II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4923 

To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to require States to provide 

information about available benefits and services to kinship caregivers. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To amend title IV of the Social Security Act to require 

States to provide information about available benefits 

and services to kinship caregivers. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Informing 

5 Grandfamilies Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STATE NOTIFICATIONS TO KINSHIP CAREGIVERS 

2 OF CHILD TANF RECIPIENTS AND APPLI3 CANTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 408(a) of the Social Secu5 rity Act (42 U.S.C. 608(a)) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(13) STATE REQUIREMENTS REGARDING NO8 TICE AND GUIDANCE TO KINSHIP CAREGIVERS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State to which a 

10 grant is made under section 403 shall ensure 

11 that the State agency provides to any kinship 

12 caregiver of a minor child, including grand13 parents and other relative caregivers, who con14 tacts the State agency seeking assistance under 

15 the State program funded under this part (or 

16 under a State program funded with qualified 

17 State expenditures (as defined in section 

18 409(a)(7)(B)(i))), or if the child is a recipient 

19 of such assistance, written notice that— 

20 ‘‘(i) explains the options of the kin21 ship caregiver under Federal, State, and 

22 local law to participate in the care and 

23 placement of the child, including the finan24 cial ramifications of the options and any 

25 options that may be lost by choosing cer26 tain benefits, including how the receipt of 


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1 benefits under the State program funded 

2 under this part (or under a State program 

3 funded with qualified State expenditures 

4 (as defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))) 

5 could impact eligibility for other programs; 

6 ‘‘(ii) describes the additional services 

7 and supports that are available for a child 

8 placed in a licensed foster family home; 

9 ‘‘(iii) notifies the kinship caregiver of 

10 the availability of guardianship assistance 

11 payments if the State has elected the op12 tion to make guardianship assistance pay13 ments under section 471(a)(28); 

14 ‘‘(iv) describes policies under the 

15 State program funded under this part that 

16 may help kinship caregivers and the chil17 dren they care for; and 

18 ‘‘(v) provides direct contact informa19 tion for kinship navigator programs de20 scribed in section 427(a)(1) or other agen21 cies, including the State child welfare 

22 agency, and community-based organiza23 tions that provide resources and assistance, 

24 such as legal services, housing, suppleVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:46 Aug 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4923.IS S4923

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1 mental nutrition assistance, health care, 

2 and child care. 

3 ‘‘(B) TIMING OF NOTICE.—The notice re4 quired under subparagraph (A)— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall be provided to a kinship 

6 caregiver of a minor child at the time that 

7 the kinship caregiver comes into contact 

8 with the State agency regarding assistance 

9 under the State program funded under this 

10 part (or under a State program funded 

11 with qualified State expenditures (as de12 fined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))); 

13 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, shall be provided to 

14 a kinship caregiver at the time the kinship 

15 caregiver attends an eligibility interview for 

16 assistance (either on the kinship care17 giver’s own behalf or on behalf of the 

18 child) under such a program funded under 

19 this part; or 

20 ‘‘(iii) if the kinship caregiver (or the 

21 child) is already receiving assistance under 

22 such a program on the date of enactment 

23 of this paragraph, shall be sent to the kin24 ship caregiver as soon as practicable after 

25 such date. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PROVISION OF GUIDANCE TO KINSHIP

2 CAREGIVERS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State to which 

4 a grant is made under section 403 shall 

5 ensure that the State agency responsible 

6 for administering the State program fund7 ed under this part employs a resource em8 ployee or contracts with a community9 based organization. Such resource em10 ployee or community-based organization 

11 shall have the necessary expertise to pro12 vide guidance to kinship caregivers, includ13 ing grandparents and other relative care14 givers, of a minor child who is a recipient 

15 of or may be seeking assistance under the 

16 program (or under a State program funded 

17 with qualified State expenditures (as de18 fined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))) on— 

19 ‘‘(I) eligibility requirements for a 

20 State program funded under this part 

21 (or under a State program funded 

22 with qualified State expenditures (as 

23 defined in section 409(a)(7)(B)(i))), 

24 including the relevant documentation 


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1 and application information required 

2 to apply for such programs; 

3 ‘‘(II) legal options regarding cus4 tody and guardianship of the child, in5 cluding explaining to the kinship care6 giver how each legal option cor7 responds to the availability of benefits 

8 and services, if any; 

9 ‘‘(III) eligibility for guardianship 

10 assistance payments if the State has 

11 elected to make guardianship assist12 ance payments under section 

13 471(a)(28); and 

14 ‘‘(IV) how the receipt of benefits 

15 under the State program funded 

16 under this part (or under a State pro17 gram funded with qualified State ex18 penditures (as defined in section 

19 409(a)(7)(B)(i))) could impact eligi20 bility for other programs. 

21 ‘‘(ii) SERVING AS A LIAISON.—A re22 source employee or community-based orga23 nization described in clause (i) shall serve 

24 as a liaison with other agencies and com25 munity-based organizations that provide 


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1 resources and assistance to kinship care2 givers, which may include guidance for ini3 tiating the process of obtaining foster fam4 ily licensure.’’. 

5 (b) INCLUSION IN STATE PLAN.—Section 

6 402(a)(1)(B) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)(B)) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(vi) The document shall provide a 

9 detailed explanation of how the State in10 tends to comply with section 408(a)(13).’’. 

Æ 


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