Understand Kinship Care Resources for Kinship Caregivers Vermont Kin as Parent (VKAP) Kinship Guardianship Vermont Foster/Adoptive Family Alliance

Foster a Child in State Custody Resources for Foster Parents Vermont Foster/Adoptive Family Alliance (VFAFA)

Vermont Consortium for Adoption and Guardianship website Adopt a Waiting Child in Vermont Vermont Foster/Adoptive Family Alliance

Kin Peer Support Support Groups for Adoptive and Guardianship Families Facebook - Vermont Trauma Lens Instagram - Vermont Trauma Lens For additional group connections, contact your FSD/DCF Resource Coordinator.

Uplifting Kinship Care Families – Vermont Child Welfare Training Partnership

Uplifting Kinship Care Families

September 29, 2025

Kinship caregivers are people who are raising, temporarily or permanently, the children of relatives or friends. We’re nearing the end of the official National Kinship Care Month. But always, beyond this dedicated month, it continues to be crucial to learn about the experiences of Vermont’s kinship caregivers and to appreciate the tremendous efforts of kinship caregivers and those who work with them.

Knowing that community increases resilience for all of us, it is also important for each of us to continue to uplift the stories, efforts, and needs of kinship caregivers, and the children and youth in their care, in the unique ways we can.

If you are a kinship caregiver, take a moment to breathe deeply and appreciate the good you are doing—even, or maybe especially, if raising your relatives sometimes feels challenging. If you are a friend or community member, consider ways you might be able to support the kinship caregivers in your life. Sharing dinner together sometimes, helping a child with homework, or offering a listening ear may benefit you as well as the families you support. If you work with kinship families, take some to appreciate the hard work you’ve already done. And consider whether brainstorming with colleagues or with kinship families themselves might help you think of creative new ways to assist and support.

The highlighted resources below will help you access resources and grow your knowledge.

Especially for kinship caregivers

If you are a kinship caregiver, know that Vermont Kin as Parents offers support groups, resources for parenting and daily living, and other opportunities to connect and learn. Find out more here.

Resources shared on this DCF page of Resources for Kinship Caregivers include guides on parenting as a kinship caregiver, as well as benefits and supports available.

Strategies for your own self-care, as well as ways to address the unique care needs of the children and youth in your care, can be found here.

Here are a variety of books, blogs, videos, and other resources recommended by kinship caregivers.

Especially for those who work with kinship caregivers:

If you work with kinship caregivers, these videos by Joseph Crumbley can help you guide them as they make tough decisions and work to create stability for the young people in their homes.

For anyone who wants to learn more:

Discover the experiences of some kinship caregivers on this Kinship Caregivers Connect page with links to videos, blogposts, and more.