Resource hub
Foster care guides, local support groups & legal steps
Guides
Foster, adoptive & kinship caregiver guides
Free, trustworthy reading from national organisations and the federal Children's Bureau. Good places to start when you want to understand your role, the system, or how children respond to big change.
AdoptUSKids
Support for foster parents
Plain-language guide to a foster parent's day-to-day role: meeting a child's medical, educational and emotional needs, supporting reunification, training, and your rights.
Open resource — Support for foster parents, opens in a new tabAdoptUSKids
Post-adoption and guardianship support services in your state
State-by-state list of ongoing supports for adoptive and guardianship families — respite care, training, family activities and referrals.
Open resource — Post-adoption and guardianship support services in your state, opens in a new tabNational Child Traumatic Stress Network
Resources for families and caregivers
Caregiver-facing handouts on how children respond to frightening change, and practical ways to build safety, routine and connection at home.
Open resource — Resources for families and caregivers, opens in a new tabU.S. Administration for Children and Families
Children's Bureau
The federal office behind national foster care and adoption data, publications and family factsheets, including Child Welfare Information Gateway materials.
Open resource — Children's Bureau, opens in a new tabGenerations United
Grandfamilies and kinship families
Guides written for grandparents and other relatives raising children — benefits, school enrolment, caregiver wellbeing and state-level help.
Open resource — Grandfamilies and kinship families, opens in a new tabFamilies Rising (formerly NACAC)
Resource library for caregivers
Articles, webinars and printable tools for adoptive, foster and kinship parents, including parenting after trauma and advocating at school.
Open resource — Resource library for caregivers, opens in a new tab
Local support
Find a support group near you
We do not keep our own list of local groups, because they change constantly. These are the national directories and helplines that keep local listings current — search by your state or call and ask a real person.
Families Rising
Find a Parent Group
Searchable database of adoptive, foster and kinship parent support groups across the United States and Canada. Filter by state or region.
Open resource — Find a Parent Group, opens in a new tabAdoptUSKids
State adoption and foster care information
Choose your state or territory to see local rules, agencies and foster and adoptive parent associations.
Open resource — State adoption and foster care information, opens in a new tabAdoptUSKids
Talk to a foster care and adoption specialist
Free phone, text, email and chat support from specialists who connect families to services in their own state. Available in English and Spanish.
888-200-4005
Open resource — Talk to a foster care and adoption specialist, opens in a new tabNFPA
National Foster Parent Association
National membership organisation serving foster, adoptive and kinship parents, with state resource links and caregiver advocacy. Not a placement agency.
800-557-5238
Open resource — National Foster Parent Association, opens in a new tabUnited Way
211 — local help of every kind
Free, confidential referrals to nearby food, housing, childcare, respite, counselling and family support services. Search online or dial 211.
211
Open resource — 211 — local help of every kind, opens in a new tab
Legal steps
Legal steps and where to get help
Foster care, guardianship and adoption law is set state by state, so the safest first step is always your caseworker plus a local legal aid office. These official services help you find both.
Legal Services Corporation
I need legal help
Federally funded directory of civil legal aid offices. Enter your location to find free or low-cost lawyers who handle custody, guardianship and benefits matters.
Open resource — I need legal help, opens in a new tabU.S. Administration for Children and Families
Federal and state child welfare laws and policies
Where to look up the laws behind your case — federal statutes, the Child Welfare Policy Manual, and state-published handbooks for families and foster parents.
Open resource — Federal and state child welfare laws and policies, opens in a new tabAdoptUSKids
State adoption and guardianship rules
Because requirements differ by state, start here to see the licensing, home study, guardianship and adoption steps where you live.
Open resource — State adoption and guardianship rules, opens in a new tab
If you need help right now
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Free, confidential support 24/7 for anyone in emotional distress — including caregivers. Call or text 988.
Visit United StatesChildhelp National Child Abuse Hotline
24/7 help and referrals for anyone worried about a child's safety. Call or text 1-800-422-4453.
Visit Childhelp
Want the Kinvara side of this too?
Our own guides, family activities and the free trauma-informed course live inside your caregiver library — strengths-based, practical, and free to start with no card.
Kinvara Life offers education and wellness support for families, not therapy, legal advice, or clinical care. Outside organisations listed here are independent of Kinvara Life; we share them because families find them useful.