August News from Kinnect

Our 17th Annual Golf Outing was a huge success! Over 130 golfers came out to join us for this fun day, and raised over $30,000 toward ensuring children have permanent families and supporting those families.

Julia Hornack received the Tom Roche Memorial Award. Tom was an early supporter of Kinnect who knew from his experience working with people in recovery how important family connections were. Each year, Kinnect honors a person who displays leadership, strength, generosity, and compassion, the characteristics he embodied.

Julia has served on the Kinnect Board of Trustees for 12 years. She is a past board president and currently chairs the Development Committee and heads up the Scrabble Tournament. Julia identified with the Kinnect mission and vision because of the close relationship she has with her own family. She intuitively knew how important family connections are in helping people reach their fullest potential. Congratulations, Julia!

Youth-Centered Permanency Roundtables (YCPRT) is a program that creates a framework to put youth at the center of a series of important meetings designed to lead to a permanent family. Youth actively participate and help drive the process. They are empowered to invite the important people in their lives to participate and help them set up a support network.

The YCPRT Advisory Council met August 26. Council members were introduced to new YCPRT Program Manager Katherine Mueller and Statewide Facilitator Bashia Price. The council was excited about the pilot project in which Bashia will facilitate YCPRT meetings in Hardin, Lorain, Williams, and Wood Counties. This allows counties who do not have the staff to implement the program to take advantage of this innovation using a facilitator. Kaye Implementation and Evaluation gave a summary of the YCPRT evaluation they conducted, which showed that 26% of youth achieved permanency between January 2021-March 2022 and 10% aged out of care. Permanency ratings increased from fair to good over the course of the evaluation, and a higher frequency of meetings was associated with a higher likelihood of achieving permanency. The council meets again in November.

Check out the metrics from our SEEK training series for the first half of this year above. You can read more about SEEK or sign up for training below. And, check back soon for new training offerings!

The PASSS program (Post Adoption Special Services Subsidy) is live on the OhioKAN website! Applications are officially open, and families can now apply online using the PASSS application portal. If you know a family who might be interested, visit the link below for more information or to request an application!

Pennsylvania KinConnector is offering a new five-part series from internationally renowned consultant, author and speaker Dr. Joseph Crumbley. Find out more about "The Inherent Strengths of Kinship Care and how to use those strengths to provide safety, protection and stability for children raised by kinship caregivers" by using the button below.