Kin-First' Foster Care Gains Ground in NC: What Families Need to Know About New Stipends and Ongoing Legislative Battles
By Marge Farrington | Published 2026-05-18T17:25:53.049Z
News
North Carolina -- May 18, 2026: A sweeping shift in North Carolina’s child welfare system is fundamentally changing how local communities care for children in crisis. Driven by recent legislative reforms, the state is increasingly prioritizing "kinship care"—placing children who must be removed from their homes with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or close family friends rather than sending them into traditional foster care with strangers.
North Carolina -- May 18, 2026: A sweeping shift in North Carolina’s child welfare system is fundamentally changing how local communities care for children in crisis. Driven by recent legislative reforms, the state is increasingly prioritizing "kinship care"—placing children who must be removed from their homes with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or close family friends rather than sending them into traditional foster care with strangers.While the policy has successfully triggered a 16% surge in f