describe frontline kinship care practices in today's system. They also examine how and when child welfare agencies use kin as foster parents, how their approach to kinship care differs from traditional foster care, and how kinship care practices vary across states. The book also features the experiences of actual kinship foster parents, their challenges, and their interaction with agencies and the courts. Finally, the book provides recommendations for policy development, worker and caregiver training, and issues for further research.

Family members have traditionally provided kinship care for each other in times of crisis. Recently, such care has become part of the child welfare system. This edited volume presents several studies designed to identify current knowledge about kinship care as a child welfare service. Presented in five parts, the book summarizes the current state of knowledge, discusses permanency planning, examines parent-child relationships in kinship foster care, addresses issues related to kin caregivers of children in the custody of the child welfare system, and proposes a research agenda. The chapters are: (1) "Kinship Care as a Child Welfare Service: What Do We Really Know?" (James P. Gleeson); (2) "Defining Best Practice in Kinship Care through Research and Demonstration" (Faith Johnson Bonecutter); (3) "Who Decides? Predicting Caseworkers' Adoption and Guardianship Discussions with Kinship Caregivers" (James P. Gleeson); (4) "Adoption and Subsidized Guardianship as Permanency Options in Kinship Foster Care: Barriers and Facilitating Conditions" (Sally J. Mason and James P. Gleeson); (5) "The Well-Being of Children in Kinship Foster Care" (Sandra J. Altshuler); (6) "Comparing Mothers of Children in Kinship Foster Care: Reunification vs. Remaining in Care" (Marian S. Harris); (7) "Casework Practice with Fathers of Children in Kinship Foster Care" (John M. O'Donnell); (8) "Kinship Care When Parents Are Incarcerated" (Creasie Finney Hairston); (9) "Child-Rearing Perspectives of Grandparent Caregivers" (Olga Osby); (10) "The Effect of Caregiver Preparation and Sense of Control on Adaptation of Kinship Caregivers" (Donna D. Petras); (11) "Caregiver Burden in Kinship Foster Care" (Rocco A. Cimmarusti); and (12) "Future Directions for Research on Kinship Care" (James P. Gleeson and Creasie Finney Hairston). (Each chapter contains references and 34 tables). (KB)