When children can no longer safely remain with their parents, their outcomes are better when they’re placed with kin—relatives or non-relatives the child already knows—compared to being placed with strangers. Historically, no national standards in the U.S. existed for licensing kin.

Kin faced barriers that made it difficult to get licensed, meaning they were unable to receive stipends and resources needed to care for children. Our work aimed to make it safer and simpler for children to stay with kin by making licensing more equitable.

A 2023 federal rule allowed child welfare agencies to establish kin-specific standards that followed recommendations of national organizations. In response, we created background check and caregiver assessment template forms to license kin. The templates, along with our findings, were vetted by national child welfare agencies and published as the

Recommended Standards of National Organizations for Kin-specific Foster Home Approval, becoming the standard for all child welfare agencies to follow.

"Bloom made the kin licensing standards, down to the form templates, and now literally the entire country is committed to adopting the standards and using the forms in whole or in most part. States have said many times on the record that those forms and policies made the change so much easier/doable." - Marina Nitze, Child Welfare Playbook Working Group (client)

Over 18 months, we led research with 430+ participants to develop guidance and forms that would become part of the recommended national standards. We conducted desk research, interviews, in-person observations, and process mapping with kin caregivers, former foster youth, subject matter experts, and child welfare staff across 50+ jurisdictions. Designing with kin and former foster youth was critical, as they’ve historically been left out of policy decisions.

Since these standards were rolled out, every state and at least 5 tribes have expressed interest in adopting or have adopted them. States using the forms have reported reduced paperwork (up to 90% fewer forms), and additional savings in staff time and costs.

Ultimately, these tools are shifting child welfare agencies from a compliance model to one that supports kin caregivers and begins to repair relationships with communities who have suffered the most harm by the child welfare system. With the current national momentum and a clearer path to licensing kin, we’re confident our work is leading to a needed culture shift and more children staying with their kin.