Vulnerable infants: kinship care and health.

Kinship care, a type of foster care provided by relatives, has expanded rapidly in the last decade. This descriptive prospective study was part of a larger study on the costs to families caring for a preterm infant. Of the 224 families interviewed, 12 families (13 infants) participated in kinship care. Compared to infants in the larger study, kinship babies received inadequate health care follow-up, including immunizations, and had more rehospitalizations but fewer acute care visits. Children in kinship care appear to have more health problems compared to American children in general. A system is required within our health care structure for maintaining accurate health records, delivering special care to these babies, and providing supportive services to the kinship caregivers.