News
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Kinnect to Family (KTF) team was invited to give an overview of the program on July 5 by the newly launched Center of Excellence (COE) in Family Finding, Engagement, and Support at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis). The California Department of Social Services launched the COE at UC Davis last fall to…
June is Pride Month, a celebration of the history, culture, and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. As Pride celebrations unfold around the state, we reaffirm Kinnect’s commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. In fact, “At Kinnect, we welcome and include all people as their authentic selves. We treat everyone with…
March 31 marks Transgender Day of Visibility or TDOV. TDOV began in 2009 when Rachel Crandall of Transgender Michigan wanted to set aside a day to recognize and celebrate transgender people and their accomplishments rather than focusing on violence directed toward them. While celebrating transgender and gender-nonconforming people, it is critical that we raise awareness…
Executive Director Shannon Deinhart announced that Dr. Nancy Rolock, Henry L. Zucker Professor in Social Work Practice at the Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University, joined the Kinnect Board of Directors. “Dr. Rolock brings a wealth of knowledge and research experience that will positively impact Kinnect.…