I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8713 

To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to remove 

barriers and encourage kinship guardianship, foster, or adoptive placements for children who cannot be safely cared for in their own homes, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 12, 2024 

Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE (for herself, Ms. JACKSON LEE, and Ms. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways 

and Means 

A BILL 

To amend parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security 

Act to remove barriers and encourage kinship guardianship, foster, or adoptive placements for children who 

cannot be safely cared for in their own homes, and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Promoting Perma5 nency Through Kinship Families Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Reunification with parents, permanent 

2 placement with extended family members, and adop3 tion are all permanency options for children who are 

4 in, or at risk for entering or re-entering, foster care. 

5 (2) The estimated lifetime cost of foster youth 

6 who age out of foster care is approximately $6.9 bil7 lion. On an annual basis, approximately 23,000 

8 youth age out of foster care (reach the maximum 

9 age a State will support them without reunification 

10 with family or being placed in a permanent home) 

11 with no legal family ties. Over 20 percent of youth 

12 who age out of foster care become homeless, 60 per13 cent of sex trafficked youth come from foster care, 

14 and 25 percent of youth become involved in the 

15 criminal justice system within 2 years of aging out 

16 of foster care. When family reunification and kinship 

17 guardianship, foster, and adoptive placements are 

18 promoted and supported, children’s family connec19 tions and family relationships can reverse such ad20 verse adult outcomes. 

21 (3) Foster care is intended to be temporary. 

22 The best interests of children in safe, stable, and 

23 permanent placements are paramount. At the same 

24 time, absent aggravating circumstances, it is in the 

25 best interests of children for parents to be provided 


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1 individualized services, supports, and time needed to 

2 address the reasons for foster care or other tem3 porary placements of their children. 

4 (4) Where kinship placements can safely be 

5 made, extended family members available for such 

6 placements often face financial and other barriers 

7 related to access to health and mental health serv8 ices and supports, crisis stabilization services, and 

9 other service supports. 

10 (5) The United States has a unique and direct 

11 interest, as trustee, in protecting the best interests 

12 of Indian children including supporting safe and per13 manent placements that preserve a child’s sense of 

14 belonging and connection, including to extended 

15 family when reunification with parents is not safe or 

16 possible. 

17 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are to pro18 mote kinship care as an essential permanency option for 

19 children and youth, to remove barriers to children’s safe 

20 care by relatives and fictive kin when such children cannot 

21 be safely cared for by their parents, and to support the 

22 provision of resources and services to kin caregivers. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROMOTING PERMANENCY PLACEMENTS FOR 

2 CHILDREN AND YOUTH. 

3 (a) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT RELATING TO PRO4 VISION OF CHILD WELFARE SERVICES.—Section 

5 422(b)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 622(b)(7)) 

6 is amended by striking ‘‘provide for the diligent recruit7 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘substantiate with clear and con8 vincing data and analysis that the agency administering 

9 or supervising the administration of the plan is addressing 

10 disproportionality in the State child welfare system, and 

11 disparities in access to community-based services, array, 

12 and contracting, provide for locating and involving rel13 atives and fictive kin as a regular and ongoing part of 

14 case planning, for addressing barriers to family involve15 ment, and provide for the diligent recruitment’’. 

16 (b) FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE.— 

17 Section 471(a)(19) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(19)) 

18 is amended by striking ‘‘shall consider’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘shall make and document prompt, active, and continuous 

20 efforts to identify and locate relatives or fictive kin as a 

21 potential kinship guardianship, foster or adoptive place22 ment, and family support resources, and must consider’’. 

23 (c) CASE REVIEW.—Section 475(5)(A) of such Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 675(5)(A)) is amended— 

25 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, and’’ and insert26 ing a semicolon; 


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1 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the comma at the 

2 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(iii) if the State determines that kin5 ship guardianship, foster, or adoptive 

6 placement with any relative or fictive kin is 

7 not in the child’s best interest or that the 

8 relative or fictive kin does not meet the re9 quirements of a relative caregiver, docu10 ments the basis for that determination 

11 with clear and convincing evidence; 

12 ‘‘(iv) if the State determines that the 

13 child requires placement in an environment 

14 other than a home environment, ensures 

15 that the State shall make prompt, active, 

16 and continuous efforts to identify and lo17 cate relatives or fictive kin to serve as visi18 tation resources of the child and potential 

19 future placement resources; 

20 ‘‘(v) if the State determines that ef21 forts to identify and locate relatives and 

22 fictive kin would be futile or inconsistent 

23 with the child’s best interests, documents 

24 the basis of its determination with clear 

25 and convincing evidence; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) if the child is residing in a kin2 ship placement, describes reasonable ef3 forts the State will make to maintain the 

4 child in the kinship home and not remove 

5 the child from the kinship home except to 

6 effectuate a permanency goal of reunifica7 tion or upon a showing by clear and con8 vincing evidence that remaining in the kin9 ship placement is contrary to the welfare 

10 of the child.’’. 

11 (d) GREATER FLEXIBILITY FOR STATES AND FAMI12 LIES.—Section 475(5)(E) of the Social Security Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 675(5)(E)) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(E) in the case of a child who has been 

15 in foster care under the responsibility of the 

16 State for 24 consecutive months, or, if a court 

17 of competent jurisdiction has determined a child 

18 to be an abandoned infant (as defined under 

19 State law) or has made a determination that 

20 the parent has committed murder of another 

21 child of the parent, committed voluntary man22 slaughter of another child of the parent, aided 

23 or abetted, attempted, conspired, or solicited to 

24 commit such a murder or such a voluntary 

25 manslaughter, or committed a felony assault 


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1 that has resulted in serious bodily injury to the 

2 child or to another child of the parent, the 

3 State may file or join a petition for modification 

4 or termination of parental rights and, concur5 rently, identify, recruit, process, and approve a 

6 qualified family (including the child’s extended 

7 family) for an adoption, only after dem8 onstrating by clear and convincing evidence that 

9 the State— 

10 ‘‘(i) has demonstrated compelling rea11 sons why such modification or termination 

12 is in the best interest of the child; 

13 ‘‘(ii) has provided to the family of the 

14 child such services, supports, and time 

15 needed to address the reasons for the 

16 child’s removal and enable the family to 

17 safely reunify; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) if the child is living with a kin19 ship (including fictive kinship) caregiver, 

20 has provided a meaningful opportunity for 

21 such caregiver to express an opinion as to 

22 whether such modification or termination 

23 is in the best interests of the child and has 

24 documented such opinion in the case plan 

25 of the child; 


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1 except that, in the case of a child to whom this 

2 subparagraph applies solely because the child 

3 has been in foster care under the responsibility 

4 of the State for 24 consecutive months, the 

5 State may not file or join such a petition if a 

6 parent of the child is actively engaged in serv7 ices to address the reasons the child entered 

8 care (including treatment for substance use dis9 order, mental health concerns, or parenting 

10 skills), if based principally on the incarceration 

11 of a parent, or if based principally on the deten12 tion of the parent by the Department of Home13 land Security or the deportation of the par14 ent;’’. 

15 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

17 this section shall take effect on the first day of the 

18 first fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the 

19 enactment of this Act, and shall apply to payments 

20 under subpart 1 of part B and part E of title IV 

21 of the Social Security Act for calendar quarters be22 ginning on or after such date. 

23 (2) DELAY PERMITTED IF STATE LEGISLATION

24 REQUIRED.—If the Secretary of Health and Human 

25 Services determines that State legislation (other 


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1 than legislation appropriating funds) is required in 

2 order for a State plan developed pursuant to subpart 

3 1 of part B or part E of title IV of the Social Secu4 rity Act to meet the additional requirements imposed 

5 by the amendments made by this section, the plan 

6 shall not be regarded as failing to meet any of the 

7 additional requirements before the first day of the 

8 first calendar quarter beginning after the first reg9 ular session of the State legislature that begins after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act. For purposes 

11 of the preceding sentence, if the State has a 2-year 

12 legislative session, each year of the session is deemed 

13 to be a separate regular session of the State legisla14 ture. 

15 (3) APPLICATION TO PROGRAMS OPERATED BY

16 INDIAN TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of an 

17 Indian tribe, tribal organization, or tribal consortium 

18 which the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

19 determines requires time to take action necessary to 

20 comply with the additional requirements imposed by 

21 the amendments made by this section (whether the 

22 tribe, organization, or tribal consortium has a plan 

23 under section 479B of the Social Security Act or a 

24 cooperative agreement or contract entered into with 

25 a State), the Secretary shall provide the tribe, orgaVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:25 Sep 20, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8713.IH H8713

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1 nization, or tribal consortium with such additional 

2 time as the Secretary determines is necessary for the 

3 tribe, organization, or tribal consortium to take the 

4 action to comply with the additional requirements 

5 before being regarded as failing to comply with the 

6 requirements. 

7 SEC. 4. CRIMINAL RECORDS CHECKS OF ALL KINSHIP 

8 CAREGIVERS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(20) of the Social 

10 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is amended— 

11 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 

12 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

13 end; 

14 (B) in clause (iii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

15 end; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(iv) have in place procedures to ensure 

18 that kinship placement is not denied based on 

19 past allegations or findings of abuse or neglect 

20 against a caregiver or household member in the 

21 absence of particularized information dem22 onstrating that the caregiver poses a current 

23 safety threat to the child or that placement of 

24 the child with the caregiver would be contrary 

25 to the welfare of the child.’’; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘on any 

2 relative guardian, and for checks’’ and all that fol3 lows through ‘‘under this part’’ and inserting ‘‘on 

4 any kinship caregiver, including in the case of a kin5 ship foster, guardianship, or adoptive placement, 

6 and for checks described in subparagraph (B) of this 

7 paragraph on any such kinship caregiver and any 

8 other adult living in the home of any such kinship 

9 caregiver, before the kinship caregiver may receive 

10 kinship guardianship assistance payments on behalf 

11 of the child under the State plan under this part un12 less the State reports to the Secretary the alter13 native criminal records checks the State conducts on 

14 any adult kinship caregiver, and why the checks 

15 specified in this subparagraph are not appropriate 

16 for the State, and procedures to ensure that a past 

17 criminal record does not serve as a bar to kinship 

18 licensing in the absence of particularized information 

19 demonstrating that the caregiver or household mem20 ber poses a current safety threat to the child or that 

21 placement of the child with the caregiver would be 

22 contrary to the welfare of the child.’’; and 

23 (3) by moving the margins for subparagraph 

24 (D) 2 ems to the left. 


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1 (b) NO EFFECT ON CHARACTER INVESTIGATIONS

2 UNDER THE INDIAN CHILD PROTECTION AND FAMILY VI3 OLENCE PREVENTION ACT.—Nothing in this Act or the 

4 amendments made by this Act shall be construed to mod5 ify the requirements relating to character investigations 

6 of kin or extended family under the Indian Child Protec7 tion and Family Violence Prevention Act. 

8 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON IMPOSITION OF UPPER AGE LIMIT 

9 FOR KINSHIP CAREGIVERS. 

10 Section 471(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (36), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

13 end; 

14 (2) in paragraph (37), by striking the period at 

15 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(38) provides that the State shall have in ef18 fect such laws and procedures as are necessary to 

19 ensure that the age of an individual who has at20 tained 18 years of age is disregarded in deter21 mining— 

22 ‘‘(A) whether the individual is qualified to 

23 be a kinship caregiver for a child; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the appropriate placement for a child 

2 for whom placement with a kinship caregiver 

3 may be an appropriate option.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. MANDATORY PARTICIPATION IN KINSHIP GUARD5 IANSHIP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(28) of such Act 

7 (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(28)) is amended by striking ‘‘at the op8 tion of the State,’’. 

9 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 473(d)(3)(A)(i)(II) of the 

10 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 673(d)(3)(A)(i)(II)) is 

11 amended by striking ‘‘at least 6 consecutive months’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘at least 3 consecutive months’’. 

13 SEC. 7. ELIMINATION OF THE AFDC ELIGIBILITY REQUIRE14 MENT FOR FOSTER CARE MAINTENANCE PAY15 MENTS FOR CHILDREN PLACED IN A FOSTER 

16 FAMILY HOME. 

17 Section 472(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 14 672(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

20 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Each State’’ and in21 serting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (5), each State’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(5) ELIMINATION OF THE AFDC ELIGIBILITY

24 REQUIREMENT FOR CHILDREN PLACED IN A FOSTER

25 FAMILY HOME.—Beginning on the first day of the 


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1 first fiscal year beginning on or after the date of the 

2 enactment of the Promoting Permanency Through 

3 Kinship Families Act, the AFDC eligibility require4 ment of paragraph (3) shall no longer apply with re5 spect to a child who has been removed from the 

6 home of a relative or a caretaker into foster care 

7 and placed in a foster family home. On and after 

8 such date, each State with a plan approved under 

9 this part shall make foster care maintenance pay10 ments on behalf of each child who has been removed 

11 from the home of a relative or caretaker into foster 

12 care and placed in a foster family home (without re13 gard to whether such removal and placement oc14 curred before, on, or after such date of enactment, 

15 if the removal and foster care placement met, and 

16 continues to meet, the requirements of paragraph 

17 (2).’’. 

18 SEC. 8. PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMILIES 

19 THROUGH KINSHIP PLACEMENT SUPPORT 

20 SERVICES PROGRAMS. 

21 (a) ADDITION OF KINSHIP PLACEMENT SUPPORT

22 SERVICES TO THE PROMOTING SAFE AND STABLE FAMI23 LIES PROGRAM.—Section 431(a) of the Social Security 

24 Act (42 U.S.C. 629a(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(including 

2 adoptive and extended families)’’ and inserting ‘‘(in3 cluding kinship guardians, adoptive, and extended 

4 families).’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(10) KINSHIP PLACEMENT SUPPORT SERV7 ICES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘kinship 

9 placement support services’ means the services 

10 and activities described in subparagraph (B) 

11 that are provided on behalf of children and 

12 youth in kinship care arrangements, including 

13 kinship guardianship placements, who are in, or 

14 at risk of entering or re-entering, foster care. 

15 ‘‘(B) SERVICES AND ACTIVITIES DE16 SCRIBED.—The services and activities described 

17 in this subparagraph are the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) Crisis stabilization services, in19 cluding case management services designed 

20 to stabilize families in crisis such as trans21 portation, assistance with housing and util22 ity payments, and access to adequate 

23 health care, child care assistance, edu24 cational resources, and establishing a kin25 ship placement crisis stabilization fund for 


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1 purposes of making direct cash payments 

2 to kin caregivers for immediate needs of 

3 children placed with such caregivers in 

4 order to facilitate kinship placements and 

5 prevent the entry of children into foster 

6 care. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Family finding, including inten8 sive family-finding efforts that utilize 

9 search technology to find biological family 

10 members for children in, or at risk of en11 tering, foster care. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Re-establishing family relation13 ships and supporting family group deci14 sion-making. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Other assistance or services re16 lated to strengthening and supporting kin17 ship families, including families led by sib18 lings, to improve the well-being of children 

19 and their kin caregivers, and, if requested, 

20 assistance in becoming a licensed foster 

21 family home.’’. 

22 (b) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT REQUIREMENT.— 

23 Section 432(a)(7) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)(7)) is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘assurances that Federal 

2 funds’’ and inserting ‘‘assurances that— 

3 ‘‘(i) Federal funds’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(ii) the total amount of State expendi6 tures made for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal 

7 year thereafter to support kinship placements 

8 shall not be less than the total amount of such 

9 expenditures made for fiscal year 2024; and’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘and 

12 spending requirements’’ after ‘‘prohibition’’. 

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 430 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629) is 

15 amended— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

17 by inserting ‘‘kinship placement support serv18 ices,’’ after ‘‘family reunification services,’’; 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

20 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

21 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2), the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(3) To support kinship placements to maintain 

24 family connections while ensuring the safety and 


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1 well-being of children and youth and the well-being 

2 of their kin caregivers.’’. 

3 (2) Paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 432(a) of 

4 such Act (42 U.S.C. 629b(a)) are each amended by 

5 inserting ‘‘kinship placement support services,’’ after 

6 ‘‘family reunification services,’’. 

Æ 


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