Public Opinion and Kinship Care: Does Societal Values Influence the Passage of Bills?

Kinship care is a growing trend in the field of social work as more children become wards of the state due to multiple social problems (Stukes Chipungu, Bent-Goodley, 2004). Kinship care is defined as a family situation where a minor child, under the age of eighteen years of age, resides full time with a person who is either a relative or a known friend of the family, which is also called a fictive kin. It can be either formal foster care placement or one that is done informally, which leaves the care provider without legal guardianship and does not receive state benefits (Ziminski, 2007). I explored the question of whether kinship care represents societal values or if it is necessary occurrence due to financial issues surrounding the care of children under state’s care. The Kinship Care Public Opinion Survey was sent out participants in six rural and urban areas in Kentucky to explore the premise that societal values do play a role in the passage of kinship care legislation. Those respondents with previous personal experiences with kinship care had more positive outlooks on the issue (rural-100%, urban-73%). Both rural and urban participants were willing to become kinship care providers (rural-66.7%, urban-68.2%) and responded positively to voting to support legislation that would make equal resources available for kinship care families. A disparity in the groups surveyed between rural and urban participants regarding whether kinship care was an obligation suggests that societal values may not be easily identified. This may be why legislation such as the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoption Incentives of 2008 was passed, but has failed to be funded. This lack of funding leaves valuable resources for kinship care families untapped, and may suggest that a division exists within our society, regarding values that have led to this contradictory behavior by legislators