Course Information

Jane Addams College of Social Work
Kinship Care (non-credit)
KCO / Non-Credit Course

What is Kinship Care?
Kinship care is a term used to describe the practice of raising a relative's child when the child's parents are unable or unwilling to do so. This family form is growing and receiving considerable attention of policy makers, social service providers and researchers.

The study of kinship care meets a growing need among human service professionals, providing knowledge about an increasingly common family form. The course presents a comprehensive overview of kinship care and is easily accessible to both graduate students for graduate credit and to human service professionals for professional enrichment.

Kinship Care is offered entirely through online instruction. The course incorporates lectures, readings, video presentations, assignments and student assessments.

Course Topics
Kinship Care Online includes 15 modules that address the following areas:

• Prevalence of, demographics relating to and reasons for kinship care arrangements
• The impact of kinship care on children, caregivers and biological parents
• Practice and policy issues related to kinship care, including:
• Parental substance abuse
• Parental involvement in the criminal justice system
• Parental mental illness
• Child abuse and neglect
• The child welfare system
• Kinship care of children with special needs, child mental health and special education
• Best practice models across service systems (e.g. family group conferencing, family group decision making, family meetings, grandparent/kinship caregiver support groups, empowerment models for grandparents and other caregivers)
• Evaluating practice with families in kinship care arrangements
• Future directions for practice with kinship care-giving families

For additional information about the course, please click here.

	Section 1 (0809)
	Online August 24 - December 12, 2009
	Course Fee: $595
	Registration Deadline: Monday, August 17, 2009
	Instructor(s): Jim Gleeson
	Location: University of Illinois at Chicago

Sorry, the registration deadline for this course has passed and online registration is no longer available at this time. Late registration may be possible if space is available.

You may e-mail External Education at externaledu@uic.edu or call us at (312) 355-0423 to discuss your registration options.

To receive information regarding future course dates and registration deadlines, please click the “Add to my Interest List” button below.