The Kin-first Academy is a comprehensive training series designed to build the foundational knowledge, skills and values needed to implement authentic and meaningful family finding, engagement and support practices. It encourages a shift in mindset, moving beyond compliance- or checklist-driven approaches to deeply integrated, relationship-centered work that honors the lived experiences of children, youth and families.
Who Should Attend?
The Kin-first Academy is ideal for:
- Case-carrying social workers
- Specialized family finding and family engagement social workers and staff
- Case aids, support staff, administrative assistants
- Supervisors
- Program managers, policy analysts
- Workforce development staff
- Any family-service professional working alongside system involved families (e.g. Wraparound, Peer Partners)*
While this series is especially valuable for case-carrying social workers, supervisors and those in specialized units focused on family finding and engagement, it’s designed to benefit anyone within the agency and across-system partners. Cultivating a true kin-first culture requires shared responsibility and collective action. Implementation science shows that when individuals across all roles, levels and systems build a shared foundation of knowledge, it creates the conditions for deeper, more sustainable and transformational change.
*We highly recommend the Foundations, Values, Impact and the Family Engagement Skills Lab for any family-service professional working alongside system-involved families.
Series Format
The Kin-first Academy is divided into three separately scheduled segments:
- Foundations, Values and Impact*
- Family Engagement Skills Lab
- Best Practices in Policies and Implementation
*Completion of the Foundations, Values and Impact training is recommended (but not required) before attending additional courses within the Kin-first Academy series.
Why Kin-First?
A critical goal in improving outcomes for children and youth in California’s child welfare, juvenile justice and mental health systems is ensuring that placement with kin is prioritized—and that kin placements receive the support needed to promote safety, permanency and well-being.
But kin-first culture goes beyond placement alone. It’s about recognizing and preserving the connections that matter most to children and youth—to their family, culture and community. A kin-first approach centers the importance of maintaining meaningful relationships with those whom young people know and love, meeting their relational and belonging needs and honoring their identity and lived experience.
Join the movement to build a kin-first culture that centers connection and belonging for every child—enroll your team today and help lead the way toward more relational, equitable and family-centered practice.