Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program
The Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program (Colorado Kinnected) is designed for children and families with open child welfare cases who are entering a new kinship placement. Colorado Kinnected aims to strengthen the support community around children and their families. Colorado Kinnected’s Kinship Navigators use an approach that integrates multiple trauma-informed interventions and coordinates support for kinship caregivers and families.
Colorado Kinnected’s three kinship intervention components are delivered simultaneously and include: (1) Kinship Services, (2) Facilitated Family Engagement, and (3) Family Search and Engagement. The Kinship Services component includes administering a needs assessment and aims to coordinate corresponding services and supports to ensure children can remain with kinship caregivers in sustained placements. The Facilitated Family Engagement component aims to establish common goals for safety, well-being, and permanency through collaborative meetings involving families, caseworkers, child welfare supervisors, service providers, and friends or family. In this component, the family identifies their existing connections and community supports and the intervention strives to strengthen them. The Family Search and Engagement component includes strategies to help locate and engage family members and non-relative kin for children who enter foster care. This component aims to find relatives and other adults who could potentially provide a permanent home and enhance care and support networks for the child. Search strategies include interviews with the youth and birth parents, search engines, government databases, social media, and emergency school contacts.
Colorado Kinnected is rated as a supported practice because at least one study carried out in a usual care or practice setting achieved a rating of moderate or high on design and execution and demonstrated a sustained favorable effect of at least 6 months beyond the end of treatment on at least one target outcome.
Date Research Evidence Last Reviewed: Mar 2024
Sources
The program or service description, target population, and program or service delivery and implementation information were informed by the following sources: the program or service manual, the program or service developer’s website, and the studies reviewed.
This information does not necessarily represent the views of the program or service developers. For more information on how this program or service was reviewed, visit the download the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Version 1.0
Target Population
Colorado Kinnected is designed for children and families with open child welfare cases who are entering a new kinship placement.
Dosage
Kinship Navigators deliver Colorado Kinnected services throughout the kinship placement, with most services delivered in the first 60–90 days after placement. Kinship families have monthly meetings with their Kinship Navigator during the first 90 days of the placement and quarterly thereafter.
Location/Delivery Setting
Recommended Locations/Delivery Settings
Colorado Kinnected is delivered in community settings and in participants’ homes.
Location/Delivery Settings Observed in the Research
- Home
- County Human Services Offices
Education, Certifications and Training
Kinship Navigators should have a strong background in child welfare practice and working knowledge of kinship family interventions and support services. Kinship Navigators participate in an initial onboarding and training in Colorado’s Child Welfare Training System to integrate them into the state child welfare system and orient them to working with kinship families. Kinship Navigators receive supplemental trainings as needed.
Program or Service Documentation
Book/Manual/Available documentation used for review
The Program Manual is delivered in conjunction with the Kinship Navigator Handbook.
Alessi, L., Berzinskas, J., Forehand, G., & Winokur, M. (2022). Colorado Kinnected program manual. Colorado State University.
Colorado Office of Children Youth & Families, Division of Child Welfare. (2022). Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator handbook.
Available languages
Colorado Kinnected materials are available in English.
For More Information
Website: https://cdhs.colorado.gov/our-services/child-and-family-services/kinship
Phone: (303) 866-5700
Note: The details on Dosage; Location; Education, Certifications, and Training; Other Supporting Materials; and For More Information sections above are provided to website users for informational purposes only. This information is not exhaustive and may be subject to change.
| Results of Search and Review | Number of Studies Identified and Reviewed for Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program |
|---|---|
| Identified in Search | 1 |
| Eligible for Review | 1 |
| Rated High | 0 |
| Rated Moderate | 1 |
| Rated Low | 0 |
| Reviewed Only for Risk of Harm | 0 |
| Outcome | Effect Size
 and Implied Percentile Effect
|
N of Studies (Findings) | N of Participants | Summary of Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child permanency: Least restrictive placement |
0.46
17 |
1 (1) | 402 |
Favorable:
1 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0 |
| Child permanency: Planned permanent exits |
0.27
10 |
1 (1) | 402 |
Favorable:
1 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0 |
Note: For the effect sizes and implied percentile effects reported in the table, a positive number favors the intervention group and a negative number favors the comparison group.
| Outcome | Effect Size
and Implied Percentile Effect
|
N of Studies (Findings) | N of Participants | Summary of Findings |
Months after treatment when outcome measured
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child permanency: Least restrictive placement |
0.46
17 |
1 (1) | 402 |
Favorable:
1 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0 |
- |
| Study 14733 - Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program vs Usual Services Control (Forehand, 2023) | |||||
| Foster Care or Congregate Care Entry Within Six Months of Kinship Placement End |
0.46
*
17 |
- | 402 | - | 6 |
| Child permanency: Planned permanent exits |
0.27
10 |
1 (1) | 402 |
Favorable:
1 No Effect: 0 Unfavorable: 0 |
- |
| Study 14733 - Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program vs Usual Services Control (Forehand, 2022) | |||||
| Reunification With Parents |
0.27
*
10 |
- | 402 | - | 0 |
*p <.05
Note: For the effect sizes and implied percentile effects reported in the table, a positive number favors the intervention group and a negative number favors the comparison group. Effect sizes and implied percentile effects were calculated by the Prevention Services Clearinghouse as described in the Handbook of Standards and Procedures, Section 5.10.4 and may not align with effect sizes reported in individual publications.
Only publications with eligible contrasts that met design and execution standards are included in the individual study findings table.
Full citations for the studies shown in the table are available in the "Studies Reviewed" section.
The participant characteristics display is an initial version. We encourage those interested in providing feedback to send suggestions to preventionservices@abtglobal.com.
The table below displays locations, the year, and participant demographics for studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution and that reported the information. Participant characteristics for studies with more than one intervention versus comparison group pair that received moderate or high ratings are shown separately in the table. Please note, the information presented here uses terminology directly from the study documents, when available. Studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution that did not include relevant participant demographic information would not be represented in this table.
For more information on how Clearinghouse reviewers record the information in the table, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings.
| Characteristics of the Participants in the Studies with Moderate or High Ratings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Study Location
|
Study Year
|
Age or Grade-level
|
Race, Ethnicity, Nationality
|
Gender
|
Populations of Interest*
|
Household Socioeconomic Status
|
| Study 14733 - Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program vs Usual Services Control | ||||||
| Characteristics of the Children and Youth | ||||||
| Colorado, USA | 2020 | Average age: 7 years |
60% Racial/ethnic minority 45% Hispanic 40% White 12% African American |
54% Female | 100% Children and youths placed with kinship families; 12% Prior child welfare case; 19% Physical or sexual abuse | -- |
“--” indicates information not reported in the study.
* The information about disabilities is based on initial coding. For more information on how the Clearinghouse recorded disability information for the initial release, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings. The Clearinghouse is currently seeking consultation from experts, including those with lived experience, and input from the public to enhance and improve the display.
Note: Citations for the documents associated with each 5-digit study number shown in the table can be found in the “Studies Reviewed” section below. Study settings and participant demographics are recorded for all studies that received moderate or high ratings on design and execution and that reported the information. Studies that did not report any information about setting or participant demographics are not displayed. For more information on how participant characteristics are recorded, please see our Resource Guide on Study Participant Characteristics and Settings.
Studies Rated Moderate
Study 14733Forehand, G., Alessi, L., & Winokur, M. (2022). Impact study of the Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program. Human Services Research Institute; Social Work Research Center, Colorado State University. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gX-AcIcsuPVex2fdcXDy6FAjPtQZMhO_/view
Forehand, G., Butler, S., Alessi, L., & Winokur, M. (2023.) Impact study of the Colorado Kinnected Kinship Navigator Program: Foster and congregate care entry rates at six months post treatment. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y-t-utAeg1jBGDsUhR53EHRmpUaqvO7v/view
This study was conducted in a usual care or practice setting (Handbook Section 6.2.2)