Granville County Department of Social Services (DSS) recently hosted the Kinnect Family Search and Engagement Training at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center. This training for North Carolina’s Child Welfare Services Region 5 brought together child welfare professionals from across the region to strengthen skills and strategies for identifying, locating, and engaging extended family and other supportive connections for children in foster care.

Family Search and Engagement is a critical practice in child welfare, designed to ensure that children entering care can remain connected to safe and supportive adults who can provide stability, love, and long-term support. The training, facilitated by Kinnect, an Ohio-based nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing child welfare practices, equipped staff with innovative tools and proven approaches to build networks of support for youth who may otherwise face uncertainty in placement.

“We were proud to host this training, which underscores our commitment to the children of Granville County, but to the larger child welfare community across North Carolina Region 5,” said LaToya D. Toussaint, Director of Granville County DSS. “Every child deserves to know that they have a family and a network of people who care about them. By partnering with Kinnect, the North Carolina Department of Social Services, and our colleagues across the region, we are building stronger pathways to permanency and belonging for the children we serve.”

North Carolina Child Welfare Services Region 5 includes Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Northampton, Pitt, Vance, Wake, Warren, Wayne, and Wilson counties.

For more information about Granville County DSS or its child welfare services, visit www.granvillecounty.org/463/Social-Services.

For more information about Kinnect, visit their website: www.kinnect.org