September 2026Vol. 1, No. 4Featured Federally Funded Project: Kinnections Kinship Navigator
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."
