CHILD WELFARE DIVISION HIRES ITS FIRST KINSHIP NAVIGATOR
January 26, 2024: People sometimes think of child welfare services as a program that removes people’s children from their home. In reality, the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) Child Welfare Services (CWS) works closely with parents to provide the support needed to keep or return their children’s custody, and if the children must be removed to protect their safety and well-being, DCHS prioritizes placement within the custodial parent family through the kinship program.
Kinship Care is the full-time care of children by relatives or other people with whom the child has a close emotional connection, when the child’s biological parents are unable to do so.
CWS created its first Kinship Navigator in 2022, a position dedicated to identifying, assessing, and supporting family members seeking to become kinship foster parents for children in care; and expanding the work with relatives to care for and support children at risk of coming into foster care. As the first navigator, Edna Myers, who stepped into that role in June 2022, has helped develop local protocols for kinship work, aligning them with Virginia’s movement to emphasize Kin-First practices across the child welfare continuum of services. Myers was promoted to Family Engagement Supervisor in December 2023.
Working with the Kinship Navigator and across all CWS is the Family Engagement Unit, a team that promotes family voice and choice in all practices and decision-making. Unit members provide Family Partnership Meeting facilitation among families, social workers and any natural community supports.
One Family Partnership Meeting facilitator says, “Meetings are based on the philosophy that families are experts in their own situations. Neutral facilitators assure that the voice of all participants and the voice of the children are heard during the meeting. By going through a collaborate process of exploring strengths, needs and ideas, the group can come to the best decision about the matter being posed before the team.”
The City is participating in a state cohort for Kinship First that will begin in April.
“We continue to support and advocate for Kinship Families and since we started the Kinship Initiative at DCHS, we have seen an increase in children placed with relatives in kinship homes instead of entering non-relative homes with unknown foster parents,” says Myers.
Additional programs and services include a Foster Care Program, which works to provide safe, temporary homes for kids who cannot safely live with their families while the families work to improve their situation. Interesting in becoming a foster parent or adopting a child? Learn more.
The Fatherhood Engagement Program recognizes the direct link between father involvement and child safety and well-being, providing specialized fatherhood engagement services to families utilizing foster care.
Child Protective Services upholds the belief that the safety and well-being of children is a community responsibility. To this end, DCHS provides child abuse prevention training for the public and mandated reporters.
The Fund for Alexandria's Child works to enhance the quality of life of children in foster care and children at risk of abuse and neglect by promoting community awareness, involvement, and resource development. Learn about volunteer opportunities with the Fund.
Any concerned resident who suspects that a child is abused or neglected should call the City of Alexandria CPS Hotline at 703.746.5800, or the Virginia Hot Line at 1.800.552.7096 (after 4:30 p.m.).
In the City of Alexandria, almost 30% of calls reporting suspected child abuse or neglect to the CPS Hotline come from schools and youth programs. The City of Alexandria, with the Virginia Department of Social Services, wants youth, their parents, and others who care for them, to know there are people available to listen. If you or someone are not in a physically or emotionally safe situation, please call one of our hotlines and talk with someone who can help.