News

National SOGIE Center – Chosen Affirming Family Finding

The National Center for Youth with Diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Expression (The National SOGIE Center), has officially launched an eLearning module that the Kinnect team supported to develop. LGBTQ+ Adapted Family Finding & Engagement is now available online to the world! This would not have been possible without the input and support of…

Child Welfare League of America – Innovating to Build a KinFirst Ohio

Kinnect Article Recently Published in Children’s Voice Magazine The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Children’s Voice magazine recently put the spotlight on an article, “Innovating to Build a KinFirst Ohio”, that was written by Kinnect team members, Shannon Deinhart, Stephanie Beleal, and Cass Freeland. The article shines a light on the program values that…

Baby Boy reunited with Half-Sister

Success story The situation A Kinnect to Family Specialist was working to ensure that a 3 month old baby boy remained within his family as his parents were being supported with care, resources, and services to mitigate the struggles they were experiencing as a result of poverty. The facilitation The Kinnect to Family specialist found…

Kinnect Team Members Published in Children and Youth Services Review

children and youth services review

Members of our own Kinnect team, Stephanie Beleal, Alyse Almadani, and Cait Proctor-Frazier, along with our partners at Kaye Implementation & Evaluation, Emily Smith Goering, Sarah Kaye, Lucia Reyes, and Elisa Rosman, recently collaborated to write an article titled, “Increasing the likelihood of kinship placements: Testing the effectiveness of an intensive family search and engagement…

YNN partners with youth to build housing stability

Success Story A young person reached out to YNN for help as they had only one week to find a new place to live, and had no short-term or long-term prospects. Between 31% and 46% of youth who have spent time in foster care experience homelessness by age 26 according to the American Journal of…

OhioKAN helps aunt secure legal custody

Success story OhioKAN received a call from an aunt who was caring for her baby nephew. She agreed to care for him for a short time, but it unexpectedly became a long-term situation. Like many kinship caregivers, she was not prepared for this unexpected addition to her household. She needed help accessing medical benefits, childcare,…

With support, Grandma is able to care for three siblings

Success story The situation William, James, and Brooklyn entered foster care because their parents were unable to care for them. They were among the 75% of children who enter foster care due to neglect, which is strongly correlated with a lack of financial resources. Their Kinnect to Family specialist began reaching out to the priority…

Teen expands her family by reconnecting with mom

Success story   The situation Bashia Price, the statewide facilitator for the Youth-Centered Permanency Roundtables (YCPRT) program, was working with Madison*, a youth who was uncertain about what she wanted in the future. The goal of YCPRTs is to support youth in building lifelong connections that lead to permanency. Over 1,000 youth in Ohio age…

Baby Boy leaves NICU to live with uncle

Success story The situation Theodore, a baby boy served by Kinnect to Family, was born with a congenital heart defect and had languished in the hospital for months while the agency worked to identify a foster home that could provide for his medical needs. The facilitation Kinnect to Family specialist Mary Lee began an exhaustive…

Affirming LGBTQI+ youth in foster care: Kinnect meets with federal officials

Kinnect was invited to participate in a July 7 meeting with federal officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about affirming LGBTQI+ youth in foster care. Along with partners from the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services and Frontline Services, Kinnect shared successes and lessons learned from the Affirm Me…