State Child Welfare Policy Guide

1.5 Navigators to connect families with services

Building on the well-documented success of health care navigators, emerging studies indicate that navigators also can help families obtain the assistance they need to effectively care for their children.  Navigator programs help parents and other caregivers find their way through the complicated web of public and community service systems to access needed supports and resources.  Through face-to-face and/or phone interaction, navigators educate parents about services that are available and help them gain access to assistance.  Many jurisdictions are utilizing peer navigators, who are themselves current or veteran service consumers. 

In other fields, navigator programs have been used to help individuals navigate cancer treatment, other medical care, long term care, vocational rehabilitation, and mental health treatment.  Rigorous health care research has demonstrated that navigators can improve early intervention and treatment for patients, including those from low-income households and cultural or ethnic minorities. [i]

Less rigorous research has been conducted of navigator programs that support families experiencing difficulties caring for their children, but promising studies are emerging.  A study of two Washington State pilot projects indicated that navigator services significantly reduced kinship caregivers’ needs. [ii]   Both Ohio and New Jersey have statewide navigator programs to help kinship caregivers to access benefits and services. Based upon the success of these programs, $5 million per year is set aside for Kinship Navigator programs through The Family Connections grants recently authorized in the federal Fostering Connections legislation.  This competitive grants program is accessible to state, local, and tribal child welfare agencies and non profits that work with children in foster care or kinship care. [iii]

Vermont’s 360 Project, which provides navigators for parents who have disabilities, reports that fewer than 5 percent of participating parents with developmental disabilities have had their parental rights terminated, compared to the estimated national rate of 50 to 80 percent. [iv]  

Policy Options:   States can pursue either or both of the following options:

·         Authorize and fund navigator services using either or both of the following eligibility criteria for caregivers:

·         All parents who have disabilities or whose children have disabilities

·         All kinship caregivers

·         Encourage state, local and tribal child welfare agencies, as well as private agencies with experience working with child welfare families, to apply for funding through the Family Connections grants authorized through the Fostering Connections legislation.