Growing Kinship Connection (GKC) is a culturally equitable kinship navigation service that increases the well-being of children and families. GKC is committed to co-creating services that are elevated by community members, partners, and agencies. This allows for community ownership, engagement, and partnership. Moreover, there is a unique focus on engaging fathers/father figures to be active in their children’s lives while understanding the historical trauma of slavery and impact of prison pipeline.
GKC reduces risk factors and increases protective factors for children and youth by:
Child Welfare & Protection are complex systems consisting of many governmental agencies working to ensure the safety of children. GKC comes alongside families to educate and empower them to better navigate the complexities of the system. GKC provides resources that focus on navigating the court system and becoming a better parent, with an emphasis on fathers/father figures. GKC utilizes evidence-based curriculum to work along with families to provide an opportunity to better communicate and self-advocate when working within the system.
Family mentorship replaces traditional case management by recognizing the oppression built into "managing family affairs". Instead, our family mentors work with alongside families to educate, provide resources (i.e. swag bags, resource guides), and nurture familial bonds for improving the well-being of children and families. This service is currently offered in St. Louis County.
Support groups are a place for peer to peer support. Father/father figure specific support groups provide a safe space, facilitated by community members in St. Louis County. GKC intends on launching additional support groups for grandparents and other relatives such as aunts/uncles and adult siblings in both Northern & Southern St. Louis County.
GKC offers a relative search service to families we are actively working with. This allows the family mentor to identify possible relatives across state lines to determine possible placement options and nurture familial connections.
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