The Harvard Kennedy School Government Performance Lab is supporting states across the country to prioritize and implement kin-first strategies to increase and sustain kin placements over time through our 40 to 50 Kinship Initiative.
We are working with states from across the country toward one shared, ambitious goal: in 5 years, 40 or more states are consistently placing children with kin at least 50% of the time.
Join the initiative and commit to implementing changes that make kin placement the norm for children in care.
Is your agency committed to increasing and sustaining kin placement rates? Are you looking for implementation-friendly tools, resources, and data-driven approaches focused on kin-first management strategies and staff supports? Are you looking for collaborative spaces and coaching to build and sustain kin-first culture?
State and county teams will participate in collaborative cohort spaces, 1:1 discussions, and ongoing tailored implementation support around kin-first strategies to support your state in increasing and sustaining higher kin placement rates, making it possible for more children to remain with kin while in out-of-home care.
Learn and network with a group of committed practitioners and walk away with:
Approaches to leverage data to identify and prioritize kin-first strategies
Examples of effective strategies, co-developed by the GPL and agency teams from across the country, for supporting implementation of kin placements (e.g., strategies and tools to support staff with initial and ongoing kin searches, documentation and placement, and supporting kin caregivers)
Easy-to-use, customizable resources to help you continue to build a kin-first culture in your agency (e.g., “getting started” resource guide for kin, template tool for communicating the benefits of kinship care)
Ongoing implementation support from the GPL kinship team to design and implement practice changes that lead to increased kin placement rates
Peer connections to other practitioners working on similar issues
What to Expect – Stages of Support
The cohort will begin this fall with a series of five collaborative virtual learning sessions (held September 23 through November 18, 2026), followed by six months of tailored implementation support from the GPL as you take your team’s action plan and begin implementing kin-first strategies in counties across your state.
Teams are asked to fully participate in all cohort activities and commit to the following timeline from now through June 2027.
Preparing for kickoff
Aug – Sep 2026
Attend 1-2 cohort prep meetings with the GPL kinship team
Begin preparing summary aggregate data on recent kin placement trends that teams will leverage throughout the cohort to inform data-driven approaches to kin-first strategies
Collaborative cohort learning sessions
Sep – Nov 2026
Participate in 5 collaborative cohort 2-hour virtual learning sessions, beginning September 23 through November 18 (see description below)
Engage in biweekly 1:1 spaces to discuss strategies shared during the sessions with the GPL kinship team
Tailored implementation support
Jan – Jun 2027
Begin implementing kin-first action plans with local teams—designing and testing new practice changes that strengthen kin-first management and culture
Receive ongoing implementation support from the GPL, tailored to each team’s capacity and needs
Continue monitoring kin placement data trends to shape ongoing implementation efforts
Cohort reunion
Jun 2027
Join cohort teams to celebrate progress, share challenges, and commit to next steps for continuing to advance kin-first strategies
About the Cohort Learning Sessions
Cohort sessions will build on each other, offering strategies and peer learning spaces to discuss increasing and sustaining kin placements:
Wednesday, September 23: Cohort Kickoff & Kin-First Culture Building Principles
Wednesday, October 7: Initial Kin Search, Documentation, and Placement Strategies
Wednesday, October 21: Ongoing Kin Search, Documentation, and Placement Strategies
Wednesday, November 4: Supporting & Sustaining Stable Kin Placements
Wednesday, November 18: Developing a State Action Plan for Implementing Kin Placement Strategies
Each two-hour cohort session will include sharing of content and tools, group discussion, and team planning time. Sessions will take place over Zoom from 2:00pm – 4:00pm ET/11:00am – 1:00 pm PT.
On weeks between sessions, each team will have 1:1 spaces to discuss strategies shared during the sessions with the GPL kinship team. Practitioner teams may also want to schedule separate internal meetings between cohort sessions to debrief and plan next steps together.
Who should participate?
Child welfare agencies committed to strengthening kin-first approaches and investing in staff as kinship champions are encouraged to apply. Each participating state team should have up to 8 participants, including a combination of:
1-2 state-level representatives who are leaders in your state’s kin-first strategy
2-3 county- or local-level teams, prioritizing local agencies eager to move the needle on kin placements and potentially willing to serve as pilot jurisdictions as your state continues to grow in its kin-first practices and culture
Much of the cohort content will focus on strategies most often implemented at the local level, so each county or local team should be comprised of 2-3 managers who are leaders in making and/or supporting kin placements. This includes:
At least one person who directly manages case-carrying staff or supervisors, and
At least one person who possesses a strong knowledge of your jurisdiction’s existing supports for kinship caregivers, such as a kin specialist or resource coordinator
If your agency does not have specific individuals or counties in mind for the above participants, we encourage you to still apply. Make note in your application if you are still deciding who to include to maximize your agency’s cohort experience. The GPL would be happy to discuss and help you further.
How does my team apply?
Complete this brief application no later than Wednesday, August 26. The application should take no more than 20 minutes to complete.
You will be asked to nominate at minimum 1-2 participants from your state, list potential county or local office participants (as possible), and describe your interest in this cohort opportunity. You will also be asked for any information you can provide on how your agency uses or would like to use data to inform kin-first strategies.
Agencies will be notified about their application status and next steps for participation no later than August 31. To maintain a collaborative, interactive learning environment, the number of participants may be capped.
Questions?
Reach out to Rachel Fowler at rachel_fowler@hks.harvard.edu with any questions about the learning cohort or application process. In addition to email, we are happy to schedule a phone or Zoom call to discuss any questions.
What does it mean to have a kin-first culture? It doesn’t feel like a separate initiative, it is part of what you do, it is your DNA. It is part of our conversations now. It is so embedded in processes, frameworks, ways of thinking, approaches. Placing with kin and finding kin regardless of placement type is what we do, because we know the benefits and we’ve set ourselves up to operate that way. Mariah Williams
Kinship & Community Engagement Support Program Coordinator, San Diego County Child & Family Wellbeing
What does it mean to have a kin-first culture? It doesn’t feel like a separate initiative, it is part of what you do, it is your DNA. It is part of our conversations now. It is so embedded in processes, frameworks, ways of thinking, approaches. Placing with kin and finding kin regardless of placement type is what we do, because we know the benefits and we’ve set ourselves up to operate that way.Mariah Williams