Kinship care is the preferred placement type for children who cannot live with their parents.
Kinship care is the care provided by relatives or a member of a child's social network when a child cannot live with their parents.
Aboriginal kinship care is care provided by relatives or friends to an Aboriginal child who cannot live with their parents, where Aboriginal family and community and Aboriginal culture are valued as central to the child’s safety, stability and development. The Aboriginal kinship services are operating in every region of the state.
Statutory kinship placements occur when a Child protection intervention has occurred and a decision has been made to place a child with relatives or a significant friend, and may also involve an order made by the Children's Court.
Private, informal or non-statutory kinship care are terms which may be used to describe arrangements where children are cared for by relatives without any Child protection intervention.
The Victorian Government funds 32 metropolitan and regionally based kinship care services to improve the supports available for children growing up in kinship care. These community based kinship care services provide a range of cultural and support services for children in kinship care and their families close to where they live.