1. How to Create a Kin First Culture:
Seven Steps to
Improved Kinship Practice

2. Kin First National Convening
Held October 27-28, 2016 in Washington, DC
Representatives from:
Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Minnesota, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin
National Kinship Organizations
Developed wikiHow steps, shared resources and tools
Created state specific action plans
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3. Step 1: Kin First Leadership
Leaders with a kin first philosophy can:
promote belief that children belong with family
ensure resources, tools and training are aligned with kin first culture
hold all levels of the agency accountable
Train staff on the value of kin and their unique needs
develop benchmarks and review data
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4. Step 1: Kin First Leadership
Pennsylvania Kinship Laws include
A requirement that kin be searched for and given first option as placement resource
Emergency placement with kin policy
Family finding laws
State assistance and training for counties to encourage a kin first culture
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5. Step 1: Kin First Leadership
Assess your agency’s beliefs and attitudes toward kin
Examine your agency’s readiness for change
Identify the culture of your agency and community
Engage professional partners to support your efforts toward building a kin first culture
Leadership, resources, training and success stories that support a kin culture
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6. Step 1. Kin First Leadership
Clearly define your vision, mission and plan
Identify champions within your agency and your community partners
Incremental changes to policy, procedure and practice that support kin
Promote leadership that embraces strength based, family engagement practices
Create high expectations and shared accountability to cultivate a Kin Culture
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7. Kin First Leadership Creates Results
Represents a 252% increase in kinship care and a decrease of 48.94% in traditional foster care
Visualize that even with strong leadership, transitioning from traditional foster care to kinship care is a incremental process
Over the same time period we have been able to reduce the children in care by 2%, while investigating 30% more cases and expanding our IL services to allow children to remain in care past 18.
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8. Step 2: Policies and Protocols
Develop written policies that reflect equity for children with kin and recognize unique needs
Share draft policies and solicit feedback from stakeholders, policies should include:
emergency placement
notice and engagement
partnerships with American Indian/Alaskan Native tribes
defined roles and expectations for all stakeholders
full disclosure to kin and parents on all permanency options and support
tailored training, services and supports for kin
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9. Step 2: Policies and Protocols
PA Kinship Policy provides a very broad definition of kin
Kinship placements receive same training and pay rate as non-relative foster families
Concurrent Planning Policy
Family search and engagement
Family group decision making
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10. Step 2: Policies and Protocols
Empower those that support a kin-first culture
Review, revise, and create new policy (kinship policy, EC policy)
Ongoing discussion and education
Evaluating placement decisions
(kinship placement review)
Ongoing data analysis of agency strengths and weaknesses
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11. Step 3: Identify and Engage Kin
Identify and engage kin at every step
Prioritize family search and engagement
Focus on role of kin to preserve connections
Use casework and technology to identify kin
Identify and engage fathers & paternal relatives
Use family team meetings to identify, engage, and educate kin
Engage tribes early
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12. Step 3: Identify and Engage Kin
Legal Services Initiative
Diligent Search Packet
Accurint Family Finding Tool
Family Group Decision Making
Collaboration with the Courts/CASA
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13. Step 3: Identify and Engage Kin
Implementation of:
Act 55 of 2013 Family Finding
Fostering Connections Act
Developed a flow chart that illustrates identification and engagement as an ongoing process throughout the life of a case
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14. Family Finding Flow Chart
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15. Step 4: Place with Kin First
Create a sense of urgency for making the first placement a kin placement
Invest necessary resources and align policies, practices and staff
Create a firewall that requires approval for all non-kin placements
Provide staff with tools they need to place with kin immediately, including:
Training and clear procedures
Well articulated roles and responsibilities
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16. Step 4: Place with Kin First
Pennsylvania state laws and policies requires kin be searched for and given first option as placement resource
Collaboration with the courts to ensure kin placements
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17. Step 4: Place with Kin First
Create a culture that expects all first placements to be with kin
Shared accountability with all entities involved supporting kin
Provide ongoing training and regularly measure kin outcomes
Pair caseworkers with social workers to assist with emergency caregiver placement with kin
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18. Out of Home Placement Comparison
Increase of Kinship placements over 9 years.
Currently 40.08% of placements are kin compared to 9.14% in 2007.
Kinship has become our most utilized placement resource as
traditional foster care is utilized 34.73% compared to 75.43% in 2007
Residential increase is due to status offenses
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19. Step 5: Prioritize Licensing Kin
Make licensing kin a priority
Remove all licensing barriers for safe and appropriate kin
Adopt the National Model Family Foster Home Licensing Standards or model tribal foster care standards
Implement a clear process for waivers and variances
Provide kin with assistance and information
Develop kinship specific training
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20. Step 5: Prioritize Licensing Kin
State law and policy makes licensing kin a priority
Emergency caregiver policies allow for immediate placement while pursuing licensure
PA has a process for waivers and variances
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21. Step 5. Prioritize Licensing Kin
Modified county operated foster care agency to enhance kinship licensing
Provide support and concrete items to kin to assist with their licensure
Routinely request waivers to approve kin
Do whatever it takes to license and approve kin
Created two social worker positions to conduct all kinship licensing, support and oversight
In order to accommodate our agency’s consistent growth in kin, we no longer recruit for non-relative foster care (other than for teens only), in order to concentrate on supporting our kin
Unlike non-relative care, that had the opportunity to plan, prepare and choose to foster, kin are often called upon in emergency situations and do not have the resource or support to quickly accommodate children in their home, we provide assistance with concrete items, bedding, cribs etc or any other household item needed to be safely approved through licensing.
Our agency culture upholds a whatever it takes attitude toward approving kin
We have developed a new in-home service with one of our trauma trained clinicians, to be present with the caseworker during removal (whenever possible) and see the child within their new setting, assessing their needs and bridging the gap between the child, parents and kin caregivers. Providing counseling and support to all to preserve the placement and alleviate and address trauma.
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22. Step 6: Support Permanent Families
Support permanent families for children whether with parents and if not with kin
Offer and explain all options for legal permanence
Understand and honor family dynamics and relationships
Use family-centered team meetings to help families make permanency decisions
Provide the same level of supports and services to parents and kin caregivers
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23. Step 6: Support Permanent Families
SWAN Post-permanency Services
Adoption
Guardianship
PA State Resource Family Association
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24. Step 6. Support Permanent Families
Bridging the Gap
Full disclosure and options for permanency
Provide specific training and support (trauma informed)
Foster parent association, supports mentoring and coaching
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25. Step 7: Community Network
Create a strong community network to support kin families
Engage other public systems, such as schools, economic security, and aging
Involve legal stakeholders in supporting kinship placements and connections
Provide opportunities for kinship families to network with each other
Develop strong relationships and referral processes with community-based organizations
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26. Step 7: Community Network
SWAN Post-permanency Support Groups
Foster Parent Association
Aging Grandparenting Program
Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Collaborative
Community-based programs
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27. Correlated Outcomes Related to a Kin First Philosophy
The usage of Residential Care reduces over time
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28. Correlated Outcomes Related to a Kin First Philosophy
Placement disruptions decrease
Placement disruption – 3+ moves by the 23rd month in care
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29. Correlated Outcomes Related to a Kin First Philosophy
Timely Reunification increases
Timely Reunification – Cren entering foster care that are reunified within 12 months.
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30. Correlated Effects of a Kin First Philosophy on Permanency Goals
Increase in the goal of reunification, while reducing less permanent options
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31. Kinship Resources www.grandfamilies.org
Generations United -
ChildFocus – childfocuspartners.com
The Annie E. Casey Foundation –
Statewide Adoption and Permanency Network Post-permanency Services /
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32. Contact Us Heidi Redlich Epstein, JD, MSW, Director of Kinship Policy
ABA Center on Children and the Law
Ana Beltran, JD, Special Advisor
Generations United
Lorrie Deck, Director, Division of Programs
Department of Human Services, Office of Children, Youth & Families
Shara Saveikis, MSW, Executive Director
Westmoreland County Children’s Bureau
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