Translating Kin-First Commitments Into Practice: Management Strategies for Child Welfare Leaders
For a growing number of child welfare agencies, placing more children with kin while in out-of-home care is a top priority. Agency leaders understand that kin caregivers may provide children a greater sense of stability and belonging, stronger family connections, and preservation of cultural identity.
Federal and state policy increasingly reinforce these commitments to kin-first care. Even so, kin placements are still not the norm in many jurisdictions. This highlights that policy changes — while helpful at establishing conditions to build kin-first systems — are not enough on their own. Local agencies must also embed kin-first commitments in their day-to-day processes and practices.
Our new publication: Translating Kin-First Commitments Into Practice: Management Strategies for Child Welfare Leaders offers six actionable management strategies — as well as downloadable resources — to help leaders motivate staff, shift perceptions, refine procedures, and reduce barriers to increase kin placements in their jurisdictions.
The Six Strategies and Related Resources:
1. Measure and communicate the benefits of a kin-first approach
- Communicating the Benefits of Kinship Care (PowerPoint)
- Building a Kin-First Communication Strategy (Worksheet)
- Kin Placement Dashboard Guide (PowerPoint)
2. Strengthen tools and accountability mechanisms for staff to conduct high-quality searches up front
3. Break down barriers to placement with kin
4. Elevate youth and family voice in the placement process
5. Provide tailored resources and services to support and stabilize kin placements
- Kin Caregiver Resource Guide and Template (Word document)
- 30-Day Kin Caregiver Calls (Word document)
- 30-Day Kin Caregiver Calls Spreadsheet (Excel spreadsheet)
6. Build momentum around continued kin search when initial placement is not with kin
More Research & Insights
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The Journey to a Well-Being-Oriented System
