The Effects of a Kinship Caregiver Support Program: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

This study examines the effects of the kinship navigation program at Michigan’s Kinship Care Resource Center (KCRC) on caregivers’ depression, self-care practices, and children’s behavioral issues. This study analyzed survey data of kinship caregivers in Michigan using propensity score matching and inverse probability weighting with regression. We found that children in the care of caregivers who used KCRC had fewer behavioral issues (β = −0.281, p = .024). The effect of KCRC on self-care practice among caregivers is significant at .01 level (β = 0.309, p =.055). This study contributes to the understanding of how navigation programs for kinship caregivers affect both children and caregivers’ outcomes. It suggests expanding these programs to encompass a broader spectrum of behavioral health services for children, which could ease the caregiving load. The research also provides novel data on kinship caregivers’ self-care practices, a previously underexamined issue due to the focus on children.