Kinship Connect Project - Community Based Connections, Inc. (CBCI) proposes the Kinship Connect Project, a three-year initiative serving kinship caregivers and children in Broward and Palm Beach Counties, Florida. CBCI will replicate the Foster Kinship Navigator Program®, a Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse-rated promising practice, to strengthen the safety, stability, permanency, and well-being of children being raised by relatives and other adults with family-like relationships. CBCI currently provides ChildNet-funded kinship support services to approximately 100 caregivers annually in Broward County. Kinship Connect will expand this existing platform by increasing service capacity and adding the model-specific elements necessary for formal evidence-based replication, including developer-approved training and technical assistance, standardized assessment and case planning, fidelity monitoring, closed-loop referrals, performance measurement, and independent evaluation. The project will also establish the Foster Kinship Navigator Program® in Palm Beach County, where the model is not currently formally implemented, creating a two-county replication demonstration that includes urban, suburban, and rural communities. During the project period, CBCI will enroll 320 unduplicated kinship families, including approximately 180 families in Broward County and 140 families in Palm Beach County, representing approximately 360 caregivers and 520 children. At least 40% of enrolled families are expected to be informal kinship families not receiving ongoing child welfare case-management services. Services will include information and referral, benefits navigation, legal-service linkage, caregiver education and support, family assessment, individualized case planning, intensive Family Advocate case management, tangible supports, support groups, and closed-loop referrals. An independent third-party evaluator will assess implementation, fidelity, outcomes, costs, continuous quality improvement, and sustainability. The evaluation will examine caregiver access to services and benefits, legal and financial stability, caregiver self-efficacy and support, placement stability, service costs, and the implementation conditions necessary for successful replication. Findings from Broward and Palm Beach Counties will be synthesized into a Florida Replication and Scale-Up Brief to inform DCF, ChildNet, other Community-Based Care lead agencies, and kinship-serving organizations considering future expansion of evidence-based Kinship Navigator services throughout Florida.
