Kinship Navigation

Providing children and their kinship caregivers with the resources and support they need.
(833) 572-2053 Katherine.Spoon@onelfs.org

What is Kinship Navigation?

The LFS Kinship Navigator program strengthens and preserves families formed through kinship care. We help kinship caregivers learn about, find, and engage with services and connections to meet the needs of the children they are rearing, as well as their own needs.

Services provided are individualized family case management, assistance with resources, access to legal assistance and connection to family support groups.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The Kinship Navigator program is an informal, voluntary service that provides both in- and out-of-home assistance to kinship caregivers and children.

    Kinship families are relatives or non-relatives who have assumed parental responsibilities of children for biological parents. Most kinship caregivers are grandparents caring for their grandchildren, and many of them lack availability and/or awareness of resources they desperately need.

    LFS provides support to caregivers and families by helping them access resources, while also giving them the opportunity to share their stories with a peer navigator who can directly relate to the unique experiences of kinship caregivers. Caregivers will also have access to monthly support group meetings where they can connect with other kinship families in the community.

    The Kinship Navigator program focuses on prevention, as LFS hopes to intervene with families early and keep children close to their relatives and out of the formal child welfare system.

  • Services are currently available for those living in Lancaster, Dodge, Gage, Saline, Seward, Butler, Saunders, Cass, Sarpy, Washington and Colfax counties.

    To qualify, you must be providing kinship care for a child who has not become a ward of the state and resides in the State of Nebraska.

  • Lutheran Family Services is committed to providing kinship caregivers with the resources they need, both online and off.

    • RSafe® Therapy
      • Sexual abuse is traumatic for everyone affected, and Lutheran Family Services offers support and healing through the RSafe® program. For more information on RSafe®, click here.
    • AARP Grandfamilies Guide
      • Intended for grandparents who have begun caring for a grandchild, this guide provides helpful tips, resources and information that you need to know. Click here to learn more.

This program is funded by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.