BY JERAMAY MARTINEZ
Health Care Specialist
Los Alamos County
Most of us know how the adoption and foster care system works, but kinship care is somewhere in the middle. It’s when grandparents, extended family members or even family friends take in, become legal guardians, and care for the children when their parents can’t. Kinship care is more common than you may think in New Mexico. A recent report from the Los Alamos National Lab Foundation found 8% of all kids in New Mexico are in some type of kinship care arrangement. That is more than double the national average. The report also found drug addiction is the biggest reason why kinship care is so common.
The report (https://lanlfoundation.org/research/resilient-families-helping-grandparents-and-kin-raise-children-in-new-mexico/) says, “We spoke to kinship caregivers who say they stepped in to make sure the children don’t end up in state custody, However, they do not receive the same support, and resources as foster families do because the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department isn’t directly involved.
“My husband and I are in our mid-fifties and received legal guardianship of my 9-year-old cousin when he was 3 years old. We obtained guardianship because his parents weren’t able to care for him due to their mental health difficulties and their addictions to illicit drugs. He was born with NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome) which occurs when babies are exposed to opioids and other drugs while in utero and then experience withdrawal from the drugs after they are born. This exposure causes both short- and long-term problems that have negatively impacted my cousin’s physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral development. These problems require that we as caregivers obtain services and support to address the many special needs. At times, when the isolation of parenting a special needs child becomes overwhelming, I’ve received and felt the support provided by Family Strength’s Network’s Grandparent/Kin Raising Children program. They’ve given my family a space to connect with other kin and grandparents raising children and provided resources such as stipends, clothes, and support. For that I am grateful.” R.D.
“I am a single grandparent in my sixties who received legal guardianship of my two grandchildren when they were one and three years old. I obtained guardianship because both of their parents weren’t able to care for them due to mental health difficulties. I have fought and lost many battles to obtain financial aid, health care, and mental health care for my grandchildren. Although I work full-time, I’m a single income grandparent, and I don’t make enough to pay for the costs of the special medical and mental health supports that they need nor can I afford my own healthcare insurance. While it is difficult to become a “parent” all over again, I love these children with all my heart. When my grandchildren first came to live with me, I didn’t have clothes, beds, diapers, or enough money to buy the food they needed. Family Strengths Network helped me get started by providing stipends, supplies, toys and support.” P.O.
Children can end up being raised by family members for different reasons, and it doesn’t come without difficulties. In New Mexico, 26% of grandparents raising their grandchildren live in poverty. “In 2024, approximately 40,000 children in New Mexico were being raised by kinship caregivers.
With those statistics, in April 2025, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law the Kinship Caregiver Support Pilot Program. The three-year initiative will help at least 250 families across five to seven counties in New Mexico. The program, starting in January 2026, will give $500 a month to kinship caregivers in Rio Arriba and San Juan Counties. The $500 a month are not funded by the State, but by private donors. The program will also help connect families to health care services and legal support.
“As a kinship guardian, we don’t get any support. We don’t get food stamps, we don’t get TANF because some of us, make money. We must work a full-time job to be able to provide, so it makes us lose out on other programs that our children should be benefiting from” J.M. said.
Family Strength Network, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization started the Grandparents/Kin Raising Children Program in 2018 to supporting families and children being raised by their Grandparents and Kinship guardians. This heartwarming program was launched to provide support groups, resources, some financial assistance to families who have lost a parent to substance use disorder, or who are raising children (18 and under) after the loss of a parent, or due to a parent’s inability to care for them.
A quote from Jen Demas, Director of Family Strengths Network:
“Our mission has always been to provide families with the tools they need to cope with the devastating effects of substance use disorder. The Grandparent/Kin Raising Children Group, run by Lori Padilla, has allowed us to extend that support to children, who often bear the heaviest burdens in these situations. We are incredibly proud of the impact we’ve been able to make over the years, and we are deeply grateful to our donors for helping us support these resilient children and families.
The Kinship Guardian’s 2026 goal is to raise additional funds to expand the program’s outreach and impact, doubling the amount of support given to caregiver families in need. As kinship guardians, our goal is to continue to educate the community so we can meet the needs of our families in a consistent, reliable manner. With continued generosity, we will be able to increase the number of families that we serve and help make a meaningful difference in the lives of the children who have already endured so much.”
Here is a link if you or your organization would like to contribute to Family Strength Network’s Grandparent/Kin Raising Children Program https://givebutter.com/supportfsn. Please make sure to enter a note saying you’d like the donation to go to the Grandparent/Kin Raising Children Program.
Jeramay Martinez is a Los Alamos County Employee and is a Health Care Specialist with Social Services Division. She is a Kinship Guadian.