The Title IV-B Blueprint: Section 10 - Kinship Navigator Programs

Overview of the Section 

Kinship navigator programs help kinship caregivers - including relatives and close family friends - connect with the services and supports that they and the children in their care need to thrive. Specific program models vary across communities, but generally navigators help kin learn about available services and navigate issues like how to enroll children in school, access medical care for the children in their care, file for legal custody, locate furniture and clothing, and connect with other kinship caregivers in their community. Some navigator programs go beyond information sharing and provide direct support to kin. 

The Supporting America’s Families Act reserves $10M each year to fund the implementation and evaluation of kinship navigator programs. The Act creates a competitive grant program, meaning potential recipients - including IV-E child welfare agencies,  institutes of higher learning, and non-public groups - have to compete to be funded. This is a change from past years of funding, which provided formula funding directly to child welfare agencies who applied for and were approved to provide kinship navigators.

The Congressional Research Service shared these specifics on the new program: 

• Kinship navigator program funds will be provided through a competitive grant program, which will be open to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education, in addition to state, local, and tribal child welfare agencies;

• The Children’s Bureau may issue up to 30 new grants per year. Grants may be one to three years in length.

• Grantees are required to provide a 25% match.  

You can find out more about the specific application requirements in Generations United’s summary of the kinship provisions of the Supporting America’s Families Act. 

These multi-year grants are designed to help programs build the capacity they need to evaluate the programs with an eye towards long-term sustainability. Evaluations funded through the new grants should be designed to meet the criteria of the IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse, ensuring access to ongoing Title IV-E funding for effective programs. Read more about the Clearinghouse in the explainer for Section 8. Kinship navigator programs with a “promising,” “supported,” or “well-supported” rating from the Clearinghouse are eligible for ongoing federal Title IV-E prevention funds. Funds can also be used to help a state transition to implementing a kinship navigator program that is already approved by the Clearinghouse. 

We anticipate that more information and specific requirements will be released by the Children’s Bureau, walking potential applicants and partners through the timeline and process for applying.

Kinship Navigator Programs Help Kinship Caregivers – Including Relatives and Close Family Friends – Connect with the Services and Supports That They and the Children in Their Care Need to Thrive

Around 2.4 million children are being raised by grandparents and other relatives in the US. That’s around 3% of the total child population. Often, a child comes to live with a kinship caregiver with little notice, and the caregiver may not have all the material goods a child needs or know how to access needed services. For example, they may need a bed, clothing, or help enrolling a child in school and finding a health care provider. In some communities, navigators also help kinship caregivers find child care and legal assistance. 

Research tells us that children who cannot live with their parents can thrive in kinship care placements, especially when those children have the support that they need. However, research also shows that kinship caregivers face many challenges. Over half are in the workforce, meaning they would likely need child care for any children in their care. Their households are also more likely to be below the poverty line, and caregivers are more likely to have a disability. Accessing legal custody can be cumbersome and challenging for many kinship caregivers, particularly as they navigate the family dynamics with the child’s parents. 

Kinship navigator programs help meet those needs by connecting caregivers to resources and supports in their communities. As more models are evaluated, there is an emerging evidence base showing that kinship navigator programs provide critical information and connections for caregivers and the children in their care.

Implementation Example

The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network (the Network) has produced a list of known kinship navigator programs, organized in alphabetical order by state and territory with tribes listed separately at the end.

The Network designates certain programs as exemplary, to help service providers across the country learn from the successful strategies of others. They elevate the work of the Kinship Navigator Program – Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio (AOoA), which has been supporting kin for over 23 years! Kinship caregivers do not have to be involved with the child welfare agency to receive services, and caregivers of any age, income level, and type of familial relationship are eligible. Caregivers needs are assessed multiple times, and the program provides services including formation and referral, educational workshops, respite care, and tangible goods. 

As of November 2025, the Family First Prevention Services Clearinghouse has reviewed 11 kinship navigator programs, finding:

• One program was well-supported 

• Four supported

• Two promising

• Two does not currently meet criteria 

• Two were not eligible for review 

The Administration for Children and Families report that in August 2025: “there are 12 title IV-E agencies approved to operate an evidence-based kinship navigator program: Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Washington.”

Implementation Tips from the Advocacy Hub

These core action steps can help build the blueprint for Title IV-B in states and communities. Read more about why we chose these steps in our intro to the series.

Get to know the current landscape of policies and practice.

• There are several places where you can learn about existing kinship navigator programs in your state: 

  • Every state has a Child and Family Services Plan that outlines the goals and vision for the child welfare system, along with the specific policies and practices they plan to use to achieve those goals. Start with reviewing your state’s most current plan and report, checking for the availability of kinship navigator programs and the agencies and organizations providing navigation services. 

  • Kinship Navigator Programs Around the United States, a resource of the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network, lists details about kinship navigator programs across the country.

  • Your state’s Family First Prevention Services Plan is another key document for understanding if your state has a kinship navigator program that is receiving Title IV-E prevention funds. You can usually find your state's Prevention Plan on your agency’s website.  

  • You can also look at Generations United’s state-level GRAND Fact Sheets. These include smaller community-based and/or peer-led programs that offer navigation services.  

• As you review the available programs, try to answer these questions: 

  • Who qualifies for kinship navigator services? Is it any kinship caregiver, or just those with children involved in the child welfare system? Does the kinship caregiver have to be legally related to the child, or do close family friends qualify?  

  • How are the current kinship navigator programs funded? 

  • Are any of the navigator programs currently listed in the Prevention Clearinghouse or another evidence clearinghouse (such as the California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse for Child Welfare)? Have any been evaluated?

Review relevant data. 

• There are several data points that can help you understand the scope of kinship care in your state, such as the percent of children in foster care who are living with kin and the number of children living with kin who are not in foster care. You can access those data points on the state fact sheets on kinship caregiving from Child Trends. You can read more about what data is available on kinship families at this data reference guide from Generations United. 

• Your state may also have more detailed information about kinship care that they are willing to share and use in your planning efforts. Individual kinship navigator programs also likely collect data on the number of caregivers served and what resources caregivers most report needing.

Engage key stakeholders, including kinship caregivers.

• For strong implementation, you need to bring together the full constellation of people who will participate in the program, as well as service providers, community leaders, and evaluators. 

  • Consult with kin, youth, and community partners about how a kinship navigator program could support them - or if they have access to a navigator program already, what strengths and gaps it has. Generations United created a helpful tip sheet on how including kinship caregivers in decision-making that can help you prepare and engage in meaningful ways. 

  • Engage with current leaders of kinship navigator programs to understand what services they provide, what challenges they experience, and how they are funded. 

  • Educate your child welfare agency leaders about the opportunity and learn about how they might be involved in it. 

  • Research local universities and start building relationships with potential evaluators who could be partners in the opportunity.

• Your Title IV-B agency is also required to engage with and consult key stakeholders in the development of programs and policies. You may be able to partner with them to leverage or expand on existing forums for sharing feedback and bringing stakeholders together.

Take action. 

• Based on what you’ve learned from the data and key stakeholders, do you think this grant opportunity would be beneficial in your state or community? If so, stay informed about the upcoming competitive grant opportunity by regularly checking the Children’s Bureau website and Grants.gov. 

• Not every program is ready for an evaluation. If you have a identified a prevention program that might fit this opportunity, leverage resources like the Urban Institute’sEvaluating Your Capacity for Impact Evaluation: A Guide for Public Child Welfare Agencies and Service Providers to help you understand if it has everything it needs for the type of evaluation required by the Clearinghouse.

Resources for Going Deeper