Overview
This article explains what connections are and how to add, manage, and merge them.
What are connections?
A connection documents relationships to a child during a Family Finding search. These connections can be classified as relatives, fictive kin, not related or connected, or unknown. They are used to track the known supports for a child.
How do I add a connection?
There are two ways to add a new connection:
- On the Family Finding Searches dashboard, click the three dots (
) under the Actions column and select "Add Connection".
or - Navigate to the Relationships dashboard and click "Add Connection".
| On the Family Finding Searches dashboard, select "Add Connection" under Actions | On the Relationships dashboard, click "Add Connection" |
Step 1: Basic Relationship
When adding a connection, you can search for existing person records in Binti or add a new person. Type at least three letters of a persons name to search existing records.
| If a person exists... | If a person does not yet exist... |
|
|
Step 2: Relationships to Children
In this step, detailed information about a person's connection to a child is collected. The table below explains the purpose of each field.
| Detail | Purpose |
| Relationship Category |
Classifies the relationship as relative, fictive kin, not related or connected, or unknown. Binti does not define these terms. Consult with agency leadership to determine how they are used at your agency. Note: "Not related or connected" is utilized when a person is connected to one sibling but not the other. |
| Relationship Description* |
Classifies the type of relationship between the person and child. For example: Mother, sibling, uncle, partner, etc.
|
| Parental Lineage^ | Classifies the individual as being affiliated with the maternal, paternal, or parental (for non-binary individuals) lineage. |
| Lineage Type^ | Classifies the type of type of lineage between the person and child. For example: Adopted, biological, alleged, etc. |
| Emotional Relationship | Classifies the emotional relationship between this person and the child in the following categories: close, cordial, distant, contentious, or no prior interaction. Binti does not define these terms. Consult with agency leadership to determine how they are used at your agency. |
| Placement Option | Allows for identification of possible placement opportunities with this person. |
| Placement Option Details | Free-entry text box for adding details about placement options indicated. |
| Level of Support | Allows for identification of placement and non-placement support roles this person could fulfill in a child's life. |
| Additional Relationship Details | A free-entry text box for optional details that are not captured by other prompts. |
* Relatives and fictive kin only / ^ Relatives only
How do I manage an existing connection?
Navigate to the Relationships dashboard for the desired child. Under the Actions column, click the three dots () and select "Edit Relationship". You will be able modify all previously entered information.
What do I do if I have a duplicate connection?
At this time there is no way to automatically merge or combine connections. To merge or combine two connections manually you will need to go into the connection that is the duplicate and manually copy over any data to the other connection. Once that is done click the three dots () under the Actions column in the Relationships dashboard for the connection you want to delete and then select Delete Relationship.