A4 - Kinship Care: Managing Risk Factors Resulting from Changes in Family Dynamics, Roles, and Relationships

Stable and sustained kinship family arrangements require recognition that family dynamics, roles, and responsibilities change.  Identifying and understanding indicators of change is important in addressing related risk factors that impact kinship caregiver, birth parent, and child well-being. This workshop will explore changing family dynamics, roles, and relationships between the birth parents, kinship caregiver, and the child.  How these changes can result in risk factors impacting a caregiver's ability to provide protection, well-being, and permanence for children in their care will be discussed.  Goals and interventions for assisting caregivers in anticipating and managing risk factors will be covered through an interactive exchange between the presenters and the audience.  Workshop participants will have opportunity to identify implications for practice and how they might modify their individual practices and services to kinship families.

Presenter(s): Joseph Crumbley, Trainer, Consultant & Therapist,J enkintown, PA and Charlene Ingram, CWLA, Erial, NJ