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Caring for Children and Youth Through Kinship or Out of Care Arrangements

Last updated on June 5, 2026

On this page

  • What is kinship care
  • Why family, community, and culture matter
  • Types of kinship care
  • How to become a kinship care provider
  • Support available for kinship care providers  
  • Stories from kinship care providers
  • Helpful resources
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What is kinship care?

Kinship Care and Out-of-Care Arrangements are two terms used to describe the same type of caregiving, where a child or youth is cared for by someone they know and trust outside of their parents or guardians’ home.

When a child or youth can’t live with their parents or guardians, it’s best if they stay with someone they know. This is called kinship care, or sometimes an “out-of-care” arrangement. Kinship care means a child or youth lives with extended family or other trusted adults—including those they share a cultural or traditional connection with. This option is preferred when a child or youth can’t stay in their family home because it helps them stay connected to their family, community, and culture. Kinship care may be part of a plan made by the family or Indigenous community, together with the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) or an Indigenous Child and Family Service Agency (ICFSA), when a child or youth can’t live with their parents or guardians.

While every situation is unique the primary goals of kinship care include working towards reunification with parents or guardians wherever possible and ensuring the child or youth’s voice is included in all decisions that affect them.

Did you know? 

Research shows that children and youth who live with extended family or familiar trusted adults often have more positive outcomes at school, socially, and have greater mental and emotional well-being than those placed with unfamiliar caregivers.

 

Why family, community, and culture matter

If you’re a family member or relative of a child who needs care, you may be able to give them a safe and supportive home. You play an important role in helping the child stay connected to who they are and where they come from.

If a child or youth isn’t living with their parent or family, the law says we must regularly assess to determine if they can return home.

 

Types of kinship care

There are three types of kinship care. For all these arrangements, the provincial government may offer monthly financial support to help with the child or youth’s care. Additional supports may also be available based on assessed needs.

Extended Family Program (EFP)

  • The Extended Family Program (EFP) supports situations where a parent voluntarily gives permission for a relative or close family friend to care for their child or youth temporarily. The parent or guardian continues to have legal guardianship during this time.
  • Extended Family Program [EFP] Flyer (PDF, 2MB)

Temporary Custody – Court Ordered

Permanent Custody – Court Ordered

  • If a child or youth has lived outside their parent’s home and can’t return, a long‐term plan is created. This may include a permanent custody order.
  • If a permanent order is granted, the care provider becomes the child's permanent legal guardian.

If you’re thinking about kinship care, a child welfare worker can help you understand the options available for the child or youth and their family.

A Note About the British Columbia Family Law Act:

Under the Family Law Act (FLA), a person who has a relationship with the child—such as a relative or someone who has previously cared for the child—can apply for a guardianship order or an access (visitation) order. An FLA application must be made by the person requesting guardianship or access.

The applicant is responsible for all legal costs, and MCFD or an Indigenous Child and Family Service Agency (ICFSA) does not provide financial support for these court proceedings.

Although guardianship under the FLA is considered a form of kinship care, these arrangements are not facilitated by MCFD or an Indigenous Child and Family Service Agency (ICFSA). Families with an FLA guardianship order are not eligible for kinship care services or financial support offered through MCFD or an Indigenous Child and Family Service Agency (ICFSA).

If you’re thinking about applying for guardianship through the Family Law Act (FLA), it’s important to speak with a family lawyer to learn more about your options.

 

What kinship care looks like

Kinship care providers take on parenting responsibilities, which include:

  • Meeting the child or youth’s basic needs— including food, shelter, clothing, health care, supervision, and school support—and assisting with transportation, family visits, appointments, and cultural or recreational activities.
  • Creating a safe and caring home where the child or youth feels they belong.
  • Helping the child or youth maintain connection with their parents, family, and other important people in their life.
  • Facilitating the child or youth’s continued connection to their culture, heritage, language, territory and spiritual believes, and enabling meaningful participation in their cultural communities, traditions and customary practices.
  • In EFP and Temporary court-ordered out of care arrangements, the child welfare worker arranges regular visits with the child or youth—at minimum every 90 days. As a care provider, your role is to support and help make sure these visits take place.
 

How to become a kinship care provider

Step 1: Start the Conversation

Talk to a child welfare worker about your interest in caring for a child or youth you know. If you know who the child welfare worker is supporting the child or youth and family, they will be your first point of contact. If you aren’t sure who the child welfare worker supporting the family is, you can access the following links for office listings: 

If you have immediate child protection concerns, contact Provincial Centralized Screening
at 1-800-663-9122  

Step 2: Meet With the Child Welfare Worker

You’ll meet with the child or youth’s child welfare worker—by phone, virtually, or in person. In the meeting with the child welfare worker, you can expect questions to be asked to help better understand the family's circumstances.  

Step 3: Participate in an Assessment

Take part in an assessment to make sure the arrangement is a good fit for both the child or youth and yourself. This assessment looks at readiness, capacity, and commitment, and includes:    

  • Home visit(s) 
  • Conversations with everyone living in your home 
  • Reference checks with friends and family 
  • A review of child welfare history for anyone 18 or older living in the home or with unsupervised access to the child or youth 
  • Criminal record checks for you and anyone 18 or older living in the home or with unsupervised access to the child or youth

The assessment may vary depending on the type of out of care arrangement from short term to permanent care.  

The child welfare worker will consider: 

  • Your connection to the child or youth
  • How you can meet their needs 
  • What supports you may need 
  • The safety of the home  

Every situation is different. The goal is to understand how to best support both you and the child or youth. The assessment looks at your current situation and your relationship with the child or youth and their family.  The child welfare worker will create a summary that describes your connection to the child or youth and their family, how you can meet the child or youth’s needs, and what supports might help you both.

Did you know?

Having a criminal record, child welfare history, or health concerns does not automatically prevent you from becoming a kinship care provider. The assessment looks at your current situation and your relationship with the child or youth and their family—and considers the context of any past circumstances.

Step 4: Make a plan

The child welfare worker, the family, and the kinship care provider work together to create a plan for the child or youth. If the child is Indigenous, their Indigenous community may also be involved in planning. This plan outlines the services and supports needed to help the child or youth thrive and support reunification with their parents

The child welfare worker will create a summary that describes your connection to the child or youth and their family, how you will be able can meet the child or youth’s needs, and what supports might help you both. Every situation is different. The goal is to understand how to best support the care provider and the child or youth during this time.

Step 5: Stay Connected and Support

The plan is reviewed regularly to make sure it continues to meet the child or youth’s needs. There may be ongoing meetings with the child welfare worker and other members of the child of youth’s circle.

Depending on the arrangement, the child welfare worker must have private in-person visits with the child or youth at least every 90 days, and more often whenever possible. 

 

Support available for kinship care providers

Every family is different. The kind of support available depends on the child or youth’s needs and the care provider’s situation. Approved kinship care providers may receive:

  • Monthly payments to help cover daily costs:
    • Age 11 and under: $1,549.20 (current as of July 2025)  
    • Age 12 to 19: $1,726.33 (current as of July 2025)  
  • Training and education opportunities for care providers
  • Extra supports may be available for children and youth with complex needs (see Enhanced Out-of-Care section below)

Depending on the care arrangement and the needs of the child or youth, some care providers may also be eligible for:

  • Health and dental benefits for the child or youth
  • Federal tax benefits
  • Cultural supports
  • Help with childcare costs

If a child or youth is in kinship arrangement, eligibility for Federal Benefits may vary. Care providers can contact the Canada Revenue Agency to learn about eligibility for Federal Benefits such as:

Enhanced Out-of-Care

Some children and youth in kinship care have complex needs. After an assessment by a child welfare worker, the care provider may qualify for extra support through an Enhanced Out-of-Care Support Agreement.

To learn more, please visit the Enhanced Out-of-Care page.

Did you know?

Even if you’re not able to be a full-time care provider, you can still support a child or youth in meaningful ways. This might include visits, helping with transportation, offering mentorship, or providing respite care. Talk to the child or youth’s child welfare worker to learn how you can be a part of their circle of support

 

Stories from kinship care providers

Hear from kinship care providers about their experiences supporting children and youth—and the impact of staying connected to family, culture, and community.

 

 

Grandparents who are looking after a grandchild should find out if the child's parents are interested in accessing services that can help.

Get more information from:

Adoption is one way to provide a permanent home for some children and teens.

Youth Agreements offer an alternative for teens (16 to 18 years old) who feel at risk in their current care arrangement and there’s no parent or other adult who can take responsibility for them.