Family, Children, and Older Adults: Kinship Care under DFACS
Introduction
Kinship care involves placing a child in the care of a close family member or relative if his parents cannot care for him. Kinship care continues to grow in popularity in the Georgian DFCS, or Division of Family and Children Services. The strategy helps preserve cultural identity or family bonds, and it continues to be the main point in addressing child welfare issues.
Background Information
The DFCS historically prioritized kinship placements, which are intended to maintain a child’s connections with his community or family. Over ten years ago, Georgia started a Kinship Navigator Program, which signaled the commitment to offer support and resources to kinship caregivers in the state. Recently, the programs have brought caregiver satisfaction and placement stability (Georgia Department of Human Services, 2022).
Discussion
Kinship care’s care benefits are stressed by its advocates. Kinship care reduces trauma among children, improves behavioral results compared to foster care, where children live with non-relatives, and preserves cultural ties (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2025). Nevertheless, challenges like inadequate financial help and lack of comprehensive training for caregivers persist, complicating caregiving scenarios (Casey Family Programs, 2023). Therefore, efficiency in policy development is attained when these perspectives are balanced.
Kinship care offers stability or continuity to a child and helps serve a child’s best interests. It should be provided to optimize a child’s developmental outcomes. Financial assistance should also be provided to caregivers to ensure efficiency in performing their responsibilities. Training programs should be made more accessible to caregivers, and continuous support should also be assured in their workplaces. Strengthening kinship care through these incentives will improve kinship care efficiency under the DFCS frameworks.
Conclusion
Child welfare benefits from implementing kinship care programs. The challenges impacting kinship care should be identified and addressed. DFCS can guarantee the viability or benefits presented by kinship care to children if it provides appropriate resources or support to caregivers and kinship programs. Therefore, DFCS should invest in kinship care to improve children’s well-being. Failure to finance these programs or provide continuous training to caregivers will adversely impact kinship care.
References
Casey Family Programs. (2023). Kinship care resources.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2025). Kinship care.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/permanency/kinship-care
Georgia Department of Human Services. (2022). Kinship navigator program FFY 2021-2022 evaluation findings. https://dhs.georgia.gov/document/document/2nd-year-kinship- navigator-program-evaluation-fy21-22/download