Announcing the Center for Excellence in Family Finding, Engagement and Support Statewide Peer Learning Collaborative!
We are excited to announce the Center for Excellence in Family Finding, Engagement and Support Statewide Peer Learning Collaborative to support your efforts to expand a kin-first culture! The vision for this important work is that every child finds solace and safety within their loved one’s care, and during times of separation from their parents, children remain unified with their families, communities and Tribes.
The learning collaborative is being established in direct response to requests from county leaders and stakeholders to learn with and from other counties committed to cultivating a kin-first culture in their jurisdictions. Since the inception of the Family Finding, Engagement and Support program in February of 2023, there has been a resounding desire from those engaged in this work to speak and collaborate with their colleagues about best practices for success.
Topics
The topics will be generally focused on innovative approaches for counties of all sizes, grounded in real-time practice and implementation. As a valuable contributor, you and your team (i.e., leadership, supervisors, line staff and other system partners) are invited to co-design the specific topics for the monthly sessions.
Upcoming Monthly Meetings
- August 11, 2026 Looking to Family Again When Permanency Has Stalled | Register here
- September 1, 2026 Keeping Kinship at the Center: When Family Reconnection Takes Time | Register here
- October 13, 2026 Relational Permanency: Every Young Person Has Someone Who Stays | Register here
- November 10, 2026 Moving Family Engagement from Attendance to Shared Decision-Making | Register here
- December 8, 2026 Following Through on Services and Outcomes Together | Register here
Meeting Times for All Sessions: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (PST)
Previous Topics
- June 2, 2026: Navigating RFA to Support Kin-first Emergency Placements
- May 12, 2026: From Relative to Caregiver: What Kin Need When Roles Change Overnight
- April 14, 2026: Getting It Right the First Time: Data-Informed Kin-First Decisions
- March 10, 2026: Last Placement Insights for Kin-Centered Permanency Work
- February 10, 2026: Kinship Placements and Meaningful Stability
- January 13, 2026: Starting With Kin When Children Enter Care
- December 9, 2025: Celebrating Family Stories: Belonging in Action
- November 4, 2025: Engaging Paternal Relatives
- October 14, 2025: Engaging Dads
- September 9, 2025: Engaging Youth in the Process
- August 12, 2025: Engaging for Connection and Belonging
- June 3, 2025 – How to integrate ICWA approaches in Kin-first efforts
- May 13, 2025 – Engaging, Educating and Supporting Kin
- April 8, 2025 – Engaging Fathers and Paternal Relatives
- March 11, 2025 – Promising Practices: Emergency Placements and the Simplified Exemption Process; and a Kin-first Approach to Working with Shelters
- Feb. 11, 2025 – Using your Influence to Expand Kin-first Culture: Leading at all Levels of Leadership Within and Outside Your Organization
- Jan. 14, 2025 – Barrier Busting: Infrastructure and Systemic Barriers to Kin-first Efforts
- Dec. 17, 2024 - Administration: Accessing and Maximizing State and Federal Funding for Kin-first Efforts and Supports
- Nov. 19, 2024 - Parent and Kin Engagement: Staff and Agency Attitudes and Approaches
- Oct. 22, 2024 - Staffing: Creative Ways to Utilize Internal and External Partner Staffing Patterns to Support Kin-first Efforts
- Sept. 24, 2024 - Kick-off