Kinship Month Recognition

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Governor Mike DeWine signed a proclamation that recognizes September as Kinship Month, which acknowledges family members who have taken in children from broken homes.

Marsha Cairo and Patrick Donavan of the Muskingum County Kinship Program were at their display inside the Colony Square Mall to share how their program helps to repair families who have been shattered by adversity.

“Kinship means you’re raising a child that’s not biologically yours,” Cairo said. “So it could be grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, anybody who has a relationship with the child. As of today, I have 436 families here in Muskingum County, which could go up to 500 or back down to 400. It just kind of fluctuates depending on some of the things, like sometimes mom and dad are able to get their children back. And that’s really the goal.”

The number of Kinship Families is on the rise and often unanticipated incidents separate children from their parents to family members who are not prepared financially to take on the obligation.

“The staff at our agency over the years has been involved with what’s called the Ohio Grandparent Kinship Coalition,” Donavan said. “That’s a statewide, grassroots effort to basically raise awareness and let people know that hey this is something that’s going on. Every September we recognize that month as being National Grandparent Kinship Month. So you know you hear a lot about grandparents. And a lot of our families are grandparents but we just want to stress that it’s beyond that.”

Donavan mentioned that families that are facing separation can call the Muskingum County Kinship office at (740) 452-6339 for a private consultation and that more resources are available online.