III 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 637 

Designating September 2018 as ‘‘National Kinship Care Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2018 

Mr. WYDEN (for himself, Mr. HATCH, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. GRASSLEY, Ms. 

HEITKAMP, Mr. DAINES, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. JONES, 

Mr. BROWN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. KAINE, Mr. KING, Mr. CASEY, and 

Mr. SCHUMER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating September 2018 as ‘‘National Kinship Care 

Month’’. 

Whereas, in September 2018, ‘‘National Kinship Care 

Month’’ is observed; 

Whereas, nationally, 2,700,000 children are living in kinship 

care with grandparents or other relatives; 

Whereas, nationally, 140,000 children in foster care are 

placed with grandparents or other relatives, with more 

than 2,560,000 kinship children supported outside of the 

foster care system; 

Whereas the percentage of kinship foster children has increased more than 11 percent since 2006; 


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•SRES 637 IS 

Whereas the number of non-relative foster parents continues 

to decrease and child welfare agencies are increasingly reliant on kinship families; 

Whereas children in kinship care experience improved placement stability, higher levels of permanency, and decreased behavioral problems; 

Whereas kinship caregivers provide safety, promote wellbeing, and establish stable households for vulnerable children; 

Whereas grandparents and relatives residing in urban, rural, 

and suburban households in every State and territory of 

the United States have stepped forward out of love and 

loyalty to care for children during times in which parents 

are unable to do so; 

Whereas many kinship caregivers give up their retirement 

years to assume parenting duties for children; 

Whereas grandparents and other relatives are increasingly 

providing caring homes for children because of the opioid 

crisis; 

Whereas, because of parental substance use disorders and 

other adverse childhood experiences, children in kinship 

care frequently have trauma-related conditions; 

Whereas kinship care homes offer a refuge for traumatized 

children; 

Whereas kinship care enables a child— 

(1) to maintain family relationships and cultural 

heritage; and 

(2) to remain in the community of the child; 

Whereas kinship care is a national resource that provides loving homes for children at risk; 


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•SRES 637 IS 

Whereas the wisdom and compassion of kinship caregivers is 

a source of self-reliance and strength for countless children and for the entire United States; 

Whereas kinship caregivers face daunting challenges to keep 

children from entering foster care; 

Whereas the Senate is proud to recognize the many kinship 

care families in which a child is raised by grandparents 

or other relatives; 

Whereas the first president of the United States, George 

Washington, and his wife Martha were themselves kinship caregivers, as were many other great people of the 

United States; 

Whereas the Senate wishes to honor the many kinship caregivers, who throughout the history of the United States 

have provided loving homes for children; 

Whereas National Kinship Care Month provides an opportunity to urge people in every State to join in recognizing 

and celebrating kinship caregiving families and the tradition of families in the United States to help kin; 

Whereas, in 2018, Congress provided for kinship navigator 

programs and services in the Family First Prevention 

Services Act enacted under title VII of division E of the 

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–123; 

132 Stat. 64) and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

2018 (Public Law 115–141; 132 Stat. 348); 

Whereas, in 2018, Congress provided for the formation of the 

Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising 

Grandchildren to examine supports for grandparents and 

other kinship caregivers in the Supporting Grandparents 

Raising Grandchildren Act (Public Law 115–196; 132 

Stat. 1511); and 


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•SRES 637 IS 

Whereas more remains to be done to support kinship 

caregiving and to ensure that all children have a safe, 

loving, nurturing, and permanent family, regardless of 

age or special needs: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates September 2018 as ‘‘National 

3 Kinship Care Month’’; 

4 (2) encourages Congress, States, local govern5 ments, and community organizations to continue to 

6 work to improve the lives of vulnerable children and 

7 families and to support the communities working to8 gether to lift them up; and 

9 (3) honors the commitment and dedication of 

10 kinship caregivers and the advocates and allies who 

11 work tirelessly to provide assistance and services to 

12 kinship caregiving families. 

Æ 


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