This segment of the Kin-first Academy provides participants the essential knowledge and skills required to implement a kin-first strategy in child welfare. By equipping staff with key information and skills for promoting kinship placements, participants will gain the expertise in applying a kin-first framework. This course offers foundational knowledge on tools and strategies to identify, locate, notify and engage family connections upfront, aiming to reduce the number of children entering care and increase relative placements throughout the life of the case. This course will also cover strategies for prioritizing kin-first placements, including step-by-step processes, practice tips, and checklists for expedited emergency placements. It is strongly recommended that you complete the Kin-first Academy: Foundations, Values and Impact course before taking this class.
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- List key Federal and State Family Finding statues and mandates, emphasizing timely family location and engagement.
- Name statewide kin-first strategies and protocols, including emergency placement and caregiver needs during emergency placement and caregiver support.
- Describe the Emergency Placement protocol and funding/support for emergency caregivers; recognize caregiver needs during emergency placements and how biases affect protocol use.
- Commit to early and continuous family finding, recognize biases, and prioritize involving family in planning, especially engaging fathers.