About Foster Kinship

Because Kids Deserve Family

At Foster Kinship, we believe children thrive when they can remain safely connected to the people they know, trust, and love.

When children cannot safely remain with their parents, relatives and trusted adults often step in with little notice, few resources, and a whole lot of love. These caregivers say “yes” during moments of crisis, opening their homes and hearts to keep children safe and connected to family.

Foster Kinship exists to support these heroic families across Nevada by providing the tools, resources, and compassionate care needed to ensure children can stay safely with family, where they belong, and grow up with stability, healing, and hope for the future.

Founded in 2011, Foster Kinship is Nevada’s only nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to supporting children and families in kinship and non-parental care. Each year, we serve more than 6,000 children across Nevada through free, trauma-informed, evidence-based services designed to strengthen families and prevent unnecessary foster care involvement.

Why Foster Kinship?

Our name reflects our core belief that children heal and thrive through connection, belonging, and family.

Foster means to nurture, strengthen, support, and grow.
Kinship means family, identity, belonging, and connection.

Together, Foster Kinship represents our commitment to helping children remain safely connected to family, with an inclusive definition of family rooted in the child’s relationships and sense of belonging.

We support kinship care as the first and best option when children cannot safely remain with their parents, while also supporting reunification, permanency, and adoption to prevent deeper system involvement and help children remain connected to caring adults throughout every stage of life.

Safe, Stable, and Nurturing Homes

Foster Kinship empowers children and families across the full non-parental care continuum by promoting safe, stable, and nurturing homes, preventing deeper child welfare involvement, and keeping children connected to family.
We recognize that families need different kinds of support at different moments. That is why Foster Kinship serves children and caregivers across the full continuum of non-parental care, including prevention, intervention, reunification support, permanency stability, and youth preparation for adulthood.

Our Work Supports:

  • Kinship caregivers who privately step in or are asked to care for a relative’s child
  • Birth parents working toward reunification or preventing reentry into the child welfare system
  • Adoptive and guardianship families navigating long-term permanency
  • Transition-aged youth preparing for adulthood after experiencing non-parental care
  • Professionals and organizations supporting vulnerable children and families
  • National partners and jurisdictions seeking to implement elements of the Foster Kinship Navigator Model

What Makes Foster Kinship Different

Foster Kinship is a national leader in kinship care innovation.
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Our Kinship Navigator Program is one of the nation’s only federally recognized, evidence-based Kinship Navigator models, earning approval through the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse in 2023. Developed right here in Nevada, our model strengthens caregivers’ capacity to provide safe, stable, and nurturing homes while helping prevent deeper child welfare involvement.

All Foster Kinship programs are designed to strengthen four critical areas that help families thrive:

Legal Capacity

so caregivers can safely care for children and access essential services

Financial Sustainability

to reduce crisis and strengthen long-term family well-being

Parenting & Child Connection

to build nurturing, healing relationships

Caregiver Emotional Support

so families feel confident, connected, and supported

By strengthening families in these areas, we help reduce disruption into stranger foster care or congregate care, prevent foster care reentry, support successful reunification when possible, and promote lasting permanency with family.

  • Evidence-based family advocacy and stabilization
  • Emergency resources and tangible assistance
  • Trauma-informed child and youth interventions
  • Caregiver and professional training
  • Advocacy and systems change efforts

Because children in safe, stable, and nurturing homes are more likely to heal from trauma, build healthy relationships, and thrive into adulthood.

Our Vision

A vibrant future for all children who have experienced non-parental care. Because kids deserve family.

Our Mission

Foster Kinship empowers children and families across the full non-parental care continuum by promoting safe, stable, and nurturing homes, preventing deeper child welfare involvement, and keeping children connected to family.

Our Values

Empowerment

Foster Kinship is committed to equipping parents, kinship caregivers, and adoptive parents with the knowledge, resources, and support they need to advocate for their children and make informed decisions that best support their families’ needs.

Inclusivity

Foster Kinship offers services to all individuals, regardless of the child's foster care status, custody arrangement, the caregiver's age, or formal relationship to the child, ensuring everyone receives the support they deserve.

Collaboration

Foster Kinship aims to foster synergy by serving as a connector, helping families access local and national resources efficiently and effectively.

Bridging the Gap

When there is a gap between government and private-sector services, Foster Kinship strives to fill it with innovative, evidence-based programming, meeting families' individual needs wherever possible.

Interested in joining the team? Learn more!

Careers
Team & Board