Research and initiatives highlight the importance of reunification efforts, kinship and customary care, and support systems that enable children and youth to maintain meaningful relationships with their relatives or other close supportive adults. Supporting and enhancing kinship bonds not only preserves a sense of identity and belonging within their extended families and communities but also improves the overall well-being and outcomes of children and youth.

Kinship and customary care offer several advantages for children compared to non-kinship and customary care. However, there is no national approach or standard for supporting and enabling kinship and customary care in Canada. This was a key learning through our first Impact Challenge launched in 2021 and focused on finding programs and interventions that enable families and children to live prosperous lives through stronger parenting and supports for children and youth connected to the child protection system. This learning has been reinforced through conversations and studies that have highlighted an approach that focuses on creating belonging to help improve emotional well-being, reduce risks of abuse and lead to shorter lengths of stay in care.

Each province and territory develops its own approach to kinship and customary care and as a result supports for these caregivers vary across the country — including across Indigenous jurisdictions. Further, there is a pattern of child protection agencies providing less financial support, supervision, training and respite to kin caregivers compared to non-kin caregivers.