What is Kinship Care in Colorado?
Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, loving home with family. When children and youth cannot safely stay with their parents, the next best option is kinship care in Colorado.
Kinship care is when kids or teens live temporarily with relatives, friends, neighbors, teachers, coaches, or other trusted adults they already know. These caregivers are familiar faces who can help reduce the trauma of separation for these kids. Kinship care provides stability and comfort for children and youth during a challenging time while families work toward reunification.
Who Can Become a Kinship Caregiver?
Kinship caregivers are trusted adults who already have an established connection and relationship with the child or youth, and in many cases, they are family. These caregivers, who must be 18 years or older, are able to provide a safe, stable, and loving home. Kinship caregivers can be:
- Relatives by birth, marriage, or adoption
- Family-like relationships, such as godparents or close family friends
- Adults with a previous significant relationship, like teachers, coaches, or long-time neighbors
Why is Kinship Care Important?
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Reduces Trauma
Kinship care in Colorado helps reduce trauma by providing familiarity and continuity, allowing the child or youth to maintain strong ties to their biological family.
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Community Connection
Kinship caregivers help preserve important cultural, ethnic, racial, and traditional connections to the children’s communities of origin.
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Better Mental Wellness
Kids and youth in kinship care can experience improved mental health and better educational outcomes than they would if placed in traditional foster care settings.
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Happier Kids
There is higher placement satisfaction among children and youth placed in kinship care than in traditional foster care.
In 2024, 50% of children and youth placed in foster care had their initial placement with kin.
Meet Kinship Families in Colorado
Every day, hundreds of kinship caregivers are making a lasting difference in the lives of Colorado children and youth. These caregivers are providing a safe home and helping youth stay connected to their cultural identities and communities.
Hear their stories firsthand.
How is Kinship Care Unique?
For every 1 child raised by kin in foster care, there are approximately 16 being raised by kin outside of the child welfare system. In nearly all child welfare cases, the county Departments of Human Services directly contact kin when a child or youth needs an out-of-home placement.
There are two types of kinship care:
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1. Non-Certified Kinship Care
In non-certified kinship care, child welfare is involved but the kin have chosen not to pursue the process. Non-certified kin who wish to become certified should reach out to the county where the child(ren)’s case originated to start the process.
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2. Kinship Foster Care
In kinship foster care, the kinship caregivers become certified and receive the same monthly reimbursement and supportive services as traditional foster parents.
Resources for Kinship Caregivers in Colorado
Whether you’re already a kinship caregiver or are interested in becoming one, there are plenty of resources out there to help you navigate the process, including:
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Be the Source, which offers family advocacy, training, therapeutic services, relief services and more for foster and kinship families. -
Foster Parent College, which offers free training for foster parents and kinship caregivers in English and Spanish. -
Grandfamilies.org, which serves as a national legal resource in support of grandfamilies within and outside the child welfare system. -
Colorado Department of Human Services’ Kinship website, which provides a resource guide and other information for kinship caregivers.
Have Questions?
- Do I have to be related to a child or youth in order to provide kinship care?
- What are the rights of kinship caregivers?
- Do I have to be certified as a kinship foster parent in order to care for a relative or kin child or youth?
- Can children be placed with a relative before approval?