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Kinship Caregiving

You're raising a child who isn't yours — a grandchild, niece, nephew, or younger sibling. Maybe their parents can't care for them due to substance use, incarceration, illness, or death. Maybe it happened suddenly. Maybe it happened so gradually you didn't notice you'd become the primary caregiver until it was already true.

2.7 million children in the United States are raised by relatives other than their parents1. Most kinship caregivers are grandparents. Many are on fixed incomes. Most didn't plan for this.

What makes kinship caregiving different

You may not have legal authority. Without formal custody or guardianship, you can't enroll the child in school, consent to medical treatment, or add them to your insurance. Getting legal authority costs money, takes time, and may require navigating the family court system.

The financial pressure is immediate. Children need food, clothing, school supplies, and medical care now — not after a months-long benefits application process. Many kinship caregivers are retired or on fixed incomes. The sudden expense of raising a child can destabilize everything.

The emotional situation is complicated. You're grieving the situation that brought the child to you. The child may be grieving too — or angry, or confused, or all three. Your relationship with the child's parent may be strained, broken, or nonexistent.

The system wasn't designed for you. Foster care has infrastructure — stipends, case workers, training. Kinship caregivers often fall outside that system. You're doing the same work with fewer resources and less support.

First steps

This is the highest priority. Without it, you're limited in what you can do for the child.

  • Kinship care agreement — Some states allow an informal agreement with the parent granting temporary authority. Low-cost, fast, but limited.
  • Power of attorney — The parent grants you authority to make decisions. Relatively simple, can be revoked.
  • Legal guardianship — Court-ordered. More permanent, gives you full decision-making authority. Costs $200-2,000+ depending on whether it's contested.
  • Formal adoption — Most permanent option. Terminates the parent's rights. Significant legal process.

Contact your local Legal Aid office or Area Agency on Aging (1-800-677-1116) for free legal guidance specific to your state.

Apply for financial support

You may qualify for:

  • TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) — Cash assistance for the child. In most states, you can apply for a "child-only" TANF grant without your own income being counted.
  • SNAP (food stamps) — The child can be added to your household for food assistance.
  • Medicaid / CHIP — Health coverage for the child, regardless of your income in most states.
  • Kinship Navigator Programs — Federally funded programs (via Family First Prevention Services Act) that help kinship caregivers find and access services. Available in most states.
  • Social Security benefits — If the child's parent is deceased, disabled, or retired, the child may be eligible for survivor or dependent benefits.
  • National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP) — Specifically serves grandparents and older relatives raising children. Provides respite, counseling, supplemental services, and information2.

Find peer support

  • Generations United (gu.org) — National organization focused on grandfamilies. Policy advocacy, state-by-state resources, and support networks.
  • AARP GrandFamilies — Resources, legal guides, and state-specific benefit information for grandparents raising grandchildren.
  • Kinship care support groups — Many communities have local groups. Start with your Area Agency on Aging (1-800-677-1116) or search through NFCSP.
  • Money & Benefits — Full program directory, including TANF, SNAP, SSI, and state-specific programs
  • Legal & Navigation — Guardianship, power of attorney, school enrollment
  • Children — Pediatric caregiving pressures and resources
  • People & Support — Isolation, family dynamics, support networks

If you need help now

Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116 — connects you to local kinship care services, legal aid, and NFCSP programs.

**Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline**: **1-800-422-4453** — 24/7, if the child has experienced abuse or neglect.

  1. AARP/NAC. "Caregiving in the United States 2025." Source → ↩

  2. ACL. "2024 Report to Congress on the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers." Source → ↩