PEI Kinship-Friendly Practice Toolkit
Move from understanding kinship families to changing everyday practice with tools for intake, early placement, child voice, kin engagement, referrals and evaluation.
Part of our For Professionals resource series. See the main For Professionals guide for the wider topic and related resources.
Information reviewed September 2026. Use current official sources when a legal, policy or eligibility rule matters.
Six stages make the toolkit easier to use.
Recognize the family in front of you.
Use inclusive language, distinguish caregiving from legal authority, and remove parent-only assumptions from forms and intake.
Kinship-friendly intake & formsSupport the first days and weeks.
Clarify safety, medication, school, housing, benefits, parent contact and who owns each unresolved issue.
First 30 days supportHear the child without making the child choose.
Use age-appropriate participation and keep the child's words separate from adult interpretation and responsibility.
Child & youth voiceKeep important relationships visible.
Identify siblings, relatives, family friends, cultural connections and practical roles beyond full-time placement.
Identifying & engaging kinMake the referral actually work.
Use consent, warm handoffs, a clear owner and simple follow-up instead of sending families through referral loops.
Warm referral standardTurn recurring barriers into system learning.
Measure connection and usefulness, not just clicks or attendance, while avoiding unnecessary collection of family data.
Evaluation frameworkCore downloadable practice tools.
10 Things Professionals Should Know
Fast orientation for staff who are new to grandfamilies and kinship care.
Download PDFKinship-Friendly Organization Checklist
Review language, access, privacy, affordability, referrals and organization-wide practice.
Download PDFKinship-Friendly Form Audit
Audit registration, intake and consent forms for family-structure and authority barriers.
Download PDFFirst 30 Days Support Checklist
Organize early placement support across safety, school, health, benefits and basic needs.
Download PDFFamily & Kin Network Map
Identify relatives, siblings, family friends and cultural connections around the child.
Download PDFChild & Youth Voice Conversation Sheet
Prepare open prompts and record the child's views without turning them into a vote.
Download PDFKinship Case Conference Checklist
Structure multi-service meetings around decisions, responsibilities and follow-up.
Download PDFProfessional Kinship Referral Checklist
Make a consent-based referral without sending the child's private case history.
Download PDFWarm Referral & Follow-up Log
Track whether the caregiver connected and what barrier appeared if the referral failed.
Download PDFPeer Support Group Session Planner
Plan sessions with clear privacy, safety, advice and referral boundaries.
Download PDFDownload the whole package.
PEI Kinship-Friendly Practice Toolkit
Download the core professional tools together in one ZIP package, including the four-page toolkit guide.
Download complete toolkitToolkit Guide
Use the guide to choose the right tools by stage and professional setting.
Download toolkit guideSuggested starting points by setting.
Schools
Start with the school practice guide, School Handoff, Form Audit and Child & Youth Voice Sheet.
School practice resourcesHealth services
Start with the health-professional guide, discharge planning, Form Audit and referral tools.
Health practice resourcesChild & family services
Start with kin identification, care pathways, First 30 Days and Case Conference tools.
Kin-friendly PEI frameworkCourts & legal services
Start with care pathways, family-court practice, child voice and caregiver advocacy materials.
Family-court practice guideCommunity organizations
Start with the organization checklist, Form Audit and warm-referral tools.
Community organization guideGovernment & funders
Start with PEI Facts, the Kin-Friendly PEI framework, data priorities and evaluation resources.
PEI facts & evidenceWant help putting the toolkit into practice?
Building GRAND-Families can adapt professional education and presentations to the setting, audience and practical problem your organization is trying to solve.
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