National Kinship Care Month: Love and Strength

This September, in recognition of National Kinship Care Month, Children’s Action Alliance honors the more than 57,000 kinship caregivers in Arizona – grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and extended family members who have stepped up to care for children when parents cannot.

Kinship caregivers are a stabilizing force in children’s lives. They help preserve family ties, cultural identity, and community connection. Yet, too often, these families take on full-time caregiving responsibilities with little to no preparation, support, or access to critical services.

The Caregivers' Message Is Clear: They Need Support.

At a January 2025 Kinship Caregiver Forum hosted by Children’s Action Alliance and Seeds Community Center in Tucson, families shared the realities they face of legal barriers, financial strain, and emotional trauma. Rural caregivers emphasized the urgent need for local access to mental health services, therapy, and specialists.

Too often, families are forced to choose between legal guardianship and accessing essential benefits. This creates unnecessary instability for families already doing everything they can.

Kinship Care Is a Solution That Can be Strengthened with Public Investment

Kinship care is proven to be one of the most stable, supportive, and effective options for children who cannot remain with their parents. We must ensure that caregivers are not penalized for doing the right thing. That means:

• Expanding access to financial support so more families can meet the needs of and care for their grandchildren, siblings, or other relatives—without falling into financial hardship. Children’s Action Alliance will continue to advocate for the restoration of support for kinship caregivers who are also raising children outside of the DCS system.

• Prioritizing trauma-informed, community-based mental health services in rural areas—so children and caregivers can access the support they need close to home.

• Protecting essential benefits when families pursue legal permanency—so they can provide long-term stability without losing the support that makes caregiving possible.

• Increasing public investment in kinship navigator programs—so families can easily connect to vital services like school enrollment, health care, and legal support.

Investing in Kinship Care Is Investing in Arizona’s Future

Kinship caregivers are raising the next generation of Arizonans. Their resilience should be met with meaningful support – legally, financially, and emotionally. The good news is that Arizona children are being placed with kinship caregivers at a much higher rate than the national rate.

Let’s ensure more kinship caregivers can survive and thrive when they take on the special duty of stepping in to care for children. This month, and every month, Children’s Action Alliance stands with kinship families.