- When children cannot remain with their parents, care by relatives or close family friends is associated with better outcomes than placement with foster families with whom they have no prior relationship or placement in institutional care.
- Many of these care arrangements are informal and are not in official records, so better information is needed.
- Social programs can reach those who take on caregiving responsibilities, even if they are not the child's parents.
If we close our eyes and think about who has cared for us throughout our lives, chances are more than one name will come to mind: parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers, friends, neighbors, and other paid and unpaid caregivers. This network is particularly important at certain stages of life, such as childhood. To help strengthen it, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) supports countries in the region through its early childhood programs.
For some children, their parents cannot be the main source of care, either temporarily or permanently. This can happen, for example, when they are incarcerated, have a physical or mental health condition that prevents them from providing care, or have lost custody.
In those situations, turning to the people who are already part of a child’s life can make a big difference. Research suggests that prioritizing kinship care, meaning care by relatives or by non-relatives with whom the child has a close bond, is associated with better mental health, behavioral, social, and educational outcomes. By contrast, the risks are higher for children placed in foster families and, above all, in institutional care.
Raising children requires a significant investment of time, care, and financial resources, yet caregivers often receive little support. Children thrive when the people who care for them are well supported. Policies can therefore act in three areas:
- Expand access to existing programs for caregivers.
Existing programs should also include non-parental caregivers. For example, with support from the IDB, Argentina has strengthened its cash transfers for low-income households with dependent children, including the Universal Child Allowance (AUH). Non-parental caregivers can also receive the AUH if they provide proof of legal custody or undergo a social assessment.
The IDB has also supported Peru in strengthening the Cuna Más National Program, an early childhood development policy that aims to ensure that children under 36 months living in poverty receive quality care through daytime care services at childcare centers and home visiting programs. Services are also available for children living with non-parental caregivers.
- Create specific support for caregivers.
In addition to facilitating access to existing programs, some countries have created specific programs and benefits for non-parental caregivers.
In the United States, Kinship Navigator Programs help caregivers learn about how to access benefits and services. These programs can receive federal funding both to operate and to develop and evaluate new models.
At the local level, the Washington, D.C. Grandparents and Close Relatives Caregiver Programs provide a monthly payment to those who care for their grandchildren or other close relatives. To apply, caregivers must show proof of their relationship with the child and of their status as the child’s primary caregiver. Primary caregiver status can be proven with a court order granting custody or guardianship, or with an adoption decree. Other accepted documents include school or medical records and proof that caregivers have applied for public assistance for the child.
- Improve data on kinship care.
Most kinship care arrangements are informal: parents agree that a relative or someone close to the child will take over their care, without a judge or a child protection agency getting involved. This leaves little information about their circumstances and about the people who care for them.
Household surveys and censuses can still help estimate how many children live with relatives instead of their parents. However, these sources rarely show why the arrangement was made or what caregivers need. To fill this gap, countries can add questions to existing surveys, such as why the child lives with a caregiver and what support that caregiver needs. Time-use surveys and early childhood development surveys could be a good starting point.
Those who step in when parents are unable to care for their children play a fundamental role. The challenge is to ensure that these caregivers do not have to do it alone or remain invisible to public policy.
Recognizing these forms of care is also part of building care systems that respond to the diversity of families’ needs and realities.
Through IDB Cares, the IDB collaborates with countries of the region in the implementation of care systems and makes available an interactive menu with recent programs developed together with governments.