Policy & Practice | Spring 2025

Kinship caregivers are the backbone of child welfare, stepping up for children when no one else can. Yet, too often, their voices are missing from policy and funding decisions. This partnership is a step toward shifting that reality, proving that care giver-led organizations are not only essential, but capable of transforming the system from the ground up. Today, GAP distributes food weekly from the driveway, with the garage and storage units overflowing. Our board members continue meeting with state officials, but GAP grows with grassroots and nonprofit partner support regardless. Together, Foster Kinship and GAP are working toward a future where all children in kinship care have access to the resources, sta bility, and support they deserve, no matter where they live.

leading to improved long-term outcomes for children in kinship care. Foster Kinship’s work began as a grassroots movement in 2011, driven by kinship caregivers who saw first hand the gaps in resources, services, and legal support. Over the years, Foster Kinship has built a model that is effective and rooted in caregivers’ lived experiences and includes kinship families in the decision making. Foster Kinship believes that community-led organizations like GAP are the heart of kinship care advocacy, as they bring cultural knowledge, trust, and direct experience to their work. By sharing the Kinship Navigator model, Foster Kinship leadership hopes to equip GAP with the tools needed to engage with Alabama’s child welfare system, demonstrating the critical role grassroots organizations play in stabilizing families. With the right structure in place, kinship organiza tions can position themselves for sustainable partnerships with the state, ensuring access to federal Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Title IV-E funds, which are largely untapped for kinship families across the country.

Generations United for support, as well as led a state-wide charge under Alabama Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth to surface challenges and supports for grandparents raising grandchildren. In October 2024, the board of direc tors of GAP visited Foster Kinship’s campus to learn firsthand how their exemplary model works. This col laboration, offered pro bono, aimed to strengthen GAP’s capacity and position it for potential partnerships with the state, with a goal of ulti mately unlocking Title IV-E funding to sustain and expand critical kinship support services. Foster Kinship’s Kinship Navigator Model has been rigorously evaluated and proven to improve family stability, prevent entry into the foster care system, and connect kinship caregivers to essential services. The model begins with intake and assessment, ensuring caregivers receive accurate, customized guidance. Families are then supported through case management, providing peer–professional assistance until they reach their goals. The program focuses on legal capacity, financial stability, par enting support, and child well-being,

Keith Lowhorne is the Founder and President of Grandparents as Parents (GAP)—Alabama.

Ali Caliendo, PhD, is the Founder and Executive Director of Foster Kinship.

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Spring 2025 Policy & Practice