Transformative Efforts
Long-Term Support Transformative Efforts
As we imagine a new set of long-term supports we must push for true transformation of the system and a reorientation to a child and family well-being system. A transformed set of long-term supports can only happen within a transformed system that operates in a completely different orientation than the current child welfare system. Most of the efforts below have never been attempted or have not been fully implemented by the current child welfare systems across the country.
Transformative Efforts Needed for Long-Term Supports Rooted in Justice:
Federally funded kinship support to any relative (including chosen family) that is providing a home to a child or youth in the child and family well-being system that offers the following:
Adequate financial payments without restrictions or eligibility requirements beyond those central to the safety of a child or youth; this would include no longer disqualifying kinship providers for criminal histories that are not a direct and imminent safety risk to a young person, immigration status, living situation, or any other factor that does not pose a direct and imminent risk to child safety.
Comprehensive economic supports to the youth and family that include those described in the front door section (universal basic income, housing, and supportive services)
Access to support workers, case managers, and practitioners with lived experience in the child welfare system and representative of Black, Indigenous, Brown, and LGBTQ communities.
Access to free legal aid and the right to counsel for the kinship provider and youth in any court hearings
Access to universal health care for the entire family
Laws that allow for youth under the age of 18 to live independently in housing of their choice, laws that support chosen families to host youth in rental units and owned homes, and the legal support to access their rights. Law changes and legal support include pathways to emancipation, the right to consent to housing and services, the right to rent in the private and public housing market, and the right to legally add youth to a household while protecting tenant and homeownership rights.
Youth and young adult choice in placement and services. Youth and young adults have equitable decision-making authority in the type of placement (kinship or supported independent living), the persons they are placed with, and the case management plans and services they engage with through the system.
A fully supported independent living option with access to all of the supports and services outlined in Transformative Action 3