{"id":31580,"date":"2023-08-30T15:50:22","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T15:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/caseyfamilyv2.wpengine.com\/what-are-kinship-navigators\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T16:34:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:34:52","slug":"que-son-los-navegadores-de-parentesco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casey.org\/es\/what-are-kinship-navigators\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00bfQu\u00e9 son los programas de navegaci\u00f3n familiar?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Summary<\/h3>\n

Many relatives lack the support needed to navigate child welfare systems. Kinship navigator programs bridge this gap and ensure child stability.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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More than 2.6 million children<\/a> in the U.S. are being raised by their grandparents or other kin,1<\/sup><\/a> either formally through the child welfare system or informally through private family arrangements. When kin caregivers take on this responsibility, they often receive little to no financial support or advice regarding how to navigate the systems that may help them meet the needs of the children in their care. While some child protection agencies are shifting toward a kin-first culture and practice<\/a> that prioritizes placement with and support for kin caregivers, many kin caregivers remain overlooked. Kinship navigator programs<\/a> help fill those gaps by providing both formal and informal kin caregivers with information, education, and referrals to a wide range of services and supports. The navigator\u2019s goal is to maximize the caregivers\u2019 ability to provide safety and stability and, if appropriate, permanency for the children placed in their home.<\/p>\n

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This brief explains the need for kinship navigator programs, describes their essential elements, and provides jurisdictional examples (including outcomes). For information regarding developing and funding kinship navigator programs, see the companion brief:\u00a0How are kinship navigator programs developed and funded?<\/em><\/a>2<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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For a lot of kin caregivers, hope is in short supply. Part of our job is to instill that hope.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

— Heidi Lester, Program Manager, Montana Kinship Navigator Program<\/cite><\/figcaption>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Need for kinship navigator programs<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

Unlike resource parents, kin caregivers usually step in to care for children urgently, with little notice or preparation. Resource parents often have time to prepare to take in children; they have access to parenting classes, child care, clothing, and a free lunch program. In addition, supports such as bicycles, extracurricular activities, and YMCA memberships often are provided to children in formal foster care but rarely to children in informal care. Many kin caregivers are older and already have downsized \u2014 they may have a smaller car, live in a retirement community, or reside in a house that doesn\u2019t have space for children. Kin caregivers often receive children without knowing about their medical or trauma history; sometimes they take in children they didn\u2019t even know existed until a crisis brings them to their door. \u201cKin caregivers are more likely to be isolated,\u201d said Shelly Willis, executive director of Family Education and Support Services in Washington state. \u201cTheir friends don\u2019t have kids. Their friends may be out golfing, traveling, or enjoying retirement. It\u2019s a very different world for relative caregivers in terms of respite and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like all children in out-of-home care, those placed with kin are entitled to resources and supports that help protect their safety, promote their well-being, and facilitate permanency, ideally through safe reunification with their family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n \n \n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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The kinship navigator program is designed to support kinship caregivers, but it also supports children immensely. When you have a kinship caregiver who is full of resentment, it puts a child in harm\u2019s way. Kinship caregiver support groups are a recognition and an understanding that this is really hard work. And when a community invests in kinship caregivers, it tells them that they\u2019re valued and understood.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

— Shrounda Selivanoff, Director of Public Policy, Children\u2019s Home Society of Washington<\/cite><\/figcaption>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n
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Essential elements<\/h2>\n \n \n \n

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Kinship navigator programs offer information, referral, and follow-up services to kin caregivers to connect them with benefits and services that they or the children need. For example, kinship navigators can help caregivers apply for public benefits such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Medicaid coverage for the child or children. Kinship navigator programs also help agencies and providers tune into the needs of families headed by relatives and provide education about the systems they must navigate for support. In some cases, kinship navigators assume multiple roles. Kinship navigators\u00a0in Allegheny County, Pa.<\/a>, for example, assist in crisis family placements as well as family finding. While some kinship navigator programs are available for all kin caregiver families, others are only for caregivers of children who have child welfare agency involvement.<\/p>\n

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Kinship navigator programs assist kin caregivers in learning about, accessing, and using programs and services, both to meet the needs of the children they are raising and their own needs as caregivers. They also promote effective partnerships among public and private agencies to ensure kin caregiver families are served effectively. To receive federal funding under the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018, kinship navigator programs must be rated as promising, supported, or well-supported on the Title IV-E \u00a0Prevention Services Clearinghouse<\/a>. Kinship navigator program activities that the Children\u2019s Bureau has approved<\/a> include:<\/p>\n