More than 2.6 million children are being raised in the United States by grandparents, other relatives
and close family friends with no parent in the household. 1 These “grandfamilies” or “kinship
families” are families in which relatives or close family friends step up to raise children unexpectedly
because their parents cannot due to opioid or other substance use, mental health challenges,
incarceration, death or other issues. With increased immigration enforcement and children being
separated from their parents at the U.S. border, grandparents and other relatives are stepping up to
raise many of these children, too. The national data is compelling. Although we do not know how many
of these grandfamilies form as a result of a parent’s detainment or deportation, we do know that
approximately 21 percent of the 2.6 million children in grandfamilies – or 544,000 children – are living
in immigrant grandfamilies, meaning the child, he parent(s), and/or the kinship care provider(s)
are foreign-born.

There is a growing consensus that group care is not beneficial for children except in time-limited therapeutic settings to meet specific treatment needs.
Unfortunately, most communities lack a robust network of foster family homes. Given this reality, many child welfare agencies are redoubling their efforts to identify
and engage kin as foster parents.

Despite the strong value of kinship foster care, major impediments still exist to finding, engaging, and placing children with kin when they must be removed
from their parents’ care. Efforts must be made to help children maintain important family connections and support, and to tailor services and assistance to address
the unique needs of kinship foster families, while still working toward the goal of reunification with parents.

This wikiHow draws on wisdom from the field about the seven steps to creating a kin first culture – one in which child welfare systems consistently promote kinship
placement, help children in foster care maintain connections with their family, and tailor services and supports to the needs of kinship foster families.

Today’s society is recognizing the experiences and needs of transgender people as never before. This trend is most evident in our nation’s schools, where an increasing number of transgender and gender-expansive students live openly as their authentic selves. At the same time, parents, students, educators, administrators and other stakeholders are working together to determine the best ways to support these
students.