I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4352 

To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide grants 

to develop and enhance, or to evaluate, kinship navigator programs, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 

Ms. BASS (for herself, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. BACON, Mrs. LAWRENCE, and Mr. 

MITCHELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL 

To amend part B of title IV of the Social Security Act 

to provide grants to develop and enhance, or to evaluate, 

kinship navigator programs, 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 ‘‘Supporting Kinship 

5 Connections Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) 2,500,000 children in the United States are 

2 living in kinship care with grandparents or other rel3 atives. 

4 (2) With the rise of substance abuse, including 

5 heroin and other opioid-use, more kin caregivers are 

6 stepping up to raise children who are in need of fos7 ter care and permanent homes. 

8 (3) Grandparents and relatives residing in 

9 urban, rural, and suburban households in every 

10 county of the United States have stepped forward 

11 out of love and loyalty to care for children during 

12 times in which parents are unable to do so. 

13 (4) Kinship caregivers provide safety, promote 

14 well-being, and establish stable households for vul15 nerable children. 

16 (5) Kinship care enables a child to maintain 

17 family relationships and cultural heritage and re18 main in the community of the child. 

19 (6) Kinship care is a national resource that pro20 vides loving homes for children at risk. 

21 (7) Kinship caregivers face daunting challenges 

22 to keep countless children from entering foster care. 

23 (8) Kinship navigator programs have been 

24 shown to proactively provide support to kinship careVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Sep 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4352.IH H4352

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1 givers in an effort to avert crises and potentially 

2 prevent more costly services. 

3 (9) Kinship placement decreases the likelihood 

4 that children will run away and end up on the 

5 streets where they are at risk of trafficking. 

6 (10) Children in kinship placements are less 

7 likely to be moved from placement to placement. 

8 (11) Children in kinship placements are less 

9 likely to struggle with behavioral health and less 

10 likely to be maltreated. 

11 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO DEVELOP, ENHANCE, OR EVALUATE 

12 KINSHIP NAVIGATOR PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 427 of the Social Security 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 627) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 427. KINSHIP NAVIGATOR PROGRAM GRANTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall make grants 

17 to States, to Indian tribes, tribal organizations, or tribal 

18 consortia, and to community-based organizations to de19 velop and enhance kinship navigator programs, or to 

20 evaluate such programs, in order to promote the use of 

21 kinship navigator programs by all such entities, and to ad22 vance the knowledge and use of kinship navigator pro23 grams that meet— 

24 ‘‘(1) the evidence-based practices criteria to 

25 qualify for payments under section 474(a)(7); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the requirements described in subsection 

2 (b)(1) of this section. 

3 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS.—The re5 quirements described in this paragraph are the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(A) The kinship navigator program is de8 signed to assist kinship caregivers in learning 

9 about, finding, and using programs and services 

10 to meet the needs of the children they are as11 sisting or raising, and their own needs, and to 

12 promote effective partnerships among public 

13 and private agencies to ensure kinship caregiver 

14 families are served. 

15 ‘‘(B) The kinship navigator program is co16 ordinated with other State or local agencies 

17 that promote service coordination or provide in18 formation and referral services, including the 

19 entities that provide 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 informa20 tion systems where available, to avoid duplica21 tion or fragmentation of services to kinship care 

22 families. 

23 ‘‘(C) The kinship navigator program is 

24 planned and operated in consultation with kin25 ship caregivers and organizations representing 


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1 them, youth raised by kinship caregivers, rel2 evant government agencies, and relevant com3 munity-based or faith-based organizations. 

4 ‘‘(D) The kinship navigator program estab5 lishes information and referral systems that 

6 link (via toll-free access) kinship caregivers, 

7 kinship support group facilitators, and kinship 

8 service providers to— 

9 ‘‘(i) each other; 

10 ‘‘(ii) eligibility and enrollment infor11 mation for Federal, State, and local bene12 fits; 

13 ‘‘(iii) relevant training to assist kin14 ship caregivers in caregiving and in obtain15 ing benefits and services; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) relevant legal assistance and 

17 help in obtaining legal services. 

18 ‘‘(E) The kinship navigator program pro19 vides outreach to kinship care families, includ20 ing by establishing, distributing, and updating a 

21 kinship care website, or other relevant guides or 

22 outreach materials. 

23 ‘‘(F) The kinship navigator program pro24 motes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) partnerships between public and 

2 private agencies, including schools and uni3 versities, community-based or faith-based 

4 organizations, and relevant government 

5 agencies, to increase their knowledge of the 

6 needs of kinship care families and other in7 dividuals who are willing and able to assist 

8 parents to help prevent children from en9 tering foster care or to be foster parents; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) improved services for such fami12 lies and individuals. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES.—In addition to 

14 meeting the requirements described in paragraph 

15 (1), a grant under this section may be used to assist 

16 a kinship navigator program in— 

17 ‘‘(A) establishing and supporting a kinship 

18 care ombudsman with authority to intervene 

19 and help kinship caregivers access services; 

20 ‘‘(B) supporting any other activities de21 signed to assist kinship caregivers in obtaining 

22 benefits and services to improve their caregiv23 ing, including in-person supportive services; 

24 ‘‘(C) negotiating, managing, and imple25 menting agreements to enable the kinship naviVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Sep 18, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4352.IH H4352

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1 gator program obtain data from the informa2 tion systems used to carry out a State program 

3 funded under part A, or a State plan developed 

4 in accordance with this subpart, or approved 

5 under subpart 2 of this part; and 

6 ‘‘(D) public education and awareness of 

7 kinship placement and processes. 

8 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—In order to receive a grant 

9 under this section, a State, Indian tribe, tribal organiza10 tion, tribal consortium, or community-based organization 

11 shall submit to the Secretary an application, at such time 

12 and in such manner as the Secretary shall require, that 

13 contains the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) A description of how the grant will be used 

15 to develop, enhance, or evaluate kinship navigator 

16 programs that meets the requirements of subsection 

17 (b)(1), and whether the State or tribal entity intends 

18 to carry out any of the activities described in sub19 section (b)(2). 

20 ‘‘(2) A description of how kinship caregivers 

21 and the children they care for will be identified and 

22 an initial projection of the number of children and 

23 kin caregivers that will be served. 

24 ‘‘(3) A description of how the State or tribal 

25 entity intends to make its kinship navigator program 


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1 available as broadly as possible, including on a state2 wide (or, in the case of a tribal entity, multi-State) 

3 basis whenever possible. 

4 ‘‘(4) A description of how the State intends to 

5 sustain the kinship navigator program after the end 

6 of the grant funding, including through use of fund7 ing available under section 474(a)(7). 

8 ‘‘(5) An assurance that the State, Indian tribe, 

9 tribal organization, tribal consortium, or community10 based organization will cooperate fully with any eval11 uation provided for by the Secretary with respect to 

12 grants made under this section. 

13 ‘‘(6) Any other information that the Secretary 

14 may require. 

15 ‘‘(d) GRANT ALLOTMENTS AND PAYMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES, TRIBES, OR

17 COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.—Subject to the 

18 succeeding paragraphs of this subsection, from the 

19 amounts appropriated to carry out this section for a 

20 fiscal year, after the application of the amounts re21 served under subsection (e) for the fiscal year, the 

22 Secretary shall allot to each State that has sub23 mitted an application for a grant under this section 

24 (and to each Indian tribe, tribal organization, or 

25 tribal consortium that has submitted an application 


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1 for a grant to be paid from an allotment under this 

2 paragraph) for the fiscal year an amount equal to 

3 the sum of— 

4 ‘‘(A) $200,000; and 

5 ‘‘(B) the product of— 

6 ‘‘(i) the amount remaining after mak7 ing the reservations required under sub8 section (e), and allotting the amount de9 scribed in subparagraph (A) to each such 

10 State and each such Indian tribe, tribal or11 ganization, or tribal consortium, for the 

12 fiscal year; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) the proportion that the number 

14 of children in the State, Indian tribe, tribal 

15 organization, or tribal consortium for the 

16 fiscal year bears to the total number of 

17 children for all the States (and all the In18 dian tribes, tribal organizations, and tribal 

19 consortia provided with a grant paid from 

20 an allotment under this paragraph) for the 

21 fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(2) ALLOTMENTS TO CERTAIN TERRI23 TORIES.—In the case of an allotment determined 

24 under paragraph (1) for the United States Virgin Is25 lands, Guam, American Samoa, or the Northern 


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1 Mariana Islands, the Secretary may reduce the 

2 amount of the allotment based on the need of the 

3 territory, but not below a minimum amount that the 

4 Secretary determines is sufficient to enable the terri5 tory to carry out the purposes of a grant made 

6 under this section. 

7 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIBAL CONSORTIA.— 

8 From the amount reserved under subsection (e)(1) 

9 for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall allot to each In10 dian tribe, tribal organization, and tribal consortium 

11 that has submitted an application for a grant under 

12 this section (other than from an allotment under 

13 paragraph (1)) for the fiscal year an amount that 

14 bears the same ratio to such reserved amount as the 

15 number of children in the Indian tribe, tribal organi16 zation, or tribal consortium for the fiscal year bears 

17 to the total number of children in all Indian tribes 

18 and tribal organizations that have submitted an ap19 plication for a grant under this section (other than 

20 from an allotment under paragraph (1)) for the fis21 cal year, as determined by the Secretary on the basis 

22 of the most current and reliable information avail23 able to the Secretary. If a consortium of Indian 

24 tribes applies and is approved for a grant under this 

25 section, the Secretary shall allot to the consortium 


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1 an amount equal to the sum of the allotments deter2 mined for each Indian tribe and tribal organization 

3 that is part of the consortium. 

4 ‘‘(4) PAYMENTS.—Payments of grants under 

5 this section may be made in advance or by way of 

6 reimbursement, and in such installments, as the Sec7 retary may determine, and shall be made on such 

8 conditions as the Secretary finds necessary to carry 

9 out the purposes of the grants. 

10 ‘‘(5) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts allot11 ted under this subsection to a State, an Indian tribe, 

12 a tribal organization, a tribal consortium, or a com13 munity-based organization for a fiscal year shall re14 main available for expenditure through the end of 

15 the succeeding fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(6) NO MATCHING PAYMENT REQUIRED.—No 

17 matching payment shall apply to the grants made 

18 under this section. 

19 ‘‘(e) RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) INDIAN TRIBES, TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS, 

21 OR TRIBAL CONSORTIA.—The Secretary shall reserve 

22 5 percent of the funds appropriated for a fiscal year 

23 to carry out this section, for grants to Indian tribes, 

24 tribal organizations, or tribal consortia not provided 


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1 a grant from an allotment under subsection (d)(1) 

2 for the fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, EVALUATIONS, 

4 AND GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall reserve 5 per5 cent of the funds appropriated for a fiscal year to 

6 carry out this section to provide technical assistance, 

7 evaluations emphasizing community-based participa8 tory methods that align programs with local knowl9 edge and community values, and guidance to grant10 ees, and to carry out, by grant, contract, or inter11 agency agreement, cross-site evaluations for pur12 poses of identifying evidence-based practices criteria 

13 that will qualify for payment under section 

14 474(a)(7). 

15 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi16 tion to any amounts otherwise appropriated to carry out 

17 this subpart, there are authorized to be appropriated to 

18 the Secretary for purposes of making grants under this 

19 section, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 and 

20 2021, to remain available until expended. 

21 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

23 The terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’ 

24 have the meanings given such terms in section 

25 428(c). 


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1 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean2 ing given that term in section 1101 for purposes of 

3 this title and includes the Northern Mariana Is4 lands.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) Section 474(a)(7) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 674(a)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

8 427(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 427(b)(1)’’. 

9 (2) Section 476 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 676) is 

10 amended— 

11 (A) in subsection (c)(2)(A)(ii)— 

12 (i) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

13 after the semicolon; and 

14 (ii) by inserting after subclause (II) 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(III) Indian tribes, tribal orga17 nizations, or tribal consortia seeking 

18 to develop and enhance kinship navi19 gator programs, or to evaluate such 

20 programs, in order to promote their 

21 use by tribal entities, and to advance 

22 the knowledge and use of kinship nav23 igator programs that meet the evi24 dence-based practices to qualify for 

25 payments under section 474(a)(7) and 


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1 the requirements described in section 

2 427(b)(1); and’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘sec4 tion 427(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

5 427(b)(1)’’. 

6 (c) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

7 (1) Section 428(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 628(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘by subsections (e) 

9 and (l) of section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

10 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b), re11 spectively’’ and inserting ‘‘under section 4 of the In12 dian Self Determination and Education Assistance 

13 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)’’. 

14 (2) Section 479B(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 679c(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘450b’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘5304’’. 

17 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall take effect on October 1, 2019. 

Æ 


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