We wish to share news about the grandmothers of 550 children who have interrupted retirement for unexpected parenthood when one of their adult children is absent because of illness, drug addiction, imprisonment, or death. Most are single women with limited income and social or health needs. Their commitment keeps children out of foster care and connected to a loving family.

The Family Ties, Kinship Support Services Program, serves families in Monterey County. The goal of Family Ties is to provide support services to relatives who are caring for children who are related to them, or who are “near-kin”. The majority of adults who assume the care of their relative children are grandparents, who have not planned to begin parenting all over again at this time in their lives. It is difficult to change your life to care for children, and Family Ties is here to help ease the transition in any way we can. See also our.

Many children enter the foster care system because their parents or other relatives are unable to care for them due to their physical, emotional, or financial needs. Family Ties provides services to assist relative caregivers to protect and promote the safety, permanency and well-being of children in kinship families, and to keep them out of the foster care system and within their own family. 

Kinship Center is proud of the program accomplishments in assisting relative caregivers. In the past two years, 753 children living with grandparents received supportive services. With community donations, the children received holiday gifts and their families received holiday meals. More than 300 families used our food bank and clothing closet. We operated camps and recreational programs attended by 830 children. One hundred twenty-two relative families achieved legal guardianships or adoptions. The children have received mental health care at Kinship Center's D' Arrigo Children's Clinic. Only four children have re-entered foster care from a relative home that is supported by Kinship Center. We know that you join us in celebrating these outcomes!

Family Ties’ outreach social workers meet with relative caregivers and the children they are caring for, and help to identify the needs of the family, coordinate services to help the family, and establish an ongoing support system to insure that the family receives those needed services. Some of the important services available include support groups for adults and children, assistance with legal guardianship where possible, parent education, counseling, advocacy, and information about and referral to community resources. Childcare is available during support groups, so that caregivers can attend with confidence that their children are engaged in safe activity. 

Family Ties offers recreational activities for children being raised by relatives, so that they can spend time with other children in families that look like theirs; as well as recreational events for the whole family, and occasionally a special event for just the caregivers. 

Family Ties maintains Food Bank sites in Salinas and Monterey,
and can help with food for families in need. We may also be able to help with clothing and transportation.

Grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings and others who take on the responsibility of raising their kin deserve our respect and our assistance in adjusting to the often unexpected changes that such an important commitment can bring to their lives. Family Ties invites relative caregivers and their families to contact us to see how we can be of help to you.

Family Ties is a collaboration between Kinship Center and Monterey County Department of Social Services. 

As wonderful as this program is, it is in constant jeopardy because of limited funding. As you consider this year's charitable giving, we hope that you will continue to support Kinship Center so that we may keep children safely in family care, with their relatives, foster and adoptive parents. Thank you again for your constant caring and generous support.