Kinship adoption is a type of adoption where a child is adopted by a family member or someone else with a close familial relationship to the child. Some key points about kinship adoption:

• It allows a child who needs adoption to stay within their extended family and maintain existing bonds. Kinship adoption keeps them in a familiar environment.

• Potential kinship adopters include grandparents, aunts/uncles, a godparent or close family friend, a cousin, or other relatives or individuals with a preexisting bond.

• Child welfare agencies typically prefer finding suitable and willing kin as the first choice when an adopted placement is needed.

• While background checks and home studies are still conducted, the screening process may be adapted for kinship families. Standards are often a bit different.

• Legal rights are the same as other biological/adoptive families. The adopting kin become the lawful, permanent parents.

Overall, kinship adoption prioritizes keeping a child needing new guardianship arrangements within their extended family circle whenever possible to maintain familial connections.