Kinship Navigator Programs to Receive $19 Million

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) awarded $19 million to child welfare agencies of all States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and 11 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. This funding will be used to develop, enhance or evaluate kinship navigator programs and solidify the Administration’s commitment to permanency for children in the child welfare system.

In June 2020, President Trump signed the Executive Order on Strengthening the Child Welfare System for America’s Children. The Executive Order demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to ensuring that children benefit from the care and support of loving, permanent families, preferably their own families whenever possible.

“When children are unable to remain safely in their homes, they are often placed with their grandparents or other relatives who then take primary responsibility to care for these children,” said ACF Assistant Secretary Lynn Johnson. “We must ensure that federal funding provides comprehensive services to these children and families so the entire family is set up for success, prosperity, and economic mobility.”

Background

Kinship navigator programs serve as a resource for families involved in the child welfare system, as well as families with no child welfare involvement. They are an important resource to help grandparents and other kin caregivers learn about and access programs and services to meet their own needs and the needs of the children they are raising.

The funding being awarded is intended to help states and tribes prepare to participate in the title IV-E Kinship Navigator Program authorized by the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA). This is the third year in a row that grants have been awarded to support development, expansion and evaluation of kinship navigator programs.

More than 2.5 million children currently are being raised by their grandparents and other relatives, both formally through the child welfare system and informally through private family arrangements. Among children in foster care, approximately 32 percent are living in the home of a relative.

When these caregivers take on this responsibility, especially outside of the foster care system, they may receive little to no financial support or advice on how to navigate the many systems that they might need to access to help them meet the needs of the children in their care.

Kinship navigator programs help fill that gap by providing caregivers with information, education, and referrals to a wide range of services and supports.

The Navigator’s goal is to maximize the caregivers’ ability to provide safety and stability and, if needed, permanency for the children placed in their home.