Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  (OhioKAN)

Kinship (informal and formal) and adoptive families with children aged 0-18 or up to age 23 for young adults with developmental disabilities

For children/adolescents ages: 0 - 18

For parents/caregivers of children ages: 0 - 18

Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN) is a statewide flexible and responsive program that provides individualized support to kinship caregivers and adoptive parents. The program is designed to help families identify needs, understand available resources, and build connections within their communities. Through a structured assessment and navigation process, OhioKAN offers tailored information, referrals, ongoing collaboration, and advocacy that aims to help caregivers access services and benefits that meet their circumstances. Navigators provide ongoing follow-up to help support problem-solving, strengthen caregiver networks, and promote family stability. OhioKAN also partners with local systems to improve service coordination and enhance community capacity to support kinship and postadoptive families. The program aims to increase caregivers’ confidence, improve access to resources, and reduce barriers that contribute to child welfare involvement, ultimately supporting safe and sustainable caregiving arrangements.

Mindy Mauk

• Agency/Affiliation: Ohio Department of Children and Youth 
• Website: https://ohiokan.ohio.gov/
• Email: Mindy.Mauk@childrenandyouth.ohio.gov
• Phone: 1-614-907-5113

The goals of Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN) are:

For Caregivers:

• Gain access to community resources and state/local benefits that meet your family’s needs.
• Increase your awareness and understanding of the supports available in your community.
• Strengthen your ability to identify solutions and navigate needed services.
• Reduce needs you have identified for yourself and your family.
• Improve your relationship and sense of connection with your child.
• Reduce concrete needs and enhance the stability of your home environment.
• Strengthen your social connections and support network.
• Reduce your stress associated with caregiving responsibilities.
• Receive support in providing care and parenting in ways that promote connection and stability.
• Learn about the legal options available to support caregiving and legal relationship with your child.

For Children/Adolescents:

• Gain access to community resources that meet your individual needs.
• Benefit from adults in your home being better supported to care for you.
• Experience the supports that help you be happy, healthy, and well.
• Live in a stable caring environment where your needs are understood and addressed.
• Strengthen connections with caring adults and your community.

The essential components of Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN) include:

• OhioKAN was designed to serve formal and informal kinship and adoptive families.
  • Formal kinship is defined by any level of involvement with the public child welfare system.
  • Informal kinship refers to caregiving arrangements formed without child welfare agency involvement.
  • Adoptive families include families who have completed public, private, domestic, or international adoptions.
• Community Practice
  • Partner with community representatives, including individuals with lived experience and direct practice experts, to inform service delivery.
  • Collaborate with public agencies and community organizations to coordinate available supports for caregivers.
  • Conduct comprehensive community service and resource mapping to identify local supports that are available to families.
  • Engage in localized community outreach to increase caregiver awareness of program services and strengthen community capacity to support kinship and adoptive families.
• Family Practice
  • Delivers services via a navigator who is assigned to each family to provide individualized support and continuity throughout the service experience.
  • Delivers services through flexible communication methods based on caregiver preference, including phone calls, text messages, emails, or virtual meetings, and in-person contacts in the caregiver’s home or in the community..
  • Offers voluntary services that families may access as needed throughout their caregiving journey, up to the point when the child reaches adulthood or is no longer residing in the home.
  • Authentically engages with caregivers and young people as partners in decision-making by recognizing them as experts in their own experiences, circumstances, and community context.
  • Adapts navigation activities to each family’s unique needs, preferences, and goals to ensure services are responsive and appropriate for their situation.
• OhioKAN offers a tri-level continuum of navigation options from which families choose the level of support below that best meets their needs:
  • Inform:
    • Publicly available statewide
    • Provides families with information about local resources, benefits, and kinship/adoption supports.
  • Connect:
    • Includes a brief assessment to understand caregiver needs.
    • Provides tailored referrals to community programs, services, and benefits
  • Collaborate:
    • Offers individualized advocacy and hands-on navigation support planning.
    • May include individualized support planning, warm transfers to community providers, benefits coordination, concrete supports, and in-person visits in the home or community.
• All families served by OhioKAN experience a minimum of three activities that are provided at the Connect level of service:
  • Complete the BASICS assessment to identify needs and priorities.
  • Provide a resource list or referral binder tailored to the caregiver.
  • Conduct at least one follow-up check-in to support connection to services.
• Families who choose Collaborate-level services work together with their navigator to determine individualized action steps.
• Service content, duration, and dosage vary based on each family’s goals and preference

Child/Adolescent Services

Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  (OhioKAN) directly provides services to children and addresses the following:

• Living with formal kin caregiver, informal kin caregiver, or adoptive parents who may lack resources needed to care for them

Parent/Caregiver Services

Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  (OhioKAN) directly provides services to parents/caregivers and addresses the following:

• Kinship caregivers and adoptive parents experiencing limited access to human services and material resources needed to meet their family’s day-to-day needs.
• Insufficient information among kinship caregivers and adoptive parents about existing programs, benefits, and community resources that could support their family.
• Kinship caregivers and adoptive parents adapting to new or unexpected parenting roles without adequate guidance, support, or connection to relevant services.
• Kinship caregivers and adoptive parents experiencing trauma, family stressors, or changing family dynamics that affect their ability to consistently meet the needs of their children.
• Kinship caregivers and adoptive parents facing barriers navigating complex service systems, which may create delays or gaps in accessing needed supports.
• Kinship caregivers and adoptive parents experience social isolation or limited informal support networks, making it more difficult to address household and child needs.

Recommended Intensity

Navigation intensity varies by family preference and need; contacts typically range from brief check-ins (5-15 minutes) to longer sessions (up to 60 minutes), occurring as needed rather than on a set schedule.

Recommended Duration

Typical navigation lasts about 34 days for the Connect-level services; Collaborate-level duration varies based on each family’s preferences and needs, with families able to re-engage at any time.

Delivery Settings

This program is typically conducted in a(n):

• Virtual (Online, Smartphone, Zoom, Telephone, Video, etc.)

Homework

This program does not include a homework component.

Languages

Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  (OhioKAN) has materials available in the following languages other than English:

• Haitian Creole
• Spanish

For information on which materials are available in this language, please check on the program's website or contact the program representative (contact information is listed in this page).

Translated resources are available in up to 250 languages through partnership with the Language Line.

Resources Needed to Run Program

The typical resources for implementing the program are:

A central phone line and email, reliable phone access for navigators, a computer with internet connectivity, secure access to state or agency’s designated information system for documentation, and up-to-date information on local and statewide community resources.

Prerequisite/Minimum Provider Qualifications

• Associate’s or bachelor’s degree in Social Work, Public Health, Education, Human Services, or a related field (preferred but not required).
• Experience working directly with families, including service coordination, case management, or similar roles (preferred).
• Ability to travel within assigned region as needed, with access to reliable transportation.
• Basic technology proficiency, including use of phone, email, virtual meeting platforms, and data entry systems.

Manual Information

There is a manual that describes how to deliver this program.

Program Manual(s)

Manual details:

• Kinnect, Inc. (2022). OhioKAN program manual. Author. https://manual.ohiokan.org/

Training Information

There is training available for this program.

Training Contact

Training Type/Location:

OhioKAN provides ongoing, strengths-based training to both its staff and kinship/adoptive caregivers through a mix of virtual modules, live webinars, and in-person sessions. These trainings focus on practical skills, trauma-informed support, and resource navigation so staff and caregivers feel confident, informed, and equipped to meet the needs of the families they serve. Staff training includes practice navigation calls, and feedback.

Number of days/hours:

The optional program replication and implementation support available is typically a 12-month engagement, with opportunities for customization based on needs. Below is the specific training details for initial onboarding.

Installation Support and Program Training Available:

• Training provided through a combination of self-paced virtual modules and virtual instructor-led sessions (additional in-person learning opportunities available upon request).
• Training includes foundational core program implementation content that teaches staff how to deliver OhioKAN services.
• Training includes:
  • 16-18 eLearnings (15-30 minutes each; approximately 8 hours of content)
  • Eight (8) virtual instructor-led training sessions (approximately 2 hours each)
  • Seven (7) individual coaching sessions (approximately 1 hour each)
• Registration for participants for the training administered through the KinnectU Learning Management System (LMS).

Pre-Implementation Materials

There are pre-implementation materials to measure organizational or provider readiness for Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  as listed below.

Organizations interested in implementing the OhioKAN model may use a site application to document their organizational characteristics and overall readiness. OhioKAN also offers a readiness assessment process that includes tools such as a community resource assessment, an implementation climate survey, and a network analysis to help organizations understand existing service relationships and capacity. These resources can support agencies in determining whether they have the structures, partnerships, and capacity needed to begin implementation. Use of these tools is optional, and there is no requirement to use these tools for a formal approval process.

Formal Support for Implementation

There is formal support available for implementation of Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  as listed below:

OhioKAN has a Workforce Development Framework that includes initial training; coaching and supervision; job aids and practice guides; learning communities; and ongoing training. Trainers and coaches provide these supports primarily, virtually, with occasional in-person learning opportunities available upon request. These implementation supports are available throughout implementation. To obtain optional program replication and implementation support, please contact the Training Contact listed above.

Fidelity Measures

There are fidelity measures for Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  as listed below:

OhioKAN uses formal fidelity measures as part of its measurement framework. Fidelity is assessed through multiple methods:

• Navigator documentation: Navigators enter required information into the program’s designated information system, which tracks key fidelity indicators such as completion of required assessments, referrals, and follow-up activities.
• Caregiver feedback: Caregivers complete a standardized survey that includes items related to navigation practices and service delivery expectations.
• Structured practice observations: Coaches conduct scheduled observations of navigators practice using a structured observation tool to assess adherence to core navigation components and required practices.

Training for coaches on the structured observation tool is included in OhioKAN’s coaching and workforce development process. Materials and fidelity tools can be obtained through the OhioKAN team.

Fidelity Measures Required

Fidelity measures are required to be used as part of program implementation.

Implementation Guides or Manuals

There are implementation guides or manuals for Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  as listed below:

OhioKAN implementation supports include organizational readiness and exploration guide, installation guide and checklist, coaching and technical assistance, fidelity and outcomes monitoring, and continuous quality improvement. To obtain optional program replication and implementation support, contact:please contact the Training Contact listed above.

Implementation Cost

There are no studies of the costs of Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator .

Research on How to Implement the Program

Research has been conducted on how to implement Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator  as listed below:

Kaye Implementation & Evaluation, LLC conducted several descriptive implementation studies to support implementation and program improvement. These studies examined implementation processes such as organizational fidelity, service delivery patterns, and navigation practice. Findings were used internally by the program team to strengthen implementation infrastructure and ongoing workforce support. Appendix 5 of the OhioKAN Evaluation Plan describes early evaluation efforts designed to prepare the program for rigorous evaluation.

Child Welfare Outcomes: Child/Family Well-Being, Permanency, Safety

What is included in the Relevant Published, Peer-Reviewed Research section? 

• Kaye, S., Reyes, L. M., & Hood, S. (2025). A statewide cluster randomized trial to test the impact of the Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN) program on caregiver and child outcomes. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2025.2600555

  Type of Study: Randomized controlled trial

  Sample:

  Age — Intervention Group: Children: Mean=8.9 years; Control Group: Children: Mean=8.6 years

  Participants: 1,728

  Race/Ethnicity — Intervention Group: Children: 54% White, 27% Black, 19% Multi/another; Caregivers: 64% White, 30% Black, 6% Mult/Another; Control Group: Children: 49% White, 35% Black, 16% Multi/Another; Caregivers: 57% White, 38% Black, 5% Mult/Another

  Gender — Not specified

  Status — Participants were caregivers who began receiving OhioKAN services between February 2022 and January 2023.

  Location/Institution: Ten regions in Ohio

  Summary:

  The purpose of the study was to test the effectiveness of a new kinship and adoption navigator program, Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator (OhioKAN). Participants were kinship and adoptive caregivers seeking program services from 10 regions of a state and were randomized to an intervention group (OhioKAN) or a minimal intervention control group based on the region in which they lived. Measures utilized include administrative data from the Ohio Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information Systems (SACWIS), the Accessibility of Community Resources Scale, the Brief Assessment and Screening to Inform, Connect, and Support (BASICS), an adapted version of the Social Connections subscale of the Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors (PAPF), adapted concrete supports substance from the Protective Factors Survey, 2nd Edition, and five items from the Kinship Caregiver Stress Index. Results indicate that relative to the control group, caregivers in the intervention group (OhioKAN) reported higher satisfaction with the program’s services, accessibility of community resources, and resourcefulness to meet their children’s needs three months after intake. Six months after the end of services, the intervention group (OhioKAN) reported lower levels of concrete needs and better caregiver-child resources, and resourcefulness were sustained 12 months after the end of services. Effect sizes were small but statistically significant. There were no differences in child well-being, safety, or permanency outcomes. Limitations include that the contrast between the intervention (OhioKAN) and control conditions is limited for families who were randomized to the full OhioKAN intervention but did not choose the additional Collaborate-level services provided (i.e., families in the intervention group that only wanted to receive information and referral); and no information was collected directly from children or youth served by OhioKAN.

  Length of controlled postintervention follow-up: 6 and 12 months.

There are currently no references available for Ohio Kinship and Adoption Navigator .