What is kinship care?

Kinship care, or family caring for family, is a natural, out-of-home placement option for children that successfully meets their need for safety, permanency and well-being. 

Impact

Better Outcomes for Children

Children in care have already experienced the trauma of being removed from their homes and families. Placing them with strangers only compounds that trauma. Placing them in the homes of relatives or fictive kin reduces the chance for further trauma, while at the same time maintains their connection to their communities and cultures.

Model

A Value for Family

As the only agency in the country that exclusively delivers services to the entire kinship triad (child, caregiver and birth family), our approach is pure kinship. We provide strengths-based, trauma-informed, culturally competent kinship care services that support stability and continuity and maintain a child's cultural identity and contact with their birth family.

Values

What Is Important to Us?

As a nationally recognized leader in kinship care services, A Second Chance, Inc., is dedicated to upholding the highest professional standards. In the service of children, we respect the families and communities we serve, as well as our own staff. This has been a priority since our inception.

How We Have Helped


ASCI has served approximately 31,000 children, 10,000 kinship caregivers and 30,000 birth parents since its founding.

Reunification

70% of our children reach reunification within the first year of service.

70%

Education

98% of our youth graduate high school, compared to the national average of 50%.

98%

Adoption

78% of our children have closed to adoption.

78%
Community
How to Apply for TANF Child-Only Grants & SNAP: A Guide for Kinship Caregivers

When you unexpectedly become responsible for caring for a relative’s child, your focus is naturally on making sure they are safe, supported, and cared for. But providing that care can…

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Children's Health
The Essential Kinship Care Supply Guide: What to Gather and Shop for Right Away

Taking in a family member in a moment’s notice is an act of profound love. It’s also often a blur, from rifling through your linen closets at midnight to standing…

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Children's Health
Understanding Childhood Trauma & Displacement

When a grandchild, niece, nephew, or younger sibling comes to live with you, your home becomes a haven. You open your doors out of deep love and family commitment. Yet,…

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ASCI Youth
How to Talk to Your Kinship Child About Their Parents

Compassionate conversations that build trust, preserve identity, and strengthen family bonds. “Why can’t I live with my mom?”“Does my dad still love me?” These are some of the hardest questions…

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