Kinship Care

The President’s Budget 2025

This year the President’s budget was released on Monday, March 11, 2024. The fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget begins on October 1, 2024. This is the fourth budget for the Biden Administration. Due to the unusual FY 2024 budget situation, it was delayed by one month from the statutory first Monday in February outlined under

National Kinship Convening Hosted in Washington, D.C.

On March 14, 2024, Think of Us in partnership with the Children’s Bureau hosted the National Convening on Kinship Care to discuss the new rule on Separate Licensing Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes, which was finalized last fall. The convening kicked off with remarks from leadership of the Administration for Children and

Strengthening Cultural Responsiveness: Report

Generations United and the RRF Foundation for Aging released a new report and held a webinar to examine how younger and older people can connect with each other through their program initiative, “Strengthening Cultural Responsiveness in Intergenerational Programs.” They conducted a national survey to highlight the ways organizations combat systemic racism and prioritize the voices

Kinship Care Supports Children’s Academic Performance

A new Child Trends brief from Drs. Tyreasa Washington and Brittany P. Michalec-Adkins studied children in out of home care (OOHC) and found that children in kinship care performed better academically than children in non-relative foster care. Children placed with kin tend to have better academic, behavioral, and mental health outcomes, and an increased sense

CWLA Statement on HHS’s Finalized Kinship Licensing Rule

On September 28, 2023, it was announced by the White House that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a final regulation that will allow states to simplify the licensing process for kinship caregivers to become foster care providers and require that states provide these kinship caregivers with the same financial support that any other

New Regulations Supporting Children and Families in Foster Care

On Thursday, September 28, 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new actions to support children and families in foster care. These actions include releasing three regulations to strengthen services and supports for children and families in the child welfare system. Final Rule: Support kinship caregivers – family members and loved ones who step forward to care

Keeping Youth at the Center of Kinship Care

The Capacity Building Center for States hosted a webinar on September 13th entitled “Keeping Youth at the Center of Kinship Care Practice: Prioritizing Relationships, Community, and Culture”. They brought together three different presenting groups from California, Connecticut, and Alaska to talk about the benefits of kinship care and the different navigator programs that they have

Factsheet: Children Thrive in Grandfamilies

Generations United released a new fact sheet highlighting the positive outcomes for children who are raised by grandparents rather than a traditional foster family placement. More than 2.5 million children across the U.S. are raised in kinship families, in which grandparents, another adult family member, or a close family friend are raising children who cannot

New State Child Welfare Data Released

On Thursday, April 27, 2023, Child Trends announced that its State-level Data for Understanding Child Welfare in the United States interactive has been updated with the latest available data. “This comprehensive resource offers state-level and national data on child maltreatment, foster care, kinship care, and permanency. These data help stakeholders understand the rates at which

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