DYI: In 2019-2020, 29% of children and youth needing temporary out of home placements in Ontario lived with kin families.
It’s Kin Awareness Week!
At The Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa, we’re celebrating the important role kin families play in supporting children and youth.
What is Kinship?
We know that children do best when they reside with family. If a child cannot live at home with their parents, the goal is to have them live with people they have established relationships with. Kin providers can be family members, neighbours, community members or someone who simply has an emotional connection with the child or youth.
Kinship families form an integral part of the child’s life, whether it be for a short period of time until the child is able to safely return to their parents, or become a permanent home for that child providing them with a safe, stable and nurturing home. Either way, they become part of the child’s support network.
Kinship placements are important to protect the cultural and racial identity of children and youth in child welfare
Hear from One Vision One Voice Program Manager Keishia Facey as she explains how history and anti-Black racism play into this for the African Canadian community. Click here to watch the video.
Learn More:
- Kinship Families: Keeping Kids Connected
- A letter from Kelly to her local Children’s Aid Society’s Kin Team describing the first year with her nephew Ethan
- Research* shows that broad kin networks are directly linked to better outcomes for children and youth in the child welfare system. Here are 5 reasons why child welfare is increasingly collaborating with community members to keep children and youth safe
