Grandfamilies & Kinship care

Grandfamilies Programs

Programs that are available to help assist kinship caregivers.

Guardianship

Guardianship and custody information.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance resources available to all kinship caregivers.

Mental Health

Information and resources for troubled or at risk children.

Helpful Information

Additional information you may find helpful.

Fact Sheet

Statistical information on kinship care in Utah.

Quarterly Newsletter

Grandfamilies & Kinship Care Quarterly Newsletters.

Resources

Supplementary links and resources.

Salt Lake County:
655 E 4500 S, Ste 200
SLC, UT 84107
801-326-4409

Davis County:
129 S State St, ste 130
Clearfield, UT 84015
801-614-1020

Weber County:
3340 Harrison Blvd, ste 130
Ogden, UT 84403
801-564-6460

Cache County:
95 W 100 S, ste 385
Logan, UT 84321
801-707-0052

Tooele County:
655 E 4500 S, Ste 200
SLC, UT 84107
801-608-1546

All Other Counties:
655 E 4500 S, Ste 200
SLC, UT 84107
801-803-1525

There are 24,000 children in Utah that have a grandparent as primary caregiver.  Although the number one reason for this fact is drug use by the child’s parent(s), there are also other issues such as poverty, death of the parent, incarceration and mental illness.

These children come to their relative’s home with a myriad of issues and caregivers face many obstacles in meeting their needs. Many of these children have been neglected and abused in the homes of their parents. Relative caregivers face barriers such as:

  • Access to financial resources to meet the needs of children they are caring for
  • Medical insurance or Medicaid for the child
  • Access to enrollment in school for the child
  • Lack of affordable child care
  • Lack of emotional support

Relatives as parents need education regarding their new role in the following areas:

  • Safety and emotional support
  • Caring for abused/neglected children
  • How to set boundaries with the child’s parent
  • Drug/alcohol education

The children need:

  • Safety and emotional support
  • Stability
  • Mental health treatment
  • Appropriate parenting
  • Drug and alcohol prevention skills

Grandfamilies

Grandfamilies is a support, advocacy, educational and crisis intervention program of the Children’s Service Society. The program was created in 2002 to meet the growing needs of individuals and/or families that are caring for a relative’s child. Our focus is to provide information and support to these families so that the needs of safety and permanency for the children in these families can be met.

Our services include:

  • Crisis intervention
  • Adult educational support groups
  • Children’s support groups
  • Links to community resources
  • Drug and alcohol prevention services for children

We provide these services through Grandfamilies First Classes, Children’s groups, and Friend 2 Friend meetings (please go to the tab “Grandfamilies Programs” for a full description). To reduce the stress of coming to a class, we provide a light supper with each group. We do not charge for our services but donations are gladly accepted.