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Successful kin-first approaches to child safety, permanency, and well-being occur across the child welfare continuum. Promoting kinship care involves more than identifying a safe kin placement; it requires systems that prioritize family connections, professionals who know how to partner with kin caregivers, and caregivers who have access to the information and resources they need to succeed.

The System Level: Creating a Kin-First Culture

Helping children remain with family starts at the system level with policies, values, and practices in place to ensure they do so when possible. Agencies that take kin-first approaches to child welfare have guiding principles that honor the role of family in a child's life. The following are steps agencies can take to embody a culture that prioritizes kin:

• Implement family-driven decision-making practices
• Involve families in program and policy design
• Invest in family finding and engagement
• Review licensing standards and approval processes for kin caregivers
• Track data on kin placements and permanency outcomes

Explore system-level information, including State examples of kin-first policies and procedures, in Child Welfare Information Gateway's issue brief on the topic, Kin-First Approaches in Child Welfare.

The Practice Level: Partnering With Kin Caregivers

While having systems in place that prioritize kinship care is the first step, the second is equipping professionals who work directly with families to partner with kin caregivers. For caseworkers, supporting kin caregivers sometimes requires a different approach than working with non-kin foster caregivers. The following are steps professionals can take to support kin caregivers:

• Recognize that kin often become caregivers unexpectedly
• Don't assume caregivers understand child welfare processes
• Connect families to financial, legal, and emotional supports early
• Use family engagement strategies that honor existing family relationships and strengthen new ones
• Help caregivers navigate changing family roles and dynamics
• Ensure kin caregivers receive the same level of preparation and support as non-kin foster caregivers

Find more strategies in Information Gateway's bulletin for professionals, Working With Kin Caregivers.

The Family Level: What Kin Caregivers Need to Know

The final piece of the kinship care continuum is the family level—the kin caregivers themselves. These caregivers often step up unexpectedly and without the same support that non-kin, formal foster parents receive. It is important that they are equipped with the resources and support they need to thrive. When caregivers have support, children benefit, too. The following are tips for kin caregivers:

• Recognize that you are not expected to navigate this journey alone
• Ask about financial assistance and available benefits
• Seek support groups and community resources
• Learn about permanency options and legal pathways
• Build a support network for yourself as well as the child
• Prioritize your own well-being and self-care

More resources for kin families are available in Information Gateway's factsheet for families, Kinship Care and the Child Welfare System.

Positive kinship care experiences are possible when systems create pathways, professionals build partnerships, and caregivers receive the support they need. No single strategy is enough on its own. Together, these layers help preserve family connections, strengthen stability, and support children's safety and well-being.

Kin caregivers often step into parenting roles during a family crisis with little notice, preparation, or support. Kinship navigator programs help bridge the gap between caregivers and support services, including health care, legal support, community resources, and more, by providing information and individualized assistance.

As these programs continue to expand nationwide, evaluating their effectiveness is increasingly important. A recent evaluation of Kinnections, a Children's Bureau-funded kinship navigator program, explores how the program is positively impacting kin caregivers and families.

Program Overview

Kinnections is a kinship navigator program operated by Wayfinder Family Services in Northern California. Through personalized navigation and referrals, the program helps caregivers access resources such as child care, respite services, financial assistance, counseling, and other community-based supports. Kinnections serves both caregivers involved with the child welfare system and those caring for children through informal kinship arrangements.

Key Evaluation Findings 

Child Trends completed a 3-year evaluation of Kinnections that compared 116 kin caregivers who received Kinnections kinship navigation services to 116 kin caregivers in neighboring counties who did not receive services. The study was conducted in accordance with the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Version 2.0. Two major findings were statistically significant:

• Adult well-being: Caregivers who participated in Kinnections reported stronger social support networks than those who did not participate.
• Satisfaction with services: Participants receiving Kinnections navigation reported higher satisfaction with services than caregivers who did not have access to Kinnections.

Other key takeaways include the following:

• Access to services: Kinnections participants were 25 percentage points more likely to access services than nonparticipants.
• Referral to services: Kinnections participants were 39 percentage points more likely to receive a referral to services than nonparticipants.
• Types of services: The most common service caregivers had accessed after being in touch with a kinship navigator was counseling, followed by financial services.
• Formal vs. informal kinship care: Of all caregivers included in the study, those in formal arrangements experienced better outcomes related to stress, family functioning, social support, and concrete support than informal kin caregivers.
• Respite and child care: Kin caregivers, including both those who had access to Kinnections and those who did not, reported difficulty finding respite opportunities and child care.

Lessons Learned and Recommendations

The findings suggest that kinship navigator programs can play an important role in helping caregivers access resources and build social support networks. They also underscore the need for continued investment in services that reach both formal and informal kin caregivers.

Based on the evaluation of Kinnections, researchers shared the following recommendations for child welfare agencies to better support kin caregivers:

• Ensure all kin caregivers have access to kinship navigator programs that offer customized referrals and case management.
• Dedicate funding for navigator programs, like Kinnections, so that the programs are fully staffed and sustainable over time.
• Explore cross-system collaboration by providing training on the needs of kin caregivers for mental health and legal professionals.
• Offer a combination of in-person and virtual services.

For more information, read the evaluation report, Wayfinder Kinnections Kinship Navigator Evaluation: Final Report, and related journal article, "Kinship Caregivers Feel More Satisfied With Services and Better Supported With a Kinship Navigator."  

Caregiving can happen overnight. When a grandmother living abroad learned that her grandchild needed her, she didn't hesitate to board a plane and travel to Ohio. Her immediate goal was clear: step in as a kin caregiver so her grandchild would not need to enter non-kin foster care. However, becoming a caregiver with such short notice created a ripple effect on the family's other needs, like finding somewhere to live. The Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN) program is designed to respond to these types of situations. When kin step in to support the children in their lives, OhioKAN steps up to support the whole family.

Program Overview

OhioKAN is a kinship navigator of the Ohio Department of Children and Youth managed by Kinnect, a nonprofit organization with more than 20 years of experience supporting young people, caregivers, and families. Since launching in 2020, OhioKAN has served more than 12,000 families. In June 2026, it was added to the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse with a "supported" rating, signaling it has met Federal evidence standards and expanding its Federal funding opportunities.

Kinship and adoptive families who reach out to OhioKAN are paired with one of their 45 full-time navigators across the State, who connect those families to resources available both statewide and in their local communities. Each navigator is employed by one of OhioKAN's 17 site partners across 10 regions, which are already embedded in the communities they serve.

OhioKAN navigators work with families on an ongoing basis to understand goals, identify strengths, and develop a personalized support plan. Timeframes for navigation services range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the family and their needs, with most families receiving an average of three check-ins.

"The program is designed to empower these families, not just direct them elsewhere," said Mindy Mauk, project manager at the Ohio Department of Children and Youth. "Navigators remain actively engaged as the families work through any challenges they've identified, supporting them in the problem-solving process and helping them build stronger connections within their own communities and networks."

How it Works—Meeting Family Needs

Once a family contacts OhioKAN and is connected with a navigator—either in-person or virtually—the navigator asks a series of questions to assess areas of need. The navigators are trained to look at the full picture and identify all resources that may be helpful, regardless of whether a family specifically asks for them.

"Many kinship caregivers don't realize that being a kinship caregiver may make them eligible for benefits and services they may not have qualified for previously," said Britney Breidenstein, co-director of OhioKAN.

As part of OhioKAN's benefits coordination service, navigators review any public benefits a family is already receiving and assess whether they may qualify for additional supports. For example, a caregiver who was not previously eligible for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program may qualify after adding children to their household. This approach helps ensure that families have access to the full range of resources available to support their caregiving journey.

Needs vary by family, with basic necessities and financial support being needed most often. Based on project data, 74 percent of families request financial support, 36 percent request legal services, and 38 percent request child health-related assistance.

Once a family's needs have been identified, the navigator uses a public resource hub to pinpoint resources that meet those needs. When the hub started, it had around 5,000 community-based resources, providers, and other supports. Now, it has grown to more than 12,000.

Additionally, survey data show that 12 months after engaging with OhioKAN services, 65 percent of families reported their basic needs were met. Families also reported greater caregiver-child closeness and increased perceived accessibility of community resources.

Supporting Families That Might Otherwise Be Missed

The OhioKAN program prioritizes supporting both formal kin caregivers, who care for children with child welfare experience, and informal caregivers, who provide care outside of child welfare agencies.

"One of the things we learned early on is that often informal caregivers, they didn't even know that they were kin," said Shannon Deinhart, chief executive officer and co-founder of Kinnect. "That wasn't a word they knew. They were a grandmother taking care of her grandchildren or an aunt taking care of her niece or nephew."

To reach these informal caregivers who might not realize they are eligible for support, OhioKAN works to raise awareness in local places where families visit, such as doctors' offices, YMCAs, post offices, and libraries.

A standout element of the OhioKAN model is that it is a statewide program delivered locally. Community-based services are part of what makes OhioKAN more than a referral program. OhioKAN's navigators are based at partner sites that already have a presence in the community, ranging from small grassroots organizations to larger nonprofits. The idea is that families are more likely to seek help from organizations they already know and trust.

"By supporting families early and holistically, the OhioKAN program helps prevent any unnecessary system involvement. It strengthens pathways to permanency and promotes long-term well-being for children, youth and their caregivers," said Mauk.

Learn more about OhioKAN and explore resources and information for families and providers on the OhioKAN website.

Policies, programs, and practice guidance are important tools for supporting kinship care, but some of the most powerful lessons come directly from the people who have lived it. Information Gateway's Reflections: Stories of Foster Care collection features personal narratives from individuals whose experiences highlight the many ways kinship care shapes children's lives. Together, these stories illustrate themes that professionals encounter every day, such as family connections, resilience, identity, sibling relationships, and the challenges and rewards of stepping into a caregiving role. The stories below offer a glimpse into those experiences and the lessons they hold.

Promoting Resilience Through Kinship Care

Ashley shares the love she felt growing up in two kinship care arrangements, first with grandparents and then with her aunt. She speaks to how that love became resilience that helped her grow up healthy and thrive, despite adverse childhood experiences. Read her story here.

How Kinship Care Supports the Identities of Tribal Children

In her reflection story, Charla shares her experience as a kinship care advocate for Tribal child welfare communities. She shares the benefits she witnessed when Tribal children grew up in their community, the challenges of navigating both Tribal and non-Tribal agencies, the barriers Tribes face in accessing kinship program funding, and more. Read her story here.

Lessons Learned From a Sibling Caregiver

Jaymi reflects on the challenges she faced when she became a sibling kin caregiver at a young age. She shares areas where she wished she had more support, from help setting family boundaries to providing trauma-informed support for the siblings in her care. Read her story here.