Family Practice Nursing Commons^™

Support Of The Informal Kinship Care Family, Emily J. Hansen

Theses and Graduate Projects

Most children cannot imagine living without their parents; for some though, because of social instability, substance abuse, or parental neglect, life apart from their parents is the reality. When these children are cared for by a relative or a close family friend without the involvement of a child welfare agency, the family that is created is known as an informal kinship care family. Because of the fluid nature of these families, little is known about them, leaving this group disadvantaged and neglected by the health care community. After a review of the existing literature, observation of informal kinship care families, …