Back to Articles
January 18, 2023
Prevalence of Kinship Care
Prevalence of Kinship Care
Kinship Care is becoming more and more prevalent, but it has
been around for years. Some of televisions iconic characters are cared for by
their relatives such as Jess from Gillmore Girls who is cared for by his Uncle
or Lilo who is care for by her sister in Lilo and Stitch. Across the nation
over 2.6 million children are cared for by a relative. In the state of Wyoming,
there are 4,000 children being cared for by a relative with no biological
parent present. More statistics regarding Wyoming specific data can be accessed
here:
While caring for a kinship child is not easy it is becoming
common and part of our cultures “new normal”. Often times we are so focused on
feeling like our children will be “different” or “left out”, we forget that it
is completely okay for them to stand out and be different. A wonderful book to
help normalize kinship care for young children is called A Grandfamily for
Sullivan by Beth Tyson. If you have a young child who could benefit from this
book, reach out to a kinship navigator and they can send one your way. Our true hope at Kinship Connections of
Wyoming is to create a place where kinship caregivers can connect to one
another and to the support they need to continue the wonderful work they are
doing every day with their kinship children.