S. 1091 

One Hundred Fifteenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen 

An Act 

To establish a Federal Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 

the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Supporting Grandparents Raising 

Grandchildren Act’’. 

SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

Congress finds the following: 

(1) More than 2,500,000 grandparents in the United States 

are the primary caretaker of their grandchildren, and experts 

report that such numbers are increasing as the opioid epidemic 

expands. 

(2) Between 2009 and 2016, the incidence of parental 

alcohol or other drug use as a contributing factor for children’s 

out-of-home placement rose from 25.4 to 37.4 percent. 

(3) When children cannot remain safely with their parents, 

placement with relatives is preferred over placement in foster 

care with nonrelatives because placement with relatives provides stability for children and helps them maintain family 

connections. 

(4) The number of foster children placed with a grandparent 

or other relative increased from 24 percent in 2006 to 32 

percent in 2016, according to data from the Department of 

Health and Human Services. 

(5) Grandparents’ lives are enhanced by caring for their 

grandchildren; the overwhelming majority of grandparents 

report experiencing significant benefits in serving as their 

grandchildren’s primary caregivers. 

(6) Providing full-time care to their grandchildren may 

decrease grandparents’ ability to address their own physical 

and mental health needs and personal well-being. 

(7) Grandparents would benefit from better coordination 

and dissemination of information and resources available to 

support them in their caregiving responsibilities. 

SEC. 3. ADVISORY COUNCIL TO SUPPORT GRANDPARENTS RAISING 

GRANDCHILDREN. 

(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an Advisory Council 

to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren. 

(b) MEMBERSHIP.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall be composed 

of the following members, or their designee: 

(A) The Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

(B) The Secretary of Education. 

(C) The Administrator of the Administration for 

Community Living. 

(D) The Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

and Prevention. 

(E) The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 

Substance Use. 

(F) The Assistant Secretary for the Administration for 

Children and Families. 

(G) A grandparent raising a grandchild. 

(H) An older relative caregiver of children. 

(I) As appropriate, the head of other Federal departments, or agencies, identified by the Secretary of Health 

and Human Services as having responsibilities, or administering programs, relating to current issues affecting 

grandparents or other older relatives raising children. 

(2) LEAD AGENCY.—The Department of Health and Human 

Services shall be the lead agency for the Advisory Council. 

(c) DUTIES.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.— 

(A) INFORMATION.—The Advisory Council shall identify, 

promote, coordinate, and disseminate to the public information, resources, and the best practices available to help 

grandparents and other older relatives— 

(i) meet the health, educational, nutritional, and 

other needs of the children in their care; and 

(ii) maintain their own physical and mental health 

and emotional well-being. 

(B) OPIOIDS.—In carrying out the duties described in 

subparagraph (A), the Advisory Council shall consider the 

needs of those affected by the opioid crisis. 

(C) NATIVE AMERICANS.—In carrying out the duties 

described in subparagraph (A), the Advisory Council shall 

consider the needs of members of Native American tribes. 

(2) REPORT.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

date of enactment of this Act, the Advisory Council shall 

submit a report to— 

(i) the appropriate committees; 

(ii) the State agencies that are responsible for carrying out family caregiver programs; and 

(iii) the public online in an accessible format. 

(B) REPORT FORMAT.—The report shall include— 

(i) best practices, resources, and other useful 

information for grandparents and other older relatives 

raising children identified under paragraph (1)(A) 

including, if applicable, any information related to the 

needs of children who have been impacted by the opioid 

epidemic; 

(ii) an identification of any gaps in items under 

clause (i); and 

(iii) where applicable, identification of any additional Federal legislative authority necessary to implement the activities described in clause (i) and (ii). 
S. 1091—3 

(3) FOLLOW-UP REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

date on which the report required under paragraph (2)(A) is 

submitted, the Advisory Council shall submit a follow-up report 

that includes the information identified in paragraph (2)(B) 

to— 

(A) the appropriate committees; 

(B) the State agencies that are responsible for carrying 

out family caregiver programs; and 

(C) the public online in an accessible format. 

(4) PUBLIC INPUT.— 

(A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Council shall establish 

a process for public input to inform the development of, 

and provide updates to, the best practices, resources, and 

other information described in paragraph (1) that shall 

include— 

(i) outreach to States, local entities, and organizations that provide information to, or support for, grandparents or other older relatives raising children; and 

(ii) outreach to grandparents and other older relatives with experience raising children. 

(B) NATURE OF OUTREACH.—Such outreach shall ask 

individuals to provide input on— 

(i) information, resources, and best practices available, including identification of any gaps and unmet 

needs; and 

(ii) recommendations that would help grandparents and other older relatives better meet the 

health, educational, nutritional, and other needs of 

the children in their care, as well as maintain their 

own physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing. 

(d) FACA.—The Advisory Council shall be exempt from the 

requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

App.). 

(e) FUNDING.—No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act. 

(f) SUNSET.—The Advisory Council shall terminate on the date 

that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) ADVISORY COUNCIL.—In this Act, the term ‘‘Advisory 

Council’’ means the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents 

Raising Grandchildren that is established under section 3. 

(2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES.—In this Act, the term 

‘‘appropriate committees’’ means the following: 

(A) The Special Committee on Aging of the Senate. 

(B) The Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

Pensions of the Senate. 

(C) The Committee on Education and the Workforce 

of the House of Representatives. 
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(D) The Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

House of Representatives. 

Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.