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September 2017Vol. 18, No. 6Podcasts Highlight Programs Connecting Kinship Caregivers With Support Services

Child Welfare Information Gateway launched a two-part podcast series called Supporting Kinship Caregivers to highlight successful examples of state and local programs that connect kinship families with available services. The majority of kinship care arrangements are informal and outside of the child welfare system. As a result, many families are unaware of the many resources available to help them provide for the children in their care and ensure their safety and well-being.

Part 1 of this series focuses on a kinship navigator program in California that successfully identified informal caregivers and developed an online resource tool to help them access a wide variety of services, including assistance with daily living expenses, educational supports, and legal advice. The podcast features interviews with Serita Cox of iFoster, an online resource portal for kinship families, and Michelle Rosenthal of the Edgewood Institute for the Study of Community-Based Services. To listen to how they launched a major outreach effort to locate kinship families and inform them about available resources, visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/child-welfare-podcast-supporting-kinship-caregivers-part1.

Part 2 looks at a Florida effort to connect kinship caregivers with financial assistance through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The Kinship Interdisciplinary Navigation Technologically Advanced Model (Kin-Tech) was designed to address the large percentage of kinship families who are unaware of their TANF eligibility. The podcast features Larry Cooper of Children's Home, Inc., and Kerry Littlewood of AAJ Research and Evaluation. To listen to how the Kin-Tech model was implemented and learn more about the project and its findings, visit https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/resource/child-welfare-podcast-supporting-kinship-caregivers-part2.