Information About Family & Kinship Navigator Services
The Family and Kinship Navigator Service is an all-inclusive resource and referral program that has been offering support and compassion to families since 2007. Navigators are knowledgeable about Baltimore County support services and delivery systems.
A Family Navigator can help by offering support and compassion and connecting families with existing community-based services. They can work with them over the phone or meet with them at a time and location that is convenient for the family to help them identify their strengths and challenges and develop a plan of action.
Family and Kinship Navigator Services are free of charge!
Families who have private health insurance, public health insurance or no health insurance are encouraged to take advantage of this free service funded by a grant from the Baltimore County Local Management Board and through collaboration with Baltimore County Public Schools.
Download our latest brochure (PDF).
Our Services
Through a grant from the Baltimore County Local Management Board, Baltimore County Family and Kinship Navigators serve Baltimore County families, kinship caregivers and guardians of children encountering the following concerns:
1) Formulate a Plan
• Identify the family strengths
• Clarify the concerns and challenges
• Provide emotional support
• Identify resources
2) Implement the Plan
• Make phone calls to service providers
• Provide guidance in completing forms and applications
• Discuss strategies for addressing school issues
• Accompany the family to meetings when appropriate
• Empower families to speak up and articulate their concerns and needs
• Follow-up with families and assist with problems that may arise after initial linkages have been made
Whom do we serve?
Family Navigators serve residents of Baltimore County. Specifically, through a grant from the Baltimore County Local Management Board, we serve:
- Families with a parent who is incarcerated or involved in the criminal justice system, and
- Disconnected Youth — youth who are between the ages of 16-24 and are not enrolled in school or working.
Through collaboration with Baltimore County Public Schools, we also serve:
- Families with children dealing with possible or diagnosed mental health issues.
How do we help?
We:
- Determine needs,
- Provide resource information,
- Link families/individuals to providers and services, and
- Provide educational workshops.
The Kinship Navigator Services is a free resource and referral service assisting Baltimore County families who are raising a relative’s children. Most often the relatives are grandparents, but may also be other relatives such as aunts, uncles, cousins or siblings.
The Kinship Navigator provides for the Caregivers the Consent for Healthcare Affidavit and assists with accessing the following:
• Financial supports designated for Kinship families
• Medical Assistance
• School enrollment
• Any other resources that may be needed for the children, including legal and mental health resources
Whom do we serve?
Kinship Navigators serve families living in Baltimore County who are raising a relative’s child/children (i.e., grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings).
How do we help?
- Kinship Navigators provide Consent for Health Care Affidavits for the families and assist in accessing the following:
- Financial supports designated for Kinship Families,
- Medical Assistance for the children,
- School enrollment, and
- Any other resources that may be needed for the children, including legal resources and mental health resources.
Family Resource Academy
The Family Resource Academy may be just what a family needs for support, strength, and understanding that can enhance their ability to parent a child.
In partnership with professional child development specialists and veteran family members, the Baltimore County Family Navigators have designed a series of workshops; and they are FREE to all Baltimore County residents.
Upcoming Family Resource Academy workshops may include the following:
• Youth Mental Health First Aid
• Expanding Your Behavioral Tool Box: A Skills Development Training
• Anger Management: Managing Your Anger Effectively
• Caring for Yourself as Caregiver
• Back to The Future: How to use your baggage to your advantage
• Household Management
• Trauma: How it affects our kids and us as parents and caregivers
• Managing Stress
The next Family Resource Academy workshops will be scheduled for FALL 2017. Please check back or contact 667-600-3074 or FamilyNavigator@cc-md.org.
Support Groups
Family Support Groups provide a monthly opportunity for the parents and caretakers of children with emotional and behavioral challenges to share experiences and advice, as well as access training and emotional support. Our child welfare and mental health programs are nationally recognized for their efforts to involve family members in as many ways as possible. Research shows that family involvement has a strong impact on the success of treatment.
Please contact 667-600-3074 or FamilyNavigator@cc-md.org.
Our Concerns
Through a grant from the Baltimore County Local Management Board, Baltimore County Family and Kinship Navigators serve Baltimore County families, kinship caregivers and guardians of children encountering the following concerns:
The families and children of individuals who are currently or were previously incarcerated in a state or local correctional facility for adults or juveniles, including those under criminal justice supervision prior to or following a period of incarceration.
In the event of parental Incarceration:
• A Family or Kinship Navigator responds to requests or referrals to assist Baltimore County families, kinship caregivers and guardians of children impacted by criminal justice involved parents.
• When families receive accurate information and have strong community support, they can better understand and cope with some of the stress that goes along with having a family member incarcerated or involved in the criminal justice system.
• It is important for caregivers and children to have support as they work through this experience to be able to talk to trusted adults in an emotionally safe, comforting and nurturing way.
• The Family and Kinship Navigators offer Parenting Inside Out, an evidence-based, cognitive-behavioral parent management skills training program created for incarcerated parents.
Children of Incarcerated Parents
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of individuals incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United States had reached almost 1.6 million by the end of 2008. One in every 99 U.S. residents is in a prison or jail (PewCenter, 2008). One in every 31 Americans is incarcerated or on parole/probation (PewCenter, 2008). Approximately, 10 million children nationwide have a parent who has been incarcerated. 2.3 million of those children, or roughly one child out of every 30 currently has a parent in state or federal prison.
To assist disconnected youth, a Family Navigator responds to requests or referrals to assist Baltimore County teenagers and young adults, ages 16-24, who are not working or enrolled in school.
Family Navigators have identified common barriers to youth obtaining education or employment such as: low income, pregnancy and parenting, disability, a youth placement in foster care, homelessness or involvement in the juvenile justice system.
Family Navigators can listen to youth and identify programs developed to assist them to reach their employment or educational goals.
Many “opportunity youth” — youth who are not working or in school — would benefit substantially from gaining work experience but need help overcoming barriers to employment and accessing the labor market. In response, advocates, policy makers and program providers are driving a growing national movement toward better helping opportunity youth succeed in employment. Those opportunity youth facing the most significant challenges, such as extreme poverty, homelessness and justice system involvement, often need even more intensive assistance in entering and keeping employment, and are at risk of being left behind even by employment programs that are specifically designed to serve opportunity youth. There is limited evidence supporting best practices in employment services for these young people, although numerous program providers are developing and implementing innovative techniques for helping those youth facing the most barriers to enter and succeed in employment.
– May 2015, Research Brief, Heartland Alliance National Initiatives
Through collaboration with the Baltimore County Public School System, Baltimore County Family and Kinship Navigators serve Baltimore County Public School families, kinship caregivers and guardians who have a child with a Mental Health or Behavioral challenge.
Baltimore County School Referral Process:
• A Family or Kinship Navigator responds to requests or referrals directly from Baltimore County Public School Counselors.
• Navigators will reach out to the family, develop a plan of action and help connect the family with community resources.
• A Family Navigator is the parent or caregiver of a child with special needs, who has learned from the challenges of being a caregiver and is knowledgeable about Baltimore County support services and delivery systems.