Description of the Problem The Texas the Kinship Care program is codified in the Texas Family Code Section 262.201(f). The enactment of such a policy that calls for placement of children within their family unit became important to maintain familial ties, as well as, providing stability and security to children with the least amount of disruption in their lives when they must be removed from their parents care. Kinship Care programs are economically advantageous to local, state and federal government as it is not considered formal foster care. Often times, children’s protective agencies will help facilitate the placement of children with relatives forging legal action to obtain custody of the child(ren). Foster care is a program in which caregivers are trained and license, whereas Kinship care is informal and most often is provided by a growing number of grandparents. In return, licensed foster parents receive compensation based on the level of care each child requires. The term foster care refers to care given to children under the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services' (DFPS) legal responsibility who are placed in foster homes, foster group homes, institutions, residential treatment facilities, juvenile facilities, and who are in a placement paid by DFPS or some other public facility. The latest data, obtained for the years 2011-2013, reveals there are over 30,000 children in foster care in Texas. Additionally, Texas is reported to have 253,000 children in Kinship Care that are being cared for by relatives or fictive kin that are not officially in the system due to informal agreement of Kinship Care (datacenter.kidcount.org, 2012). Prior to the 80’s, placement with relatives was a rare occurrence as childr... ... middle of paper ... ...es provide matching funds to claim reimbursement for most of these programs, federal funding plays a large role in how states and localities spend their own child welfare dollars” (Ross, 2010). Works Cited REFRENCES Katherine, V.W. (2011). Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Individuals and Families (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. KIDS COUNT Data Center from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Children in foster care (0-17) | KIDS COUNT Data Center. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/- Ross, T. Child Welfare Policy Database . Where the Money Comes From: Paying for Child Welfare Services. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.childwelfarepolicy.org/perspectives?id=0001 Texas Constitution and Statutes - Home. Family Code. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/