Foster care can create deep wounds in a child due to loss of family, separation from what they’ve known and facing a new normal including new parents and family members. Sometimes, kinship care offers a softer solution to removing a child from their home. 
 
Kinship care refers to the care of children by relatives or, in some jurisdictions, close family friends referred to as fictive kin. About 44% of children in substitute care in Texas are in the care of their kin.
 
Creating the opportunity for children to stay within a familiar family circle often helps give them a greater sense of belonging and acceptance, creating stability for them.
 
For the Espino family, they have a passion for helping children. For Richard and Laura, foster care had always been on their hearts too. As a blended family, the Espino family have eight children, and love every minute of it.
 
“The main reason for us [to do kinship care] is because we want to make sure the kids stay together,” Laura shared. “They’re already going through a hard time being removed from their parents or family and they only have each other.”