September is National Kinship Care Month

About 2.5 million children in the U.S. live in kinship families, being raised by grandparents, other relatives, or close family friends. A growing number of grandparents and other kin provide stability, care, and a sense of belonging to children when they cannot live with their parents. Yet these families often lack access to the supports and services they need.

National Kinship Care Month raises awareness of kinship and grandfamilies' unique strengths and challenges.It's an opportunity to listen to caregivers, share insights and experiences, and re-commit to building stronger support systems for all.

ACL works across aging, disability, and caregiving systems to strengthen services for kinship families. At the heart of this work is the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network (GKSN), the first-ever national technical assistance center dedicated to improving programs and policies for kinship caregivers. Many systems and services were not designed with kinship families in mind, making it challenging for them to get support. ACL and its partners, including GKSN grantee Generations United, help communities identify and address barriers.

To mark this month, ACL released a GKSN milestones infographichighlighting accomplishments that include publishing more than 100 original resources and responding to over a thousand requests for assistance.

Featured GKSN Resources

• Kinship/Grandfamilies Data- Statistics on the number of children in kinship families and the implications for families and the nation
• Kinship Matters to…- Brochures exploring how kinship families intersect with different systems (aging, disability, child welfare, housing)
• Resource Guide for Providers- Links, tips, and toolkits to help those supporting kinship families

ACL also supports various programs, councils, and research projects that strengthen caregiving across the lifespan. Explore these efforts on ACL's Support to Caregivers page.

Please join ACL in recognizing the contributions of kinship and grandfamilies this month and throughout the year.