Kinship Navigator Program

States can receive title IV-E reimbursement for up to 50 percent of the state’s expenditures on kinship navigator programs that meet the evidence-base requirements of promising, supported, or well supported practices, without regard to whether those services were accessed on behalf of children who meet the AFDC income-eligibility requirement for Title IV-E.

DCYF is working to meet that requirement. It will help us have more access to funding streams, but it will be a multi-year process as there are currently no evidence-based kinship programs. DCYF is partnering with the Aging and Long-Term Support Administration (ALTSA) and the University of Washington (UW) to evaluate and further develop Washington State’s current Kinship Navigator program.  The long-term goal of this work is to build program infrastructure and consistency in order to develop a promising practice that will qualify for sustainable, federal funding.  Additionally, DCYF and its partners are looking for opportunities to help kinship caregivers find and learn about programs and services that support them in caring for the children they are raising.