District of Columbia Expedited Placement Policy
In 2012, the DC Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) launched the KinFirst strategy to engage and support birth and kinship families. Child protection workers begin engaging parents to identify relatives as potential caregivers while CFSA investigates a concern and arranges a Family Team Meeting. The Kinship Licensing Unit is immediately notified to contact relatives, while the Diligent Search Unit reviews databases to find other relatives. All removal notices must include a list of identified relatives, with comments explaining why they could not be immediate placement resources. When a willing relative is found, CFSA’s goal is to complete the expedited licensing process in four to six hours.