The Special Needs of Children in Kinship Care

Summary

Over the past decade, grandparents have increasingly been called upon to raise their children's children because of family disruption often due to parental abandonment, death, or incarceration. This can be stressful for the grandparents, who may not get the financial assistance received by traditional foster parents. This article presents data from a school-based comprehensive multi-generation program in East Harlem (New York City). It explores environmental stressors associated with children coming into kinship care, and the special developmental, behavioral and school problems they may present. The impact on the grandparent caregivers is discussed, focusing on health status and access to care.

Key Words:

• Kinship care
• special needs
• grandchildren
• environmental stressors
• impact of caregiving on grandparents