A new analysis from Child Trends finds that, from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2018 to FFY 2021, the use of relative foster care placements for American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) children in foster care grew in seven of the eight states with the largest proportions of AIAN children.[1] Increases in the percent of AIAN children in foster care who were placed with a relative foster family were most pronounced in New Mexico, Arizona, and North Dakota (see figure below). This pattern mirrors what we have seen nationally for AIAN children in foster care, where the percent placed with relatives increased from 37 percent in FFY 2018 to 41 percent in FFY 2021. Recent increases in the use of relative foster care placements (a type of formal kinship care) reflect important shifts in child welfare policy and practice—such as the Family First Prevention Services Act—which prioritize preventing entry into foster care and support for kinship navigator services. The increased use of relative foster care placements for AIAN children in foster care also aligns with kinship caregiving values and preferences within many AIAN communities, and with the priorities of the Indian Child Welfare Act, which aims to maintain and sustain connections to family and culture.
Relative Foster Care Is Increasing Among American Indian and Alaska Native Children in Foster Care
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