RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — September is Kinship Care Awareness Month and advocates are hoping to educate Virginians about the benefits of kinship foster care in Virginia.
Kinship care is when a child lives with a relative or family friend if they’re removed from their parent’s home due to abuse, neglect or other reasons, instead of being placed with a stranger in foster care.
“The very first place we should be looking for a home when a child is removed [from their home] is that family tree,” said Nancy Toscano, President and CEO of UMFS, a non-profit that works to promote kinship foster care.
Currently, only 16% of the children placed in foster care in Virginia are placed with kinship families, which is well below the national average. Toscano says that’s a problem, because research shows kids are better off being placed with someone they know.
“That helps with normalcy, it helps them feel quicker to belong,” Tosacno told 8News. “It’s less scary than going to a stranger, which is understandable. It helps them stay connected to the rest of their family unit and their friends and their neighborhood.”