As the family dynamic continues to evolve, so does the growth of kinship and relative care. A study stated that in 1997, approximately 2 million children were living with neither of their parents; 1.7 million of these were living with relatives. The vast majority of children who lived with relatives were in private kinship care (1.3 million); 194,000 were in kinship foster care and 284,000 children were in voluntary kinship care. This shows how prevalent kinship care is and beneficial and attainable it can be for families.
In Kansas, a third party relative may legally adopt a child, and is called Kinship Adoption. The term