PEI Kinship Support Navigation

Information reviewed September 2026. Laws, policies and service processes can change, so use the linked official source when a current rule matters.

Navigation is more than publishing a directory.

Building GRAND-Families provides a navigation layer across the systems that kinship families may need to use. The service combines plain-language information, guided pathways, practical tools, human navigation assistance, peer connection and referrals so a caregiver can start with the real-life problem instead of first having to identify the correct department or program.

How Building GRAND-Families provides kinship support navigation.

Start with the problem, then connect to the right system.

A caregiver may arrive saying, “I cannot register the child for school,” “I adopted the child and need to know what support may still apply,” or “Child Protection is involved and I do not understand what happens next.” Navigation helps clarify the issue, identify the relevant information or service and make the next step easier to understand.

Building GRAND-Families complements existing PEI navigators rather than duplicating them.

PEI already has specialized navigation through 211, the Family Law Navigator, Provincial Housing Navigator, Seniors Navigators and other services. Building GRAND-Families focuses on the kinship-care context, helps caregivers identify which system may be relevant and points them toward the appropriate specialized service when the issue belongs there.

• 211 PEI
• Family Law Navigator
• Provincial Housing Navigator
• Seniors Navigators

How we are strengthening the navigator.

The digital pathways and human referral entry points are already in place. The next stage is to make the service more consistent and measurable without turning a community navigation service into a shadow case-management system.

1. Simple intake: identify the practical problem without collecting unnecessary private child information.
2. Triage: separate emergency, legal, clinical and routine navigation needs.
3. Warm referral: with consent, help the caregiver reach the service rather than only giving a link.
4. Follow-up: strengthen the process for checking whether the referral connected and whether another barrier appeared.
5. Anonymous system learning: record recurring service-gap themes without building a detailed file about the child.
6. Caregiver governance: use lived experience to review resources, referral pathways and priorities.

Privacy is part of the service design.

Building GRAND-Families will collect only what it needs to help navigate the issue. Detailed court documents, health records and Child Protection files generally belong with the professionals responsible for those systems, not in a community navigation database.

Measure whether navigation actually helped.

Useful measures include whether the caregiver reached the referral, how many handoffs were required, whether the issue was resolved or redirected, the time to connection, recurring barriers and caregiver-reported usefulness. Success should not be reduced to website clicks alone.