Yet designing a child welfare system that prioritizes and supports kin caregivers requires dedicated time and intentional effort from agency leaders and staff.
The GPL works with child welfare leaders who are committed to having kin care be the norm for children in out-of-home care. This looks like:
Training leaders on how to measure and communicate the benefits of kinship care.
Helping agencies strengthen tools and processes for conducting high-quality kin searches from the very start of a case.
Establishing protocols to maintain momentum for continued kin search when initial placement is not with kin.
Equipping agencies to elevate youth and family voice throughout the search and placement process.
Helping agencies offer tailored resources and services to kin caregivers in the right moments.
Our data in Michigan shows how much more stable kin placements are for kids. They experience better outcomes, go on to have fewer re-placements, experience less difficulty, compared to kids who aren’t placed with kin, who ultimately bounce around more and experience more disruptions.Jennifer Ulmer, MSW
Program Section Manager in Wayne County, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services
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Kinship care keeps families together. We believe children should be placed with relatives or close family friends whenever possible. These connections are vital to children’s physical and emotional well-being. In Michigan, we have strengthened our processes and policies to increase and support these kin placements, as well as proactively connect children and their caregivers to community-based services at the first moment they need help — which helps us keep children with their kin.Demetrius Starling
Senior Deputy Director, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' Children’s Services Administration
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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
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When staff are able to place with family, it feels better. It feels better for kids, allows workers to feel proud of the work they’re doing. Believability increases – this is possible, we can do this. It is worth the extra effort because at the end of the day kids are able to stay with family. It’s important to share those successes.Stacy Hollomon
Chief of Agency Operations, San Diego County Child & Family Well-Being
Learn How to Build Kin-First Management Practices in your Organization
Our publication offers six strategies to help child welfare leaders motivate staff, shift perceptions, refine procedures, and reduce barriers to increase kin placements in their jurisdictions.
Access 10 downloadable resources to help you communicate the benefits of a kin-first approach, conduct high-quality kin searches, stabilize kin placements, and continue internal momentum for kin searches.
Our data in Michigan shows how much more stable kin placements are for kids. They experience better outcomes, go on to have fewer re-placements, experience less difficulty, compared to kids who aren’t placed with kin, who ultimately bounce around more and experience more disruptions.Jennifer Ulmer, MSW
Kinship care keeps families together. We believe children should be placed with relatives or close family friends whenever possible. These connections are vital to children’s physical and emotional well-being. In Michigan, we have strengthened our processes and policies to increase and support these kin placements, as well as proactively connect children and their caregivers to community-based services at the first moment they need help — which helps us keep children with their kin.Demetrius Starling
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
When staff are able to place with family, it feels better. It feels better for kids, allows workers to feel proud of the work they’re doing. Believability increases – this is possible, we can do this. It is worth the extra effort because at the end of the day kids are able to stay with family. It’s important to share those successes.Stacy Hollomon
