Kin information often gets lost in case notes or scattered across different workers' files, leaving children and youth without access to potential placements and ongoing support.

Use shared electronic lists and visual mapping tools to ensure comprehensive kin documentation. This helps find more placement options and enables the whole team to maintain important relationships.

How to do this

Create shared electronic lists for team coordination. Include kin names, their relationship to the child or youth, their contact information, and their contact method preferences. Add brief but relevant context notes, including the last contact date and team member who made contact. Make the list accessible to the whole team, including those outside the agency like CASAs (court-appointed special advocates), attorneys, parents, and foster parents.

If IT restrictions prevent file sharing, get creative with your solutions, like monthly emailed updates or collectively updating lists at planning meetings. Coordinate with tribal partners on record-keeping for Native children.

Use visual mapping to identify and organize connections. Create a genogram (family tree) to show relationships using genogram software, blank paper, or a dry-erase board. Include all important connections, even if they aren't legal or blood relatives. Use the visual map to generate new leads and spot missing connections.

Aim for comprehensive mapping. Some programs recommend identifying 150 to 200 people. Update the genogram as you learn about new connections.

This strategy in action

Florida has a template for logging communication efforts to source kin connections.

30 Days to Family suggests that agencies identify at least 80 kin upfront for each child, with balanced representation across both parents whenever possible.

Washington State maintains a policy for engaging local tribal partners to source kin connections.

Michigan’s diligent search checklist has many prompts for sourcing kin connections.

Some agencies have been able to use Smartsheet to securely store and share kin contact information outside of their child welfare IT system (with the full blessing of their IT department).

Resources