STRATEGY BRIEF - What are some strategies that prioritize first placement of children

The family then is assigned a worker who checks in several times a week to ensure the child remains safe in the home and assist the family in accessing the resources essential to successfully complete the steps identified in the action plan. [...] The guidance is designed to support and ease the placement of children with their kin, with a dual goal to ensure more children are under the care of those who know and love them, and ensure kinship caregivers receive financial support equitable to that of non-kin caregivers. [...] Research has shown that placing a child with a non-relative caregiver of the same race can positively impact placement stability, and that recruiting resource caregivers with diverse identities and backgrounds helps to ensure children are placed with families that nurture and affirm their culture and identity.7 Implementing these strategies can help mitigate the overrepresentation of Black and Ame. [...] In the event of a crisis, caregivers can call the program around the clock and a worker will arrive at the home within an hour to help deescalate the crisis, assess the situation, and develop a plan with the child and caregiver. [...] Partnership between parents and caregivers is key The Youth Law Center implemented the Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) with the goal of cultivating strong relationships between caregivers and parents to increase the likelihood that children will have access to supports to heal, grow, and flourish.