Kinship Care Awareness Month

Kinship Care Awareness Month celebrates families who take care of children when their parents cannot. This care often comes from grandparents, aunts, uncles, or even close family friends. These caregivers provide children love, safety, and a sense of belonging. Sometimes kinship care happens through the court system, but other times it’s an informal arrangement within the family. Kinship care has many benefits. Kids often stay in the same schools and neighborhoods. They keep important family and cultural traditions. They feel safer and more connected.

But kinship caregivers face challenges. They may struggle with money, finding services, or understanding the legal system. Many of them give all they can but don’t always know where to go for help. In Minnesota, there are programs to support kinship families. These programs, called navigator services, connect caregivers with things like financial help, legal advice, and support groups. The goal is to make sure families don’t feel alone and that kids can stay in loving homes.

In Rochester, Family Resource Center (FRC) is a place these kinship care families can turn to. A service of Family Service Rochester, FRC is a welcoming space for all families. FRC is the only center of its kind in Minnesota to provide a special focus on Kinship Caregivers. FRC is especially focused on serving families in these informal arrangements.

FRC offers support and resources, including legal information and referrals, a support group tailored to relative caregivers, and resource navigation to help access support and services. By recognizing the importance of kinship care in providing continuity and stability for children, this support ensure that kinship caregivers are not left to manage alone and helps keep children in safe, loving, and familiar environments with their families.

The FRC offers playgroups for kids and caregivers to spend time together, parenting support and caregiver groups and, help with basic needs like food, diapers, housing, and childcare. FRC is designed to be a hub where families can learn, play, and connect. Staff at the FRC believe every family deserves support, no matter what their situation looks like.

Kinship caregivers make sure children have stability and care. But they can’t do it all alone. Centers like FRC remind caregivers that their community is here to help. If you’d like to support FRC, you can donate, volunteer, or spread the word about FRC's kinsip caregiver support.