Questions are Normal

Kinship care refers to children being cared for by relatives or trusted adults when they cannot remain safely with their parents. This can include grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, teachers, or family friends.

Fictive kin are caregivers who are not related by blood or marriage but have a meaningful relationship with the child, such as teachers, family friends, or neighbors. Fictive kin caregivers still qualify for many supports.

No. You do not need to have previously received Foster Kinship services to participate. Post-permanency programs, such as Thriving After, and even some of our childcare programing, are open to families across Nevada who achieved permanency through adoption or legal guardianship after involvement with the child welfare system.
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We know that family needs don’t disappear once permanency is finalized. After caseworkers and judges have completed their work, families are often still adjusting, healing, and growing. Foster Kinship remains alongside families (regardless of their previeous involvement with FK) to offer support, connection, and guidance beyond the formal child welfare process.

The Kinship Care Roadmap is a guide designed to help caregivers understand the child welfare process, timelines, and decisions, especially for families involved with Clark County child welfare.

Support may include case management, support groups, emergency resources, therapy, training, youth programs, reunification support, and referrals to community services.

Child-Only TANF is a cash assistance program available in Nevada for eligible children who are living with relatives or fictive kin when their parents are not in the home. The assistance is for the child only and does not count the caregiver’s income in the same way as traditional TANF.

Foster Kinship helps families navigate this process. We have two state welfare employees who have offices on site, and your Family Advocate can schedule appointments for you, help you understand eligibility requirements, and guide you through completing paperwork or addressing questions that come up during the application process.

You do not need legal guardianship or custody to apply, and many caregivers qualify even if they were previously denied assistance for themselves.

Yes. Many children in kinship care qualify for Medicaid or other health coverage. We can help caregivers understand options and next steps.

No. Our approach is grounded in no shame—just solutions. Support is focused on stability, understanding, and what’s best for children and families.

Reunification support through Foster Kinship is always opt-in and caregiver-led. Kinship caregivers choose whether they want to participate in reunification-focused services, and support for birth parents only begins once the caregiver has opted in.

When families choose this path, Foster Kinship works with both the kinship caregiver and the birth parent, providing individualized support for each person while helping everyone work together toward a shared goal, whether that is reunification, co-parenting, open adoption, or another permanency outcome.

Each adult receives their own Family Advocate, allowing space for honest conversations, emotional support, and guidance tailored to their role, while still maintaining a coordinated, team-based approach centered on the child’s well-being.

This model helps families build trust, improve communication, and move forward together in a way that prioritizes safety, stability, and healing.

The Kinship Navigator Program Model was created and developed by Foster Kinship to support relatives and fictive kin caring for children who cannot safely remain with their parents.
The model provides structured intake, assessment, case management, and peer-informed support to help kinship families:
-Understand their legal and financial options
-Access public benefits and community resources
-Build stability for the children in their care
-Prevent unnecessary placement disruption into traditional foster care

The Navigator Model is grounded in research demonstrating that children experience better outcomes when supported to remain safely with family, and that kinship caregivers need targeted, system-specific guidance to succeed.

Yes. Foster Kinship’s Kinship Navigator Program Model has been externally evaluated and shown to significantly improve outcomes related to:
-Access to services (including child-only TANF and kinship licensing)
-Placement stability
-Prevention of disruption into stranger foster care

The model includes a defined practice framework, program manual, fidelity tools, and outcome tracking, and meets federal criteria for evidence-based practice under the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA).

The Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse is a federal review system established under the Family First Prevention Services Act to evaluate programs for evidence-based effectiveness.

Programs reviewed by the Clearinghouse are assessed for research quality and outcomes related to:
-Family stability
-Prevention of foster care placement
-Child safety and well-being

Programs that meet Clearinghouse standards may be eligible for Title IV-E prevention funding when implemented by child welfare agencies.
Foster Kinship’s Kinship Navigator Program Model meets the criteria for evidence-based practice within this framework.

The Kinship Navigator Program Model is one core component of Foster Kinship’s comprehensive continuum of support for families impacted by the child welfare system.
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In addition to Navigator services, Foster Kinship provides:
-Child welfare and kinship licensing training
-Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) caregiver and professional training
-Support groups for caregivers, parents, youth, and children
-Emergency resource assistance
-Post-permanency family stabilization services
-Therapeutic and community-based supports
-Support and training for biological parents in transition and reunification

Together, these services are designed to support families before, during, and after child welfare involvement.

Foster Kinship offers opportunities for implementation and licensing of the Kinship Navigator Program Model in other jurisdictions.

Support may include:
-Access to the Navigator Program Manual
-Implementation guidance and technical assistance
-Training for intake and case management staff
-Fidelity and outcome measurement tools

Organizations interested in implementation should contact Foster Kinship to discuss readiness, capacity, and alignment with local child welfare systems.

Every family’s situation is different. If you still have questions, we encourage you to reach out—we’re here to help.