POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Update policies, regulatory practice and bulletins to eliminate unnecessary barriers to identify, locate and license kin as caregivers through the child welfare system. Provide additional guidance to county child welfare agencies on the types of licensing waivers that are allowed under the new waiver policy and provide an appeal process that is unbiased and provides kin the decision in writing. Clarify how and whether prior contact with child protective services, particularly prior general protective services reports, may be used as a basis to deny kinship placements, taking into consideration the historic and ongoing surveillance and over-reporting of families of color. 4
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Invest in high-quality legal representation to serve children, youth and families from a preventive approach (prior to court involvement) and through the dependency process. This can be achieved through a phased-in approach of utilizing county child welfare agencies that have already invested in this process as models to other counties. Increase statewide data collection on family finding efforts, all identified kin, outcomes of kinship approval and denial, waiver practices, placement and contact with siblings, kinship diversion and use of safety plans, and permanency in these placements. All data should be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age and county. Implement strategies from other states that have proven to stabilize families and increase family connections and placement. Conduct roundtables regionally to gain the lived experiences and expertise on developing future policy or legislation. These groups should be representative of youth, parents and kin of varying geographic regions, races, ethnicities, and formal/ informal caregiving.
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All policy changes should be driven through a racial impact analysis to dismantle practices that discriminate against kin of color. Conduct further research and identify strategies and policy solutions to better support informal kin outside of the child welfare system. This would include implementation or expansion of services and other financial supports, as well as ensuring caregivers receive clear communications about what services are/are not available to them in their specific situation.
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Kinship Care in Pennsylvania: Creating an Equitable System for Families – January 2021
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