Kinship Care: the African American Response to Family Preservation

The number of children entering the foster care system is increasing at an alarming rate. The increase in children entering foster care, compounded by political, economic, and social factors, has created a phenomenon in the African American community--formal kinship care. Formal kinship care is defined as a system through which the state or county has custody of the child but a relative takes care of the child. This article discusses increased kinship care as a resilient response by the African American community. The strengths and resilience of the African American family can be attributed in part to a strong kinship network. In this manner, the African American community is preserving the family. This community clearly needs support through imaginative social work policies and practice.