Community Possibilities
Community Possibilities
The Invisible Safety Net: Understanding Kinship Care with Amanda Klein-Cox
Amanda Klein-Cox joins me to talk about KinCarolina, a comprehensive support program for caregivers raising children with disabilities or special health care needs. The program combines peer support, training, financial assistance, and community-building to improve caregiver wellbeing and ultimately benefit the children in their care.
• Kinship care occurs when relatives or close family friends raise children whose parents cannot care for them
• For every child in formal foster care nationally, approximately 19 are in informal kinship care arrangements
• In South Carolina, this ratio is even more dramatic—1:300
• Most kinship caregivers receive little to no support despite saving states millions in foster care costs
• Kinship caregivers face unique challenges including financial strain, legal barriers, and supporting children with trauma
• Early results show caregivers feeling less isolated and better equipped to support their families
Amanda's Bio:
Amanda Klein-Cox, Ed.D., is a Senior Research Associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Social Work (SSW). Dr. Klein-Cox serves as the Project Implementation Manager for the KinCarolina program, which provides comprehensive support to kinship caregivers raising children with disabilities or special health care needs in the Midlands region of South Carolina. In addition to overseeing implementation, she organizes and convenes the project’s Advisory Council and multi-state team of researchers and collaborators. She has also led developing and implementing a national survey of kinship caregivers with the same team. As a researcher, Dr. Klein-Cox is interested in bridging the fields of education and social work around child and family well-being, particularly in the area of kinship care. Since becoming a mom, she is also interested in the intersection of maternal mental health and well-being with child welfare and family well-being outcomes.
Dr. Klein-Cox owns Engage with Data and currently serves as the Lead Evaluator on the HRSA-funded Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program at Ohio State University.
Dr. Klein-Cox began her career as a middle school teacher. She earned a Doctorate of K-12 Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University.
Contact Info for Amanda and KinCarolina:
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