Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network page which lists current Kinship Navigator Programs organized by state and territory. Each listing notes which families each program serves, in addition to providing basic service information and a website link. For jurisdictions that do not offer a kinship navigator program, other kinship supports may be identified and listed.

Kinship navigator programs are designed to assist kin caregivers-grandparents, other relatives, and close family friends who raise children when their parents cannot – in navigating the many systems that impact them, including education, housing, and health care. These programs link caregivers to supports that help their kinship family thrive. Kinship navigator programs started over 25 years ago in a handful of states and grew to other parts of the country based on early success, two rounds of limited federal grants, and ongoing federal funding.

Generations United has been working with kinship navigator programs for decades and has been coordinating the nation’s only multi-state kinship navigator program and evaluation. The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network: A National Technical Assistance Center (Network) at Generations United has been providing technical assistance to kinship navigator programs, new and old, since it was launched. Based on our years of experience, we have compiled this toolkit of best practices to develop or enhance kinship navigator programs. We hope you find it helpful.

On November 30, 2018, the Children’s Bureau issued a program instruction on how title IV-E agencies may participate in this new title IV-E program.

Federal Fiscal Year 2025 Title IV-B, Subpart 2 Funding Available to Develop and Enhance or to Evaluate Kinship Navigator Programs

• Program Instruction
• Indian Tribes/Tribal Organizations Eligible to Apply for Fiscal Year 2025
• Fiscal Year 2025 Title IV-B, Subpart 2 Kinship Navigator Funding Request

and Title IV-E Pre Print Attachment 

Program Instruction from the Children’s Bureau that clarifies the steps federally-funded state and tribal child welfare agencies must take to obtain full federal reimbursement for kinship navigator programs dating back to April 2020 and extending through September 2021.  To obtain full reimbursement for both evaluation and program costs, which can include legal assistance and concrete goods for caregivers, these programs do not yet have to meet federal evidence-based requirements.  Rather, the state or tribal agency must simply provide an assurance that the program is or will be in the process of being evaluated and briefly describe those activities in the pre-print attachment.