Article

Kinship Services Network Program: Five year evaluation of family support and case management for informal kinship families

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the author.

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to seek to better understand if a community-based family support program, Kinship Services Network (KSN), can improve the social support and family resource needs for kinship families and promote safety and permanence for children in informal kinship placements at a low cost. During the five year evaluation period, KSN served 2956 participants in one urban southeastern county. A stratified random sample of participants completed pre- and post-assessments of their perceived social support and adequacy of family resource needs. Administrative data was used to determine whether children of all participants remained in the care of a relative twelve months after program completion. Cost estimates were used to compare the costs for several placement options for children. Additionally, a case example is used to illustrate program implementation. Participants in the program improved their adequacy of social support and improved family resource needs (p < .001). Ninety-nine percent of participants' children did not enter the child welfare system at twelve month follow-up, showing placement stability and child safety. KSN cost of service is less than half the costs associated with adjudicating a child dependent. Non-relative foster care is 6× (six times) and residential group care is more than 21 × (twenty-one times) as expensive as the KSN Program. Recommendations are provided to help community based organizations promote case management and family support services in their own communities.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.

... Special attention is needed for kinship caregivers because they typically ask for and receive less support than other caregivers Littlewood, 2014Littlewood, , 2015. The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2012) found that although kinship caregivers were eligible to apply and receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) Child Only grant, only 12% were receiving it nationwide. ...
... Kinship navigator programs offer information on benefits, services, supports, and programs to kinship caregivers (Cox, 2009;Kondrat et al., 2015;Littlewood, 2014Littlewood, , 2015Littlewood et al., 2020Littlewood et al., , 2021Lutes, Cummings, Littlewood, et al., 2018) and help families learn about and navigate systems of care relevant to their needs, such as legal, child welfare, school, aging, and others. Planning and operating in partnership with kinship caregivers has been a core value for kinship navigation programs and is included in recent federal guidance, Implementing Kinship Navigator Funding in Consolidated Appropriations Act (ACYF-CB-PI-21-05); this federal guidance (ACYF-CB-PL-21-05) was one of the only federal instruction provided to states and other jurisdictions to determine the program components for kinship navigation. ...
Article
Peer-to-Peer Kinship Navigation (P2PKN) employs someone with lived kinship caregiving experience in providing support to others experiencing similar challenges. This study examines if P2PKN improves concrete resource benefits application and enrollment and how it compares to other study groups (peer-to-peer plus innovations, formally trained kinship navigators, and usual child welfare services). Using data from the Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator randomized control trial, this study compared the application and enrollment data for kinship caregivers in Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) Child Only Program for different types of kinship care program groups. Study findings revealed that P2PKN excelled at connecting caregivers to concrete resources and had significantly higher TANF application and enrollment rates than other groups.
... Special attention is needed for kinship caregivers because they typically ask for and receive less support than other caregivers Littlewood, 2014Littlewood, , 2015. The Annie E. Casey Foundation (2012) found that although kinship caregivers were eligible to apply and receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) Child Only grant, only 12% were receiving it nationwide. ...
... Kinship navigator programs offer information on benefits, services, supports, and programs to kinship caregivers (Cox, 2009;Kondrat et al., 2015;Littlewood, 2014Littlewood, , 2015Littlewood et al., 2020Littlewood et al., , 2021Lutes, Cummings, Littlewood, et al., 2018) and help families learn about and navigate systems of care relevant to their needs, such as legal, child welfare, school, aging, and others. Planning and operating in partnership with kinship caregivers has been a core value for kinship navigation programs and is included in recent federal guidance, Implementing Kinship Navigator Funding in Consolidated Appropriations Act (ACYF-CB-PI-21-05); this federal guidance (ACYF-CB-PL-21-05) was one of the only federal instruction provided to states and other jurisdictions to determine the program components for kinship navigation. ...
Article
Peer-to-Peer Kinship Navigation (P2PKN) involves employing someone with lived kinship caregiving experience to provide support to others experiencing similar challenges. The following mixed methods study partnered with kinship navigators and supervisors to better understand how to support peer-to-peer kinship navigators during implementation. A new tool, The P2P Implementation Tool, was designed to identify the types of specific program activities and time spent on each during implementation. Findings revealed opportunities for organizations to better support the unique experiences and expertise provided by peers. Results suggest ways to improve P2PKN implementation and provide more support to these important workers.
... A number of innovative interventions have emerged to meet the needs of families involved in kinship care. Particularly relevant to the social support, family health and competence, and family resources of families involved in informal kinship care are: (1) caregiver support services that include case management, support groups, respite care and other services designed to build and strengthen kinship caregivers social support networks (Family Strengthening Policy Center, 2007;Lin, 2014;Littlewood, 2015;Strozier, 2012); (2) Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM)/Family Group Conferencing (James Bell Associates, 2015); and (3) Kinship Navigator programs (Lin, 2014), respectively. These interventions are not yet universally available and the evidence base for each is still emerging. ...
... These interventions are not yet universally available and the evidence base for each is still emerging. Nonetheless, there is some evidence that each of these interventions is effective in accomplishing its most immediate objective of increasing social support, engaging and empowering families, or improving access to resources (Family Strengthening Policy Center, 2007;Lin, 2014;Littlewood, 2015;Strozier, 2012), and there is some evidence of reduced parenting stress for caregivers in families participating in FGDM (James Bell Associates, 2015). ...
Article
Informal kinship care is the most common form of care of related children and it occurs without the oversight or assistance of the child welfare system. This study examined whether and how social support, family competence, and family resources were related to parenting stress in a sample of 207 informal kinship caregivers. Results of GEE analysis supported the hypotheses that social support, family competence, and adequacy of family resources have direct effects on parenting stress in these families; and, adequacy of family resources mediate and moderate the effects of social support and family competence on parenting stress. Implications for practice, future research and policy are discussed.
... The tool was then adopted for use as a common measure shared by KNP demonstration projects which were funded by the Children's Bureau in 2012. This tool has since been used to guide family needs assessments in KNPs across the U.S. including programs in South Carolina [27], Washington [28], Florida [32], and New York [33]. Lee and colleagues [33] also tested the psychometric properties and construct validity of the Family Needs Scale in a sample of 303 informal kinship families as part of a demonstration project. This validation supported the promising application of this tool, and Lee et al. noted further research was needed to support the use of the Family Needs Scale for kinship families, particularly among diverse kinship caregiving experiences not represented in their sample [33]. ...
Article
Full-text available
While kinship care is prevalent and preferred over out-of-family care, there are relatively few measurement tools validated for use with this audience. The Title IV-E Clearinghouse, used to rate Families First Prevention Services such as Kinship Navigator Programs, requires valid tools. Such families face a myriad of needs in supporting children in their care. Previous research has established the significant challenges faced by rural families. Accurate assessment of these needs, particularly for rural families, is an essential component of kinship navigation services. In this study, we examined the face validity of the Family Needs Scale for use with kinship caregivers in rural programs. Methods: The evaluation teams with each respective kinship program conducted four virtual focus groups comprising kinship caregivers (n = 18) in three rural states. Participants were recruited from outside an ongoing Kinship Navigator Program Evaluation sample but had previously received program support as kinship caregivers. All states received IRB approval from their respective universities. Verbal consent was obtained at the time of the focus group. Focus groups lasted approximately 60–90 min and participants received a gift card incentive. Data were transcribed and qualitatively coded by question set and individual questions to identify phenomenological trends. Findings: Across four focus groups, we found four themes: (1) Broad agreement regarding the face validity of most assessment items; (2) Lack of clarity and shared understanding of several terms used within the tool, (3) Responses change with Ages and Stages of kinship family, and (4) Perspective considerations varying when completing the assessment. Discussion: Findings indicate that most assessment items had strong face validity, where there are a few opportunities to clarify key concepts relevant to rural kinship families and assess additional needs to understand the situational scope of the kinship experience. Overall, the needs assessment tool appears to have validity in assessing current kinship needs and outcomes within Kinship Navigator program evaluation.
... Kinship navigator programs have shown promise in promoting the stability of children in kinship placements. For example, an evaluation of a kinship navigator program in Florida found both costs savings and lower rates of foster care re-entry for children whose families had utilized the program (Littlewood 2015). To expand program availability, the Family First Prevention Services Act authorized states to receive up to 50% Title IV-E reimbursement for the use of evidence-based kinship navigator programs. ...
Presentation
Full-text available
See my report #4 for research and suggestions on post permanency support for children with experience in foster care.
... • Evaluations of kinship navigator programs funded through the Fostering Connections Act Family Connection Discretionary Grants provide preliminary evidence of effectiveness in engaging families in services, child behavior, school engagement, family resiliency, support, parenting and resource needs (Littlewood. 2015). Qualitative findings suggest families valued the program, felt supported, and believed their needs were met and problems resolved (Lin 2014). ...
Article
Collaborative partnerships are a major factor in achieving positive outcomes for children, youth, and families. They can lead to a common and unified understanding of the needs of children, youth, and families; identification of gaps in services and supports; and coordinated efforts to address those gaps across child welfare and other human and social services. While it is recognized that progress has been made in developing policy and defining standards of practice related to supporting kinship families, there remains a need for continuous assessment of current policy and practice and future directions for enhancing outcomes. University at Albany, New York State Kinship Navigator, and the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) formed a collaborative partnership to plan and host a Kinship Care Summit in Albany, New York in September 2016.1 The Summit included presentations by authors of kinship manuscripts that were accepted for this special issue. Building on the information shared by authors and reactors to the presentations, the latter half of the Summit was devoted to an examination of selected current kinship care issues. Summit participants worked in groups to discuss the issues and develop recommendations for the future. The focus was on all kinship families—those in which child welfare is involved, and particularly those without child welfare involvement.
... Less is known about the well-being of children in private kinship care than about children in public kinship care (Littlewood, 2015). The living arrangements of children in public kinship care and nonkin foster care are similar in that both are monitored by caseworkers and in administrative databases from which children in informal kin care are absent (Stein et al., 2014). ...
Article
Full-text available
This study uses nationally representative survey data to describe differences in characteristics, adverse family experiences, and child well-being among children in kinship care with varying levels of involvement with the child welfare system. Well-being is examined in the domains of physical and mental health, education, and permanency. Comparisons provide insight on kinship care arrangements inside and outside the child welfare system, as well as the variability among nonfoster kinship care arrangements.
... One core priority is to assist informal kinship caregivers in obtaining temporary assistance child-only (NPC) grants. A recent report of a Kinship Navigator program in Florida demonstrates that Navigator services resulted in improvement in meeting needs of kinship children ( Littlewood, 2011). Furthermore, one year after program completion, 99% to 100% of children did not experience subsequent abuse or neglect and did not reenter the child welfare system. ...
Article
Full-text available
This article suggests that kin are engaged as a resource by local departments of social services and diverted into informal kinship care, outside of foster care, and that these families often are not connected to services. The authors offer a procedure for insuring that kin who are diverted are connected to kinship navigators and direct services.
Article
Grandparents are increasingly finding themselves taking care of their grandchildren for various reasons, including their adult child’s incarceration, mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, or child abuse or neglect. Purpose The purpose of this mixed-methods needs-assessment research study was to highlight the caregiving experiences of custodial grandparents and to identify their unique set of needs, strengths, and challenges. Method Recruiting from a support network known as Grandparents as Parents (GAP), we invited grandparent caregivers to participate in surveys, focus groups, and a photovoice project in order to identify the types of services they received, their unmet needs and their lived experiences in their role as a grandparent caregiver. Results Findings highlight the increasing number of custodial grandparents who create an informal community among caregivers to address their unmet needs. Discussion We advocate for a multi-disciplinary approach, including the implementation of formal kinship navigation services prior to the placement of children with their grandparents.
Article
Although the positive impact of early childhood intervention has been well supported, fewer children in kinship families are enrolled in these programs. The current study highlights outcomes from the Kin As Teachers (KAT) 2.0 Program, designed to address the unique needs of relative caregivers raising children from birth to kindergarten entry. Results showed improved safety of the home environment and improved developmental outcomes for children raised by grandparents and other relatives. This study provides the first evidence for an adjunctive program to existing kinship navigator programs specifically designed to benefit early childhood well-being for kinship children.
Article
Kinship care has come to be seen as a way to potentially minimize some risks of traditional foster care, provide an opportunity for youth to remain connected to their extended families, and facilitate ongoing relationships and development. Previous work has suggested potential benefits of kinship placements for youth, but also challenges in identifying viable kin caregivers and providing adequate supports and guidance for these families. Kinship Navigation has been developed to formally and systematically assure placement options and supports for caregivers. At present, however, there is relatively little empirical work on the benefits and outcomes of Kinship Navigation programs. This manuscript examines permanency outcomes for youth served by one kinship care agency: A Second Chance, Inc. (ASCI). Countywide data are used to compare episode-of-care permanency outcomes for youth served by ASCI’s Kinship Navigator program with those served by other agencies without Kinship Navigation, who were removed from their homes during the same 27-month period (January 2017 – March 2020). The sample includes 1108 youth (471 served via ASCI KN; 637 in non-KN programs). Kinship Navigation was associated with significantly higher rates of Permanent Legal Custodianship and decreased disparities in outcomes between African American and White youth. These results suggest that ASCI’s Kinship Navigator program is promising for securing family-centered permanency and increasing positive outcomes for African American children and adolescents. Additional work is needed to more fully explore the key processes, families’ experiences, and broader outcomes.
Article
African American children are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to live in kinship care, yet there is little empirical knowledge available to help understand the attributes of these families that contribute to children's development of competence. This study analyzed existing longitudinal data to explore the family-level factors that promote these children's competence. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that average quality of the biological mother's relationship with child, the quality of the biological father's relationship with child, and kinship care family functioning predicts children's average competence. Additionally, changes in family resources and family functioning over time are related to corresponding changes in children's competence levels. Results from this study highlight that African American informal kinship care families possess the strengths and resources that contribute to children's competence.
Article
Grandmothers primarily responsible for caring for their grandchildren possess strengths and confront challenges. To gain insight into intergenerational parenting, 17 African American grandmothers were interviewed. Based on a qualitative content analysis, seven strategies emerged: maintaining effective communication, taking a strong role in the educational process, providing socioemotional support, involving extended family, involving grandchildren in selective community activities, acknowledging and working with the vulnerabilities, and recognizing children's feelings about the absence of the biological parent(s). Implications for clinical work with grandmothers are included.
Article
This study investigates whether the type of pre-discharge placement, kinship versus non-kinship foster care, has a net impact on children's likelihood of re-entering substitute care after controlling for possible selection biases through the use of regression adjustment and propensity score matching (PSM). Children in kin and non-kin foster care are compared on their rates of foster care re-entry, using bivariate comparisons and accelerated failure time (AFT) models. Lower rates of foster care re-entry after reunification from kinship homes are attributed to differences in child characteristics at removal, greater stability of kin placements, and gate-keeping functions that agencies and courts exercise over discharge and re-entry options. Children adopted from kinship and non-kinship homes exhibit similar re-entry rates, but the results for legal guardianship are mixed.
Article
We review empirical studies on kinship foster care in the United States. We conceptualize kinship foster care within the context of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) most recent ecological systems theory. Because there are multiple levels of influences on the developmental outcomes of children placed in kinship foster home, understanding the interrelations between the individual (child) and his or her surrounding environments (e.g., biological families, social-support network) is important. We argue that Bronfenbrenner’s most recent ecological systems theory is an appropriate theoretical framework for policy and practice implications in addressing complex issues surrounding kinship foster care system in the United States. This review integrates the empirical findings collectively on the factors associated with kinship foster care within and between five systems levels of the ecological systems theory: micro- (caregiver-child relationship, attachment, and kinship family environment), meso- (biological families), exo- (social-support network outside the family), macro- (race/ethnicity and policies), and chrono- (welfare reform) systems levels. Theories that are relevant to the ecological factors (e.g., attachment theory) are also discussed. Finally, we draw policy and practice implications from the ecological systems analysis.
Article
Whereas child welfare has championed efforts in kinship care practice, policy, and research, there is a growing need for other systems of care, specifically the school system, to improve the ways in which kinship care families are supported. This study highlights outcomes from the Kinship Care Connection (KCC), an innovative school-based intervention designed to increase children's self-esteem and to mediate kin caregiver burden. Current issues regarding the status of kinship caregiving families involved in the school system are highlighted using quantitative data and case studies based on: (1) 34 caregivers participating in support groups and case management services, including counseling, advocacy, and resource procurement, and (2) 63 children participating in tutoring, mentoring and counseling, advocacy, and resource procurement. Two case studies describing the familial experience in KCC will detail the process evaluation related to this intergenerational intervention. Results indicate increased self-esteem in children and mediated kin caregiver burden for families participating in the KCC. Implications for social work practice include suggestions for ways social workers and the school system can better support kinship caregiving families.
Article
In order to examine the experiences of both formal and informal kinship caregivers, this study presents data from June 2003 to October 2005 from the Kinship Care Warmline, a statewide emotional support, education, and information and referral telephone line in Florida. This study addresses the following three research questions: (1) What are the demographics and basic needs of a large group of kinship caregivers in a Southern state? (2) Do kinship caregiver and children demographics differ by formal versus informal custody arrangements? (3) Do the needs identified by kinship caregivers differ significantly by formal versus informal custody arrangements?The following differences were found between formal and informal kinship caregivers: income, relationship to child, child's age, number of children in care, and length of time in care. Both formal and informal kinship caregivers expressed similar needs. Significant differences were found between informal and formal caregivers for the need for more information about available resources and the need for counseling for their children. Both informal and formal caregivers felt particularly strong about the need for more information about resources. This supports the operation of the Kinship Care Warmline for those caregivers in need.
Article
Over the last decade or longer, the number of children in kinship care has increased dramatically. There is evidence that kinship foster families have fewer resources and receive less training, services, and support, as well as concern that kinship families are less qualified to foster than their non-kinship counterparts. However, the kinship literature has methodological limitations and significant gaps that restrict our knowledge. In this context, it is important to synthesize substantive findings and methodological limitations in an attempt to evaluate what we know about kinship family foster care as a child welfare service, and such an evaluation can shape practice, policy, and research. Therefore, this article presents a methodological and substantive synthesis of kinship care research. Suggestions for directing future research are made.
Article
Kin caregivers can provide continuity and connectedness for children who cannot remain with their parents. This is one reason kinship care has become the preferred placement option for foster children. However, despite the growing reliance on kin caregivers, kinship care policies have evolved with little coherent guidance. This article examines kinship care and finds: Kinship foster parents tend to be older and have lower incomes, poorer health, and less education than non-kin foster parents. As a result, kin caregivers face more challenges as foster parents than non-kin caregivers. The links between payment and licensure, and the haphazard evolution of licensing policies and practices, complicate efforts to provide fair compensation for kin caregivers. Kinship caregivers receive less supervision and fewer services than non-kin caregivers, thus kin may not receive the support they need to nurture and protect the children in their care, even though their needs for support may be greater. Kinship foster care questions many traditional notions about family obligation, governmental responsibility, and the nature of permanency for children in care. The article concludes by discussing these concerns, and calls for more thoughtful consideration of the uniqueness of kinship care in developing policies and best practices.
Article
The KinNET project came into existence because of the need to support a growing number of grandparents and other relatives providing care for children within the foster care system. It was a demonstration project funded by the Children's Bureau designed to create a national network of support groups for older relatives-mostly grandparents-caring for children in and associated with the foster care system. Grandparents and other relatives are an invaluable resource to the child welfare system. However, these caregivers are also an overburdened population that needs creative and supportive interventions to enhance their capacity to provide quality care and reduce the risks to the children. In this intervention the support group approach was tested (a replication of the Brookdale Foundation model with project management from Generations United). Support groups often provide kinship caregivers with access to important emotional and community support, information and referral, relaxation, and respite. This article briefly describes the project, a profile of the caregivers (n = 102) and the children in their care (n = 226), and highlights from the survey data. In addition, we discuss the three key lessons learned from the project and make recommendations to better serve this population. doi:10.1300/J045v22n03_14.
Article
This article uses national data to look at the differences between children in kinship and non-kinship care arrangements. Three groups are compared: children in non-kin foster care, children in kinship foster care, and children in “voluntary” kinship care. Children in voluntary kinship care have come to the attention of child welfare services, are placed with kin, but unlike those in kinship foster care, these children are not in state custody. Findings suggest that children in the kin arrangements faced greater hardships than those in non-kin care. They more often lived in poor families and experienced food insecurity. They were more likely to live with a non-married caregiver who was not working and did not have a high school degree. And fewer kin than expected received services to overcome these hardships. In addition, nearly 300,000 children lived in voluntary kinship care arrangements; these children are of particular concern because they are not in state custody and therefore may or may not be monitored by a child welfare agency.