Foster Kinship’s Navigator Program is the only program of it’s kind in Nevada. Our Navigator Program is modeled on well-established Kinship Navigator programs in other states, such as Washington, Arizona, and New York, that have been evaluated and shown to:

• Connect families with financial resources, such as the child-only TANF grant
• Provide caregivers with information and referrals relevant to their specific caregiving situation
• Keep children out of the public child welfare system (foster care)
• Provide emotional support for caregivers

Foster Kinship's Navigator Program has been undergoing rigorous outside evaluation since October 2018, and results will be published in 2020.

Read more:

• http://www2.grandfamilies.org/Kinship...
• https://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm...
• http://www.nrcpfc.org/grantees.html
• http://www.cebc4cw.org/program/kins...

Foster Kinship utilizes the Family Resource Scale [FRS], which measures the adequacy of different resources in households with children (Dunst & Leet, 1987). The FRS assesses whether or not the kinship family has adequate resources (time, money, energy, and so on) to meet the needs of the family as a whole as well as the needs of the individual family members. The conceptual framework predicts that inadequacy of resources will negatively affect personal well-being and parental commitment (Dunst & Leet, 1987). The Family Resource Scale is completed at intake and upon case closure to measure the change upon receiving Kinship Navigator Program services.

In addition to the outcome data from the baseline and follow-up interviews, Family Advocates note when a kinship family has achieved a key outcome, such as custody, securing financial resources, or other indicators of positive change related to safety, permanency, or well-being.

Foster Kinship’s Founder and Executive Director Ali Caliendo, Ph.D., is an expert in the field of kinship care. She focuses her academic work on policy and practice issues affecting both public and private kinship care. A licensed foster parent and an adoptive parent herself, Alison is a frequent contributor to the local, state and national conversation on kinship and foster care. Learn more about Ali.

Papers and Articles:

• New Directions for the Kinship Care: Recommendations for Federal Policy- Signatory
• Advocating for Children in Kinship Care- Author
• Formal Kinship Caregivers and the Challenge of Licensing- Author
• “Seven Tips for New Kinship Caregivers” in the Kinship Parenting Toolbox (EMK Press, March 2015).– Author
• The Intersection of Child Welfare and TANF Policy in Nevada: Review and Recommendations- Author

Conference Presentations:

• Strategies Supporting Kinship Families:  Implementing a Kinship Navigator Model, Legal Services, and Developing Collaborative Policies/Practices 
• Building from the Ground Up: Creating a Sustainable Nonprofit in Child Welfare
• Not Alone: Traditional and Innovative Ways to Engage and Support Kinship Families

Past and Current Service:

• Board of Directors, National Kinship Alliance for Children
• Board of Directors, Foster Change
• State Representative for 2017 Generations United Grandrally
• Superadvocate, Advocates for Families First