Create A Sense Of Urgency For Making The First Placement A Kin Placement

4. Create A Sense Of Urgency For Making The First Placement A Kin Placement

Research shows that kinship foster care is more stable than non-kin care and can help prevent disruptions that are harmful to a child’s well being. Kin first agencies invest necessary resources and align their policies, practices and staff to make the child’s first placement with kin whenever possible.

Strategies include:

Create a firewall that requires approval by a supervisor, program manager or director for all non-kin placements.
Provide staff with tools they need to place with kin immediately including:
1. Well articulated roles and responsibilities across units for the tasks associated with making an initial kin placement
2. A well established process of teamwork within and across units to do everything it takes to make the initial placement a kin placement
3. Streamlined processes for conducting background checks and fingerprinting
4. Clear procedures for conducting initial home checks
5. Training on the requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act and how to work effectively with tribal governments and their child welfare agencies