Edgewood’s mission is to promote the mental and behavioral health of children, youth, and families and support a positive transition to adulthood. Taking a family-centered approach, we provide a full range of services—from prevention and early intervention, to intensive treatment, to aftercare and continued wellness. We are proud not just of our impact on the lives of over 7,000 children and families every year, but also of our efforts to continuously improve outcomes more broadly through our research and training programs.

Edgewood created its Kinship Support Network in 1993 to fill the gaps in public social services available to relative caregivers and was the first program of its kind. Ours is the only program in San Francisco that targets kinship families with holistic services to promote mental and physical health. The foster care system would be tremendously overburdened if all of the children in out-of-home care were in foster homes. About 4% of children in the US are being raised in kinship families, saving the country over $6.5 billion each year by keeping them out of the foster care system[1]. Nearly 40% of children in out-of-home care in San Francisco live with relative caregivers[2]. By supporting these families, we help the county focus resources on the most severe cases of abuse and neglect where there is no viable family placement option.

The Kinship Program assists kin caregivers and the children in their care through case management that helps kinship families meet immediate needs like food and housing; respite opportunities for caregivers to take a break from parenting responsibilities; recreation activities for youth; counseling for children; health education support groups; weekly caregiver support groups; and annual community events and celebrations.

The primary goal of the Kinship Support Network is to make sure caregivers have what they need—be it basics like food and housing, emotional support, or self-efficacy skills—that will support their transition to being full-time guardians and allow them to continue being the primary caregivers for as long as the child needs. We expect to provide Kinship Support Network services to at least 100 kinship youth and their caregivers each year.


[1] Children’s Defense Fund, “The State of America’s Children Handbook”: 2012.

[2] Kidsdata.org, “Number of Children in Foster Care, by Placement”: 2014

Kinship Support Network

Support for kinship families caring for San Francisco dependent children.

The Family Resource Center

Support for informal kinship families and biological parents.

Transitional Housing Plus Program

Support for emerging adults, 21-25 years old, who have aged out of foster care.