Types of Foster Care

Kinship Care, including Non-Related Kin
The preferred placement for children coming into foster care is with relatives, including grandparents, siblings, aunts, and uncles. Included in the category of kinship care are non-related kin (NRKIN), which includes people with whom the child has an emotional bond. This could be a babysitter, teacher, neighbor, mom’s best friend, or others.

In Kansas, related kin are not required to get a license to care for the child, but NRKIN are. However, NRKIN have a grace period so they can begin caring for the child immediately.

Foster Care
Foster parents are individuals or couples who make the decision to care for children in foster care. They sign up through one of Kansas’ Child Placing Agencies, or CPAs, to take the MAPP Foundations training, a program administered through Children’s Alliance.

MAPP stands for Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting, and it is a 10-week, 30-hour course that helps potential foster parents determine if they are prepared to be foster parents.

In Therapeutic Foster Care, foster parents support children and teens who have more acute needs. They receive additional supports and trauma-informed training.

Respite Care
Respite providers offer short-term care for children who are in foster homes. That allows foster families the opportunity to take a break and recharge their batteries. It often is provided over a weekend.

Foster Care in Kansas

Individuals or couples interested in becoming foster parents in Kansas do so through one of the private agencies that contract with the Kansas Department for Children and Families. Those agencies provide foster care services including case planning, placement in foster care, and foster parent recruitment and training. 

All Kansas foster parents (and this does not include kinship or non-related kinship families) go through the 30-hour MAPP training, which Children’s Alliance of Kansas administers. The training was recently updated and is called MAPP Foundations. (Learn more here.) It is specifically designed to help those interested understand what foster care involves, how to support children who have suffered trauma, and so much more. Check out one of the videos that’s used in the MAPP Foundations training below.

Foster parents must:

  • Be 21 years of age or older

  • Pass criminal and child welfare clearance checks

  • Have a source of income other than foster care reimbursement

  • Own or rent a residence that meets all state requirements