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CWLA 2008 Children's Legislative Agenda
Kinship Care and Assisted Guardianship
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Action
- Cosponsor and support the Kinship Caregiver Support
Act (S. 661 and H.R. 2188) in the U.S Senate and the U.S
House of Representatives.
Federal Funding to Support Guardianship Placements
The Adoption and Safe Families Act, enacted in 1997, recognizes
placement with a relative or a legal guardian as a
permanency option for children in foster care; however, the
federal government makes no funds available on a continuing
basis to help those relatives care for the children.
- States currently use many sources to fund subsidized
guardianship placements for children. Since 1996, 12 states
have received federal funding through a Title IV-E child welfare
waiver to provide support for guardians of children who
have previously been in foster care. 1 The waivers allow
states to use Title IV-E foster care funds for kinship and
guardianship placements if states can provide the services
without the federal government incurring any additional
costs over a five-year period. States also rely on other
sources of federal funding to support these placements,
including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
and the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG). Other states
have relied exclusively on state and local funds.
Kinship/Guardianship Legislation
Bipartisan federal legislation to support kinship care was
introduced in the 108th, 109th, and again in the current
110th Congress. In the Senate on February 16, 2007,
Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Olympia Snowe (R-ME),
and Thad Cochran (R-MS) introduced the Kinship Caregiver
Support Act (S.661). In the House of Representatives on
May 7, 2007, Representatives Danny Davis (D-IL) and
Timothy Johnson (R-IL) introduced a companion bill (H.R.
2188). Both bills are similar and have bipartisan support in
Congress. This legislation creates first-time federal support
for children living with relatives in guardianship placements,
and provides support for both relative and non-relative
guardianship placements. The bills would also establish a
Kinship Navigator Program, and ensure notice to relatives
when children enter foster care.
These supports help relative caregivers providing for
children who have been in foster care for at least 12 months
and whose care is paid for in part with federal Title IV-E
Foster Care funds. To qualify, the child's reunification with
his or her birthparents and adoption would have to be ruled
out as appropriate options. Additionally, the child would
need to demonstrate a strong attachment to the relative
guardian, and the same commitment must be shown from
the relative caregiver. The House bill would also extend this
assistance to non-relative guardians. If the child is 14 years
or older, he or she would have to be consulted regarding his
or her essential living arrangements. In all instances, the
aim is to place the child in the safest and most emotionally
appropriate environment as possible.
Kinship Navigator Program
As stated above, both bills provide support to states and large
metropolitan areas to establish kinship navigator programs
that would help grandparents and other relatives learn about
and obtain assistance to meet the needs of the children they
are raising. Grants would also facilitate effective communitybased
partnerships between public and private nonprofit
and faith-based agencies. These partnerships would unite
resources and support from a range of agencies that currently
address the needs of children, youth, and the elderly.
The use of subsidized kinship and guardianship arrangements
touches on only a portion of the families caring for a
relative's child. Many relative caregivers, in and out of the
child welfare system, face challenges accessing some of the
most basic services for the children in their care. For
instance, grandparents who raised their own children years
ago may not be familiar with the latest school, child care, and
health care services and requirements. Access to legal services
and support groups may also present new challenges. For
many of these families, receiving help finding and applying for
such services can be critical. Some states, such as New
Jersey and Ohio, have responded to these concerns by establishing
"navigator" programs that help all relatives obtain
community services and answers concerning appropriate care. 2
Notice of Children Entering Foster Care
The legislation requires states notify relatives when children
enter foster care within 60 days of their removal from
custody. Currently, states are not under a mandate to inform
relatives who may live in another community when a child
is removed from their nuclear home. Under the legislation,
notice must be provided to all adult grandparents and other
adult relatives, including relatives suggested by the parent(
s). Exceptions can be made to this requirement in cases
of family or domestic violence.
The Importance of Kinship Care and Guardianship
Kinship care is a situation in which an adult family member,
such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other relative, provides
a caring home for a child who is not able to live with
his or her parents. The practice is not new, but it is growing
partly because repeated studies and CWLA Best Practice
Guidelines have demonstrated the value of placing children
with a relative when appropriate. 3 The financial difficulties
many relatives experience potentially threatens the use and
merit of this practice, however.
Subsidized guardianship is another important permanency
option for relatives who care for children. The number
of states implementing guardianship programs reflects
growing national interest in the use of guardianship as an
alternative permanency option for some children in foster
care, particularly for children who are placed with relatives,
who cannot be safely reunified with birth parents, and who
cannot or do not wish to be adopted.
Kinship care and subsidized guardianship programs
allow qualified relatives or qualified non-relatives to step in
and provide care-care they may not have been able to provide
otherwise because of the financial burdens such a role
requires. Additionally, these relative placements may offer
an emotional and cultural benefit to children who cannot
return safely to their parents and for whom adoption is not
an appropriate option.
Key Facts
- According to the 2000 Census, some 6 million children
live with relatives--4.5 million of whom live with grandparents,
a 30% increase between 1990 and 2000. 4 Most
of these families are not a part of the formal child welfare
system.
- Almost 20% of grandparents who are responsible for their
grandchildren live in poverty. Overall population statistics in
1997 indicated that 27% of children living in grandparentmaintained
homes lived below the poverty level, compared
with 19% in households maintained by parents. 5
- Approximately one-quarter of all children in kinship care
live in families that receive either a foster care payment
or a child-only payment through Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF). 6 The remaining families do not
receive federal financial support, even if they need such
support and services.
- Kinship placements for children in the child welfare system
have increased in recent years. The U.S. Children's
Bureau gives three major reasons for this growth: The
number of non-relative foster parents has not kept up
with need, child welfare agencies view the kinship option
more positively, and courts have placed a higher value
on the rights of relatives to act as foster parents. 7
- Of the 509,662 children in out-of-home care on
September 30, 2004, 23.5% were living with relatives
while in care. 8
- Of the 185,700 children living in long-term foster care
and awaiting a permanent setting in 2002, 46,000
(1 in 4) lived with a relative. 9
- The use of subsidized guardianships is relatively new,
with Massachusetts establishing the first program in
1983. By 2004, 35 states and the District of Columbia
had subsidized guardianship programs. 10
- In 2005, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) released findings and evaluations of the
seven state waiver demonstration programs that allow
federal Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance
funding to support guardianship programs. These initial
findings reflect that non-relative guardianship is a
viable and effective option for child welfare workers to
consider. The major findings include: The availability
of assisted guardianship as a permanency option may
decrease the length of out-of-home placements; combined
data from two states reveals that less than 5%
of the children in guardianship placements return to
foster care; children in guardianship placements fare
as well as those in other permanency settings on several
measures of well-being, including school performance,
engagement in risky behaviors, and access to community
resources; and the use of guardianship placements
shows statistically significant signs of positive outcomes,
with more exits from foster care resulting in reunification
or adoption. 11
Sources
- Between 1996 and April 2006, 10 states obtained waiver demonstrations from HHS. The waivers for Delaware, Maryland, and New Mexico have since expired. Waivers for the remaining states are ongoing: Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, & U.S. Children's Bureau (April, 2006). Summary of the Title IV-E Child Welfare Waiver Demonstrations. Available online. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. back
- New Jersey Department of Human Services (n.d.). Kinship Navigator Program. [Program brochure]. Available online. Trenton, NJ: Author. back
- Child Welfare League of America. (2000). CWLA standards of excellence for kinship care services. Washington, DC: Author. back
- U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). Census 2000 summary file 1: Table P28, relationship by household type for population under 18 Years. Available online. Washington, DC: Author. back
- Ibid. back
- Jantz, A., Geen, R., Bess, R., Scarcella, C.A., & Russell, V. (2002). The continuing evolution of state kinship care policies (assessing the new federalism, discussion paper no. 02-11). Available online. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. back
- U.S. Children's Bureau. (2000). Report to Congress on kinship foster care. Available online. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families. back
- Child Welfare League of America. (2006). Special tabulation of the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System. Washington, DC: Author. back
- U.S. Children's Bureau. (2005). AFCARS report #10: Preliminary estimates published April 2005. Available online. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. back
- Allen, M.L. (2004). States' subsidized guardianship laws at a glance. Washington, DC: Children's Defense Fund. back
- Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, & U.S. Children's Bureau (2005). Synthesis of findings: Assisted guardianship child welfare demonstrations. Available online. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. back
CWLA Contact
Branden McLeod
703/412-2431
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