Strozier, A. (2012). The effectiveness of support groups in increasing social support for kinship caregivers. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(5), 876–881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.01.007

Type of Study: Pretest–posttest study with a nonequivalent control group (Quasi-experimental)
Number of Participants: 61

Population:

• Age — Mean=57 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 53% White, 42% African American, and 5% Hispanic
• Gender — 95% Male and 5% Female
• Status — Participants were selected kinship caregivers who were enrolled in one of the kinship navigator federal demonstration projects from the 2012 Fostering Connections grantees.

Location/Institution: A southern county in the U.S.

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine how social support changed for kinship caregivers enrolled in Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator Program (CHN-KN) [now called Kinship Navigator (CHN-KN) Children's Home Network] who participated in support groups versus kinship caregivers who did not attend the support groups. Participants were kinship caregivers who participated in support groups and kinship caregivers who did not participate in support groups. Measures utilized include the Dunst Family Support Scale and administrative data from a State Administered Family Safety Database regarding child safety and placement stability outcomes. Results indicate that caregivers who attended support groups experienced a significantly greater increase in social support than those caregivers who did not attend the support groups. An additional finding was that kinship caregivers attending the support groups were more likely to increase formal social supports from sources such as parent groups, social groups/clubs, church members, family physician, early childhood programs, school or day care, professional helpers and agencies compared to an increase in informal support such as spouse's parents, relatives, spouse's relatives, spouse, friends, spouse’ friends, and children. Limitations include small sample size, that subjects were not randomized to attend support groups, and that the main outcome measure was originally designed for use with African American parents, who only make up a portion of the sample.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Cooper, L., Rosenthal, M., Averett, P., Yelick, A., & Bennett, R. (2024). Children’s Home Network’s Kinship Navigator Program: Connecting to Concrete Resources Through Peer-to-Peer Kinship Navigation Services. Families in Society, 105(1), 139–151. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894231196283

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 240

Population:

• Age — Caregivers: 30–80+ years; Children: Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Caregivers: 52% African American/Black, 43% Caucasian, and 5% Other; Children: 43% African American/Black, 38% Caucasian, 15% Two or More Races, and 4% Other
• Gender — Caregivers: Not specified; Children: 125 Male and 115 Female
• Status — Participants were selected kinship caregivers who were enrolled in CHN-KN, one of the kinship navigator federal demonstration projects from the 2012 Fostering Connections grantees.

Location/Institution: Two large counties in a Southeastern state

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The study used the same sample as Littlewood et al. (2021). The purpose of the study was to examine if Peer-to-Peer Kinship Navigation (P2PKN) improves concrete resource benefits application and enrollment and how it compares to other study groups (peer-to-peer plus innovations, formally trained kinship navigators, and usual child welfare services). Using data from the Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator [now called Kinship Navigator (CHN-KN) Children's Home Network] randomized control trial, the study compared the application and enrollment data for kinship caregivers in Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) Child Only Program for different types of kinship care program groups. Caregivers were randomly assigned to four groups: 1) Standard Kinship Navigator Program (Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator Program); 2) Kinship Navigator Program with Innovations; 3) Kinship Navigator Program with Peer-to-Peer Only; and 4) Usual Child Welfare Services for kin at 12-, 24- and 36-month follow-up. Measures utilized include the administrative child welfare data regarding caregiver applications and enrollment in TANF Child Only. Results indicate that P2PKN excelled at connecting caregivers to concrete resources and had significantly higher TANF application and enrollment rates than other groups. Limitations include although random assignment was used, there is still concern that the study was unable to examine potential differences in groups at baseline, including placement histories, number of siblings placed together, and special needs of the children placed and a threat to the internal validity of this study was identified because lack of access to personally identifiable information for the children returning to care because they were active cases and had open court records.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: None.

Littlewood, K., Cooper, L., & Pandey, A. (2020). Safety and placement stability for the Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator Program. Child Abuse & Neglect, 106, Article 104506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104506

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 240

Population:

• Age — Caregivers: 30–80 years; Children: Not specified
• Race/Ethnicity — Caregivers: 52% African American, 43% White, and 5% Other; Children: 43% African American/Black, 38% Caucasian, 15% Two or More Races, and 4% Other
• Gender — Caregivers: 52% Male and 48% Female; Children: Not specified
• Status — Participants were selected kinship caregivers who were enrolled in CHN-KN, one of the kinship navigator federal demonstration project from the 2012 Fostering Connections grantees.

Location/Institution: A southern county in the U.S.

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to examine the 12-, 24-, and 36-month follow-up on child safety (substantiated abuse record) and placement stability (disruption in placement) outcomes from state administered secondary data for children whose caregivers participated in the Children's Home Network Kinship Navigator Program (CHN-KN) [now called Kinship Navigator (CHN-KN) Children's Home Network]. Caregivers were randomly assigned to four groups: 1) Standard Kinship Navigator Program (CHN-KN); 2) Kinship Navigator Program with Innovations (Kin-Tech); 3) Kinship Navigator Program with Peer-to-Peer Only; and 4) Usual Child Welfare Services for kin. From each of these groups, a random sample of 60 was selected to use for the study and match with administrative data at 12-, 24-, and 36-months after program completion. Measures utilized include the administrative child welfare data from the State Administered Family Safety Database regarding child safety and placement stability outcomes. Results indicate that children living with caregivers who received any Kinship Navigator program were the least likely to be involved in a substantiation of child abuse or neglect and most likely to remain in the home of a relative at 12-, 24-, and 36-month follow-up. Limitations include no access to personal identifiable information on the children returning to care because they were active cases and open court records; cannot rule out the possibility that the differences observed were simply related to longer lengths of stay, rather than due to the intervention received; and even though random assignment was used, there is still concern that the study was unable to examine potential differences in groups at baseline—including placement histories, number of siblings placed together, special needs of the children placed— all of which could have a significant impact on outcomes of interest.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 12, 24, and 36 months.

Littlewood, K., Cooper, L., Yelick, A., & Pandey, A. (2021). The Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator Program improves family protective factors. Children and Youth Services Review, 126, 106046. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106046

Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial
Number of Participants: 1551

Population:

• Age — 30–80 years
• Race/Ethnicity — 674 White, 592 African American, 122 Hispanic/Latino, 120 Refused/Missing, 29 Two or More Races, 5 Asian, 4 Hawaiian/PI, 4 Native American, and 1 Don’t Know
• Gender — Not specified
• Status — Participants were selected kinship caregivers who were enrolled in CHN-KN, one of the kinship navigator federal demonstration projects from the 2012 Fostering Connections grantees.

Location/Institution: Two large counties in a Southeastern state

Summary: (To include basic study design, measures, results, and notable limitations)
The purpose of the study was to test whether the Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator Program [now called Kinship Navigator (CHN-KN) Children's Home Network] improved protective factors for kinship caregivers. More specifically, this study was interested in which types of CHN Kinship Navigator Program Groups improved the following protective factors: family functioning/ resiliency, social emotional support, concrete support, child development and knowledge, and nurturing and attachment using the Protective Factors Survey with kinship caregivers. Caregivers were randomly assigned to four groups: 1) Standard Kinship Navigator Program (Children’s Home Network Kinship Navigator Program); 2) Kinship Navigator Program with Innovations; 3) Kinship Navigator Program with Peer-to-Peer Only; and 4) Usual Child Welfare Services for kin at 12-, 24- and 36-month follow-up. Measures utilized include the administrative child welfare data from the State Administered Family Safety Database regarding child safety and placement stability outcomes and the Protective Factors Survey (PFS). Results indicate that repeated measures ANOVA for each subscale showed statistically significant within and between group differences for kinship navigator program models on Family Functioning, Concrete Supports, Child Development, and Nurturing and Attachment. Conversely, usual care showed a decline in protective factors consistently across subscales. Limitations include that, although many contrasts were statistically significant, the differences between groups were small and possibly of little practical significance and the reliance on kinship caregivers’ self-report data.

Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 12, 24, and 36 months.

The following studies were not included in rating Kinship Navigator (CHN-KN) Children's Home Network on the Scientific Rating Scale...

Pandey A, Littlewood K, Cooper, L., McCrae, J., Rosenthal, M., Day, A., & Hernandez, L. (2017). Connecting older grandmothers raising grandchildren with community resources improves family resiliency, social support, and caregiver self-efficacy. Journal of Women & Aging,6(3), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2018.1444940

The purpose of the study was to examine whether grandmother caregivers 55+ years of age improve family resilience, social support, and caregiver self-efficacy, and which interventions improved outcomes for grandmothers. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: Usual Care (traditional child welfare services), Standard Care [now called Children’s Home Network-Kinship Navigator (CHN-KN)] which provided family support and case management, Peer-to-Peer Care Only, and Full Kin Tech Care (peer navigators with computer access and interdisciplinary team); the sample of grandmothers 55+ years of age were then examined separately. Measures utilized include the Family Support Scale (FSS), the Family Resource Scale (FRS), and administrative data from the Florida Department of Children and Families Child Safety Office was used to determine whether children of all participants remained in the care of a relative twelve months after program completion. Cost estimates were used to compare the costs for several placement options for children. Results indicate significant differences within and between the four groups in Family Functioning, Social Supports, Concrete Supports, Child Development, and Nurturing and Attachment, with the exception of Usual Care, which showed a decline in protective factors consistently across subscales. Limitations include the reliance on kinship caregivers’ self-report data and lack of generalizability due to population. Note: This article was not used in the rating process since the randomization was broken.