Kinship Care


Kinship Care is the full-time nurturing and protection of a child by relatives, or any other adult who has a kinship bond, or long standing relationship, with a child.  Kinship care allows families to ensure the children in their care are safe and have a sense of belonging that maintain family connections. This type of commitment provides the permanency children and families need and may help secure the relationship of all family members.

These placement arrangements sometimes are made informally, between family members or "kin" during a crisis situation.  Children Services also considers kinship placements as the first option for children who have been removed from their parents as a result of abuse or neglect.

There are a growing number of families in Licking County who find themselves caring for a grandchild, niece, nephew or child of a family friend.  To support those families, the Licking County Department of Job & Family Services developed the Kinship Navigator Program.  The Kinship Navigator helps locate kinship providers for the children who are placed in the Agency's custody. The Kinship Navigator completes homestudies and provides support to those kinship families.  Additionally, the Navigator provides supportive services to any kinship family in the Licking County community by linking families with resources such as: Legal assistance, financial assistance, educational assistance, childcare, respite, and referrals to other needed services.

This Kinship Navigator program also sponsors a support group called "It’s All Relative." The mission of the "It's all Relative" group is to provide education, support and empowerment to all kinship caregivers, to strengthen family relationships, and to enhance the lives of children both emotionally and socially. The group meets on the first Saturday of each month from 6 to 8pm.  Dinner and childcare are provided.  Please call Sandy Williams at the number below for more information about the support group.

All of the above services are open to anyone in the community who is caring for children on a kinship basis. Please call 670-8735 for further information or with any questions you may have.


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