Kinship
Kinship Care and Healthcare
In Ohio, many children are cared for by relatives or close family friends in kinship care arrangements, providing them with stability and familiarity during challenging times. Kinship caregivers-often grandparents, aunts,…
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Why Understanding Kinship is Important to Schools
While your school may already strive to be welcoming for all children, there are several steps you can take to help children in kinship care be successful in school. Need…
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The Journey Is Only Beginning
I have spent the past twenty-five years providing social services for children afflicted with trauma. I began my career working with children who lived in a domestic violence shelter. I…
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What Celebrating the Holidays Looks Like for Kinship Families
When you sit and think about your favorite childhood memories, what comes to mind? For me, it’s the holiday season. It starts with Halloween, goes right into Thanksgiving and Christmas…
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A Community Comes Together to Support a Family
An aunt and uncle have legal custody of their 4-year-old niece, who had been the victim of shaken baby syndrome at 4 months of age. As a result, she has…
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Interview with Veronica Burroughs
For OhioKAN’s second anniversary, we interviewed Veronica Burroughs, OhioKAN’s Project Manager from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Veronica has been with the program since its origin. We…
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A Kinship Family Story
Ashleigh Jordan takes care of five children. She’s a working single mom in Cincinnati who, with two kids of her own, took in three more. She’s what we call a…
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Coping with Feelings of Abandonment
Abandonment. The word alone can trigger feelings of angst, worry, isolation, rejection…the list is quite extensive. For many children finding themselves in a home away from their norm, emotions are…
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Bridging the Age Gap Between Kinship Caregivers and Children
My mother was 39 and my father was 37 when I was born. There were times when this age difference was challenging for me as a child. The almost 40-year…
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Road Trip of an Adoptive Mom
In 2008, our family adopted our youngest son from the foster care system. Prior to adoption, my husband and I dove in headfirst, educating ourselves on what to expect, researching,…
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