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Western Michigan University

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Child welfare

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Social Work

Using Kinship Navigators To Assess The Needs Of Kinship Caregivers, Suzanne T. Sutphin Mar 2015

Using Kinship Navigators To Assess The Needs Of Kinship Caregivers, Suzanne T. Sutphin

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Kinship care is a viable alternative to foster care for many children, however, the proper supports and services must be in place for the families. This article describes a kinship navigator program for children and kin caregivers involved in Child Protective Services in-home treatment cases. The program was piloted over a three-year period to assess and address the service needs of kinship caregivers. Using the Family Needs Scale as a measurement tool, the results of the evaluation are provided along with a discussion of the need to support caregivers to provide the best outcomes for children in kinship care.


Policy Update: Federal And State Legislation To Support Grandfamilies, Ana Beltran Jul 2014

Policy Update: Federal And State Legislation To Support Grandfamilies, Ana Beltran

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Building on the progress of the last 20 years, helpful federal and state legislation continues to be pursued on behalf of grandfamilies. This update summarizes policy efforts during the last year and looks ahead to what is on the horizon. At the federal level, legislative efforts are focused on grandfamilies who are involved with the child welfare system. States are responding to federal activity by enacting policies to place more children with relatives and better serve grandfamilies who come into contact with the system, including “family finding” laws and including fictive kin as “relatives.” State policymakers are also striving to …