News

6-month-old baby placed with grandmother

Success story The situation Trudy, our Kinnect to Family Specialist, recently stepped in to assist a family with a 6-month old baby facing serious medical issues. Through her efforts, she discovered the baby’s father had passed away. Trudy devoted herself to finding a relative who could provide the love and support the baby desperately needed.…

Kinnect Releases 2024-2027 Strategic Plan

We are very excited to share our strategic plan for the next three years. Click on the link below to view the slides for more information and expect more details to come as the year progresses. 24-27 Strategic Plan Slides  

Child Returns After Two-Year Separation

Success story The situation A school-age child came to Ohio from Georgia with his mom for what was to be a short trip. A crisis arose and due to system barriers, the child was brought into foster care. The young person was scared and worried about his mom and wanted to see his family back…

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…