Enhanced Support and Priority Placement for Children Raised by Kinship Families.
This Act boosts support for over 2.4 million children being raised by grandparents or other relatives outside the formal foster care system. It mandates that child welfare agencies prioritize placing children with kin and provides specialized training and better access to resources for these caregivers. The goal is to prevent abuse and neglect by strengthening kinship families who are not formally in the foster care system.
Key points
Child welfare agencies must prioritize placing children with relatives as the first placement option before considering non-relative options.
Kinship caregivers (grandparents, relatives) will receive specialized training on children's mental health, trauma, and understanding parental substance use disorders.
Increased funding and better coordination of support services (e.g., through 'kinship navigators') for families raising children outside the formal foster care system.
The voices of kinship caregivers and birth parents will be included on the national advisory board on child abuse prevention.
Expired
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