I first learned about the Kinship Services program at Catholic Community Services of Western Washington (CCSWW) from a seller of ours last year. As an adoptive mom, I understand well that family circumstances can sometimes mean that a child cannot stay with their birthparents long-term. Kinship caregivers include "grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings and others caring for family members' children when circumstances prevent their parents from caring for them." According to CCSWW, in King County alone, there are a out 18,000 kinship caregivers.
When the need for kinship caregiving arises, sometimes those chosen caregivers need some support themselves.
CCSWW Kinship Services offers resources, including a Navigator program to help family members connect with advocacy and referral resources, support groups, child care, housing, financial support, and many other resources. There is a King County Kinship Collaboration to help respond in a coordinated and comprehensive way, and a number of external partners who work together to fulfill identified needs.
If you know someone needing this support, I hope you find the resources on this page helpful. If you would like to support this important work providing help to local families during a trying time, please consider donating here.
Learning about organizations doing valuable work like this has been an enlightening part of my real estate mission, and I'm thrilled to be able to make a contribution and share these organizations with you.
