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When Patti Tiro heard that her cousin was pregnant, she worried. The cousin had a history of drug abuse. Soon Patti and her husband, Oscar, were asked by family members whether they would consider caring for this cousin’s child. They had already fostered several children and welcomed the opportunity to nurture another.
Case Manager Sara Bitting describes this arrangement as “kinship” foster care, saying, “This is a great way for children to keep healthy relationships within their extended family. Kinship care supports those connections and provides the child with stability.” Patti and Oscar fostered Miryam for three years before adopting her and felt that their story had a very happy ending.
But there was more. Two years ago, Miryam’s birth mother, still wrestling with addiction, gave birth to a boy, Edgar. By then Patti and Oscar had allowed their fostering license to lapse but worked quickly to renew it and bring Edgar home.
Kinship care often occurs informally when relatives start babysitting a child, gradually assume full-time care and don’t see a need for a license. They may not know that a foster license can qualify a family for assistance from the State. For example, baby Edgar has required several surgeries for a medical condition as well as treatment for significant delays in speech and movement. His legal status in the foster care system allows a case manager to monitor his progress and advocate for him. The State can also assist the foster parents with costly prescriptions and appointments with specialists.
“Patti and Oscar have never wavered in their love and support of Edgar,” Bitting says. “They included him in their family from the very beginning and finalized his adoption this fall.”
Edgar is a happy two-year-old who constantly smiles, laughs and follows his big sister everywhere. Miryam, now seven, is devoted to him. Because of kinship adoption, both Edgar and Miryam will grow up with family traditions and a strong sense of cultural identity.
If you know someone caring for a relative’s child, please share this article about kinship care. For details, call 800-888-1904 or write to info@pchas.org.