Creating Instant Families Through Kinship Care

In the space of one phone call, the Chacons became a kinship family. Three years ago, on Katrina’s birthday, social services called and asked if she could provide kinship care for a relative’s six-month old daughter. Katrina describes it as a whirlwind of emotions, “I was excited and scared and trying to process everything at the same time. I’d never done anything like this before, but Baby LoRena needed immediate placement so I said yes. We needed to help her out.”

The Chacon family is part of Project 1.27’s Kinship Support Group in Mesa County. Katrina and Joey have two older children, Darryn, 12 and Ahleigha, 9. They recently adopted Baby LoRena, now 3 years old. An outgoing, spunky family, the Chacon’s are always joking around. Darryn’s allergy doctor looks forward to seeing them because when the Chacon’s come in for an appointment, the family is always laughing. The older kids were excited to welcome and pitch in to care for LoRena when she arrived so unexpectedly.

Like many children who come into foster care, LoRena arrived with little, just the onesie she was wearing. It had been a long time since there’d been a baby in the house, so the Chacons purchased a few things. One of Katrina’s friends, who had an older infant, brought over clothes and baby supplies.

The Chacon’s opted to be non-certified kinship providers because they didn’t want anyone to think they were caring for LoRena just for the money. (Certified kinship providers are eligible to receive a foster stipend.) However, when it became clear LoRena would need a permanent home, they began the adoption home study process.
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Since Joey works out-of-town, Katrina was responsible for completing most of the homestudy. She says, “Wow! It was a lot to take in. Different people coming into our house, talking to my older kids. They were worried that someone was in trouble and I had to explain that we were going through the home study process so we could adopt LoRena.” The process took two years and three different caseworkers.

After starting the kinship journey, the Chacons were invited to Project 1.27’s Kinship Support Group. While at first hesitant to attend, Katrina was surprised to discover there were so many kinship families in Mesa County. Listening to the stories of families with a little more experience in the process and sharing their own story with families just getting started was nice. Suddenly, Katrina had people to talk to; she wasn’t the only one going through the issues and challenges of being a kinship provider. Because childcare is provided, the adults can have meaningful conversations about issues and challenges.

When asked about the group, Katrina shared, “Some in the group are grandparents and I give them props. There’s one single grandpa who is caring for four grandchildren.”

Megan Weaver, group facilitator, works hard to meet the needs of the kinship families in the group. After being removed from a dangerous situation by the police, the children in one kinship family were afraid of police officers, so Megan organized a field trip to the police station. Meeting police officers helped the children get over their fear.

After Katrina shared with the group about Baby LoRena’s screaming fits, Megan organized a therapist to share about the impact of trauma on infants. Katrina was able to better understand why LoRena was screaming and discovered some new ideas for calming the little girl. One idea that helps is providing LoRena a little corner of her own, a place where she can go to calm down.
 
Soon, the group will go through a CPR certification class together. Some of the families can’t afford to pay for the class up-front and others would have difficulty taking a class because of child care, so offering CPR during Support Group is a big help. 

The Kinship Support Group also stepped in with support after a fire swept through the Chacon’s home a few months ago, destroying everything they owned- furniture, clothing, family photos and even the families beloved dogs.

Katrina shared, “I’m glad we kept coming to the kinship group after we adopted LoRena. Megan has been an amazing help, the biggest support I have. She helped us get beds. When I felt like I couldn’t talk to anyone after the fire, Megan was there to listen, to let me cry. She was my person.”

Others in the community also stepped up. The Red Cross provided temporary housing. The home study worker from Mesa County helped the Chacons get into a new home. Friends offered kitchen items; someone else furnished a couch set. Project 1.27’s Bear Necessities closet (a resource closet for kinship and foster families filled by local churches) provided things like clothing and shoes. While the entire family is still processing the enormous losses, Katrina says, “it is nice knowing we have people to lean on.” 

When asked if she had any words of advice for other kinship or foster families, Katrina offered, “In the end it’s (caring for a relative’s child) always worth it because you know you tried. It makes you feel better as a person. Reach out to your caseworker or a support group like the one with Project 1.27. If you’re not sure about things, you’ll find the resources and support you need. 1.27 has been amazing.
How can you pray for the Chacon family?

Katrina, Joey and the kids continue to struggle with trauma after the fire. Pray the family will continue to heal and find healthy ways to work through this together.