At Lycoming Foster Care, we aim to provide as many helpful resources to our Foster and Adoptive Families as possible. Many of the families we work with are Kinship Families — a family that fosters children who are related to them or a non relative who has a positive pre-existing relationship with the child.
We recommend PA KinConnector as a great resource for Kinship Families.
PA KinConnector is an information, referral and education program for kinship caregivers in Pennsylvania. Kinship caregivers are blood and non-blood relatives (ie teachers, coaches, and family friends) who care for children when their biological parents can’t.
There are an estimated 202,000 children in Pennsylvania who live in households headed by grandparents or other relatives. More than 80,000 grandparents in Pennsylvania are responsible for the basic needs of their grandchildren, which accounts for about 164,000 children in kinship care.
The KinConnectors seek to assist these caregivers by providing information on financial assistance, legal information and referrals, and other issues caregivers face when raising children to provide stability and permanency in the home.
About Pennsylvania KinConnector Program
Connecting Kinship Families to Resources
PA KinConnector provides guidance, advice, and support for grandparents raising grandchildren and other relative and non-relative Kinship Caregivers
Pennsylvania KinConnector is a FREE and Confidential Resource Providing Empathy, Assistance, and Referral Services to Kinship Caregivers and their Families, as well as Childcare and Community Providers.
In addition to knowledgable and caring people you can talk to, we provide a library of resources you can read and download. If you find these helpful, stop back every once in a while as we continue to add new resources.
What does the KinConnector program provide?
KinConnector offers information, referral, and follow-up services to grandparents and other relatives raising children so they can understand and effectively use the benefits and services that they or the children need. KinConnector also helps agencies and providers tune into the needs of families headed by relatives, and provide education to the community about the kinship caregivers and the systems they must navigate.
Our KinConnectors assist kinship caregivers in finding and using programs and services to meet the needs of the children they’re raising, in addition to their own needs as caregivers. They also promote effective partnerships among public and private agencies to ensure kinship caregiver families are served.