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Redefining Kin to Maintain Family Connections
Real-Life Stories
Child Welfare Information Gateway
National Foster Care Month: 2019
2 p.
Public Domain
Child Welfare Information Gateway
Administration on Children, Youth, and Families
Children's Bureau, 3rd Floor
330 C Street, SW
Washington, DC 20201
Tel: 800.394.3366
703.385.7565
Fax: 703.385.3206
info@childwelfare.gov
Download: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/rls19_familyconnections.pdf
Highlights one woman's foster care placement as a young adult with a family she describes as her own "kin." As a teenager in Texas, she was asked to choose between remaining in a kinship placement with a member of her biological family and changing to traditional foster care with a family not biologically related to her. She chose to move into foster care. She says her foster family is the one she considers her true family, and they have redefined the meaning of the word "kin" for her. Her foster family encouraged her to maintain connections with her biological family members and made sure she would be able to sustain those relationships later in life. This Real-Life Story was developed as part of National Foster Care Month 2019.
Keywords:
OUT OF HOME CARE; RESILIENCE; FOSTER ADOLESCENTS; POST PLACEMENT; FOSTER CARE; TEMPORARY PLACEMENT; KINSHIP CARE