Kinship Care: A Multidimensional Issue
Hon. Richard Rivera, Dawne Mitchell, Esq., James Hinman, Esq., Sarah Hedden, Esq., Thalia Wright, Raleighn Williams, Jennie Stansfield, and Krysta Crawford
Moderator: Tera Ramnarine-McLean
Participants will learn about the legal mandate on the agency to provide reasonable efforts to caregivers to prevent placement and to search for kin for children at risk of removal. Participants will learn about the Family First Prevention Services Act, the Kin-First Firewall, and how counties can prioritize family voice and champion kinship care.
Participants will learn about the Family Court Act and the role of the judge overseeing Article 10 abuse/neglect proceedings for children who are at risk of removal or who are placed in foster care; and learn best practices to identify, notify, and engage relatives and fictive kin resources to help keep children prioritized and connected with their families.
Participants will learn about effective representation and quality hearings for the role of the attorney for the child, parent’s attorneys, and other party’s attorneys, and ways they can reduce harm to the family experiencing the trauma of removal; and work to reunify them with a sense of urgency or achieve alternate permanency with kin. Participants will also learn about kin representation and how it can help improve outcomes in court.
Kinship Care: A Multidimensional Issue
Hon. Richard Rivera, Dawne Mitchell, Esq., James Hinman, Esq., Sarah Hedden, Esq., Thalia Wright, Raleighn Williams, Jennie Stansfield, and Krysta Crawford
Moderator: Tera Ramnarine-McLean
Participants will learn about the legal mandate on the agency to provide reasonable efforts to caregivers to prevent placement and to search for kin for children at risk of removal. Participants will learn about the Family First Prevention Services Act, the Kin-First Firewall, and how counties can prioritize family voice and champion kinship care.
Participants will learn about the Family Court Act and the role of the judge overseeing Article 10 abuse/neglect proceedings for children who are at risk of removal or who are placed in foster care; and learn best practices to identify, notify, and engage relatives and fictive kin resources to help keep children prioritized and connected with their families.
Participants will learn about effective representation and quality hearings for the role of the attorney for the child, parent’s attorneys, and other party’s attorneys, and ways they can reduce harm to the family experiencing the trauma of removal; and work to reunify them with a sense of urgency or achieve alternate permanency with kin. Participants will also learn about kin representation and how it can help improve outcomes in court.