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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.
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