Kinship Care, Public Policy, and the Best Interests of Children

48 p. ; An outstanding student paper selected as a Honors Paper.This article characterizes kinship care arrangements, surveys the problems with which kinship caregivers contend, and considers the advantages and disadvantages of kinship care. In addition, it examines federal statutes that have implications for kinship relationships, analyzes them in light of the best interests of children, and weighs the relative rights of states, parents, children, and kinship caregivers. Various state measures to implement these policies and to develop kinship care programs are canvassed throughout the article. It concludes with an exploration of legislative and legal alternatives available to assist kinship families, followed by the author's recommendations