The Kinship Care Resource Guide is a joint project developed by the Fairfax County Department of Family Services and Fairfax County Public Schools for grandparents and other adult relatives who have taken on the full responsibility of raising a child (or children) with whom they share a family bond. In this resource guide you will find program descriptions, eligibility criteria, costs and contact information for a variety of services in the Fairfax County area.

The complete resource guide is more than 100 pages. You may browse by chapter or download the full version (402KB in pdf format). You will need the free Adobe Reader installed on your computer in order to download these files.

To request the guide on CD or the print version, please call the DFS publications manager at 703-324-5870; TTY 703-222-9452.

Kinship Care Facts

• Kinship care is increasing as a result of family challenges, including serious mental and physical illness, financial difficulties, military responsibilities, substance abuse, incarceration, child abuse and neglect, AIDS, domestic violence and the death of the child’s parent.
• Kinship care families come from all geographic, economic, educational and racial or ethnic backgrounds.
• Nationwide,the number of kinship care families is growing, with more than six million children in the U.S. currently being raised by grandparents and other relatives.
• In Fairfax County, according to the 2000 Census, approximately 5,000 households identified themselves as having a grandparent responsible for the care of a grandchild or other relative child.

Resource Guide by Chapter

Table of Contents	PDF version	Web version
Introduction	PDF version	Web version
Child Care Services	PDF version	Web version
Child Safety and Child Abuse Prevention	PDF version	Web version
Dental Services	PDF version	Web version
Domestic Violence Resources in Fairfax County	PDF version	Web version
Educational Services/After-School Programs/Homework Help	PDF version	Web version
Employment Services	PDF version	Web version
Family Supportive Services	PDF version	Web version
Financial and Public Assistance	PDF version	Web version
Legal Assistance	PDF version	Web version
Medical & Health Care Assistance	PDF version	Web version
Mental Health Services	PDF version	Web version
Mentoring Services	PDF version	Web version
Multicultural Resources	PDF version	Web version
Parenting Resources	PDF version	Web version
Recreation and Leisure	PDF version	Web version
Resources for Children with Special Needs	PDF version	Web version
Services for Older Adults	PDF version	Web version
Specialized Transportation Resources	PDF version	Web version
Substance Abuse Services	PDF version	Web version
Support Groups	PDF version	Web version
Additional Resources	PDF version	Web version
Helpful Publications	PDF version	Web version
Indexx	PDF version	Web version