Concerning family, the saying “blood is thicker than water” is popular, implying that blood relatives are generally valued more than friends, or at least espousing the belief that this is how it should be. As far as kinship adoption is concerned, this may very well be the case.
Outsiders may see kinship care as the best possible solution for a child’s placement, especially because relatives will feel that natural need to protect one of their own, and also because it is generally a more expeditious way of getting children settled into permanent homes rather than see them twist in the wind in child welfare systems. However, there are often serious implications.