This toolkit was developed to support child and parent attorneys' advocacy for kinship placements for their clients/client’s children through trial and appellate advocacy, as well as outside of the court setting. This toolkit includes federal and state law and policy resources, and a comprehensive overview of social science articles and research studies on the benefits of kinship care.

The Alliance for Children’s Rights, the Step Up Coalition, and a wide range of state and local partners created a Resource Family Approval Toolkit  designed to help walk  California caregivers through the newly implemented Resource Family Approval process (2017). 

Toolkit created by the Alliance for Children’s Rights, the Step Up Coalition, and a wide range of state and local partners. The toolkit is designed to help walk caregivers through the newly implemented Resource Family Approval (RFA) process. It includes a narrative explaining RFA step-by-step, as well as an appendix full of supplemental tools and other materials referenced in the narrative. Also available in Spanish.

California’s Approved Relative Caregiver (ARC) Funding Option Program allows either approved relative caregivers caring for a nonfederally eligible foster child, or relatives who cannot get licensed but care for children under a court-ordered placement to receive per-child, per-month payments , if their county opts into the program. The funding is equal to the amount licensed foster parents receive. If a county has not opted into ARC, kin caregivers receive CalWORKs, California’s TANF program, which provides less financial assistance to the families.

A summary of the CARES Act and how it impacts grandfamilies is now available at www.gu.org/resources/cares-act-and-grandfamilies/. This document will be updated regularly so please visit the website, however you can view a pdf version here - CARES Act and Grandfamilies April 2020.