I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8555 

To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for 

better protections for children raised in kinship families outside of the 

foster care system. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2024 

Ms. SCANLON (for herself and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 

the Workforce 

A BILL 

To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 

to provide for better protections for children raised in 

kinship families outside of the foster care system. 

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 ‘‘Help Grandfamilies 

5 Prevent Child Abuse Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds as follows: 

8 (1) More than 2,400,000 children are being 

9 raised in kinship families or ‘‘grandfamilies’’ by relVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:04 Jul 10, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8555.IH H8555

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1 atives or close family friends without their parents 

2 in the home, and the vast majority of such children 

3 are raised outside of the foster care system. 

4 (2) The majority of kinship caregivers are 

5 grandparents. 

6 (3) For every child in foster care living with rel7 atives, there are 18 being raised by relatives outside 

8 of the foster care system. 

9 (4) More than one-third of all children placed 

10 in foster care because of parental drug or alcohol 

11 use are placed with relatives. 

12 (5) Children who have been exposed to sub13 stance misuse in the home may also experience 

14 abuse and neglect, and research indicates that chil15 dren in family foster care because of substance use 

16 are more likely to be placed with relatives than with 

17 nonrelatives. 

18 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO CAPTA. 

19 (a) ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILD ABUSE AND NE20 GLECT.—Section 102(c) of the Child Abuse Prevention 

21 and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5102(c)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

23 inserting a semicolon; 

24 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period 

25 and inserting a semicolon; and 


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

2 ‘‘(15) organizations providing services to kin3 ship families; and 

4 ‘‘(16) birth parents, kinship caregivers, and fos5 ter care alumni.’’. 

6 (b) NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION

7 RELATING TO CHILD ABUSE.—Section 103(b) of the 

8 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 5104(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (8)(B), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

11 and inserting a semicolon; 

12 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

13 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(10) coordinate with the Grandfamilies & Kin16 ship Support Network: A National Technical Assist17 ance Center to disseminate information about evi18 dence-based, evidence-informed and exemplary prac19 tices used to support children being raised in kinship 

20 families within, or outside of, the child welfare sys21 tem.’’. 

22 (c) GRANTS TO STATES, INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIBAL

23 ORGANIZATIONS, AND PUBLIC OR PRIVATE AGENCIES

24 AND ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 105(a)(4) of the Child 

25 Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 5106(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: ‘‘Such procedures used by recipients of a grant 

3 pursuant to this paragraph shall reflect equity for children 

4 placed with kin, recognize their unique circumstance, and 

5 include plans for prioritizing placement with kin as the 

6 first placement, identifying and engaging kin as supports 

7 for children throughout the child’s involvement with the 

8 child welfare system, making it a priority to license kin 

9 as foster parents, supporting permanent families for chil10 dren placed with kin, and creating a strong community 

11 network to support kin families.’’. 

12 (d) GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NE13 GLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS.—Sec14 tion 106 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)(2)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (B)(iv), by inserting 

18 ‘‘, and for how kinship placements will be 

19 prioritized’’ before the semicolon; and 

20 (B) in subparagraph (D)(v), by inserting 

21 ‘‘kinship navigators,’’ after ‘‘substance abuse 

22 treatment agencies,’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (d)(3)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

2 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec3 tively; 

4 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) the number that did not receive serv7 ices during the year under the State program 

8 funded under this section or an equivalent State 

9 program because the child was diverted from 

10 the child welfare system to live with kin outside 

11 of the foster care system;’’; and 

12 (C) in subparagraph (D), as so redesig13 nated, by striking ‘‘families’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘parents’’. 

15 (e) COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS FOR THE PREVEN16 TION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.— 

17 (1) PURPOSE.—Section 201(b)(1) of the Child 

18 Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 5116(b)(1)) is amended— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘; 

21 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

22 (B) in subparagraph (H), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

23 after the semicolon; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(I) support the unique needs of kinship 

2 families raising children inside or outside the 

3 foster care system;’’. 

4 (2) LOCAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

5 205(a) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat6 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116e(a)) is amended— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and to 

8 parents who are adult former victims of domes9 tic violence or child abuse or neglect’’ and in10 serting ‘‘to parents who are adult former vic11 tims of domestic violence or child abuse or ne12 glect, and to families where children are being 

13 raised by kin because their parents cannot raise 

14 them’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (3)(B)— 

16 (i) in clause (viii), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

17 (ii) in clause (ix), by striking the pe18 riod and inserting a semicolon; and 

19 (iii) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(x) training to meet the specific 

22 needs of kinship caregivers, including 

23 training on caring for children with behav24 ioral or mental health challenges and how 


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1 to access services for which such caregivers 

2 may be eligible; and 

3 ‘‘(xi) training on understanding sub4 stance use disorders and the impact of 

5 trauma on children;’’; and 

6 (C) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, kin7 ship caregivers, and foster care alumni’’ after 

8 ‘‘parents’’. 

Æ 


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