II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 661 

To establish kinship navigator programs, to establish kinship guardianship 

assistance payments for children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2007 

Mr. REID (for Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. COCHRAN)) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Finance 

A BILL 

To establish kinship navigator programs, to establish kinship 

guardianship assistance payments for children, 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 ‘‘Kinship Caregiver Sup5 port Act’’. 

6 TITLE I—KINSHIP NAVIGATOR 

7 PROGRAM 

8 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

9 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The 2000 decennial census states that— 

2 (A) more that 4,500,000 children in the 

3 United States are living in grandparent-headed 

4 households, a 30 percent increase from 1990 to 

5 2000; and 

6 (B) an additional 1,500,000 children in the 

7 United States are living in households headed 

8 by other relatives. 

9 (2) In the 2000 decennial census, over 

10 2,400,000 grandparents reported that they were pri11 marily responsible for meeting the basic needs of 

12 their grandchildren, and parents were not present in 

about 1 13 ⁄3 of the families involved. 

14 (3) According to the 2000 decennial census, almost 1 15 ⁄5 of grandparents responsible for their grand16 children live in poverty. 

17 (4) Kinship caregivers (as defined in section 

18 103) often face a variety of unnecessary barriers, in19 cluding difficulties enrolling children in school, au20 thorizing medical treatment, maintaining public 

21 housing leases, obtaining affordable legal services, 

22 obtaining custody of children or otherwise achieving 

23 permanency for children in their care, and accessing 

24 a variety of Federal benefits and services. 


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1 (5) Kinship caregivers can help to keep children 

2 from entering the foster care system, and provide 

3 safe and permanent homes, but need services and 

4 supports to do so. They need better access to health 

5 insurance, respite care, child care, special education, 

6 housing, and other benefits. 

7 (6) Surveys and research on the needs of kin8 ship caregivers report that one of their greatest chal9 lenges in raising children is getting accurate infor10 mation about— 

11 (A) the benefits and services that are avail12 able to their families, such as health and mental 

13 health care, assistance provided under the pro14 gram of block grants to States for temporary 

15 assistance for needy families established under 

16 part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), kinship or foster care, kin18 ship assistance and adoption assistance, child 

19 care and early education, special education, and 

20 other services for children with disabilities; and 

21 (B) the legal authority, responsibilities, 

22 and rights of kinship caregivers. 

23 (7) Funding for kinship navigator programs 

24 can— 


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1 (A) help kinship care families better use 

2 existing programs and services; and 

3 (B) increase the capacity of public and pri4 vate not-for-profit agencies, including commu5 nity-based and faith-based agencies, and includ6 ing agencies carrying out related Federal pro7 grams, such as the National Family Caregiver 

8 Support Program under part E of title III of 

9 the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

10 3030s et seq.), to better serve the needs of kin11 ship care families. 

12 SEC. 102. PURPOSE. 

13 The purposes of this Act are— 

14 (1) to establish kinship navigator programs in 

15 States, large metropolitan areas, and tribal areas to 

16 assist kinship caregivers in navigating their way 

17 through programs and services, to help the care18 givers learn about and obtain assistance to meet the 

19 needs of the children they are raising and their own 

20 needs; and 

21 (2) to promote effective partnerships among 

22 public and private not-for-profit agencies, including 

23 community-based and faith-based agencies, to help 

24 the agencies described in this paragraph more effec25 tively and efficiently serve kinship care families and 


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1 address the fragmentation that creates barriers to 

2 meeting the needs of those families. 

3 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this title: 

5 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist6 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary for 

7 Children and Families of the Department of Health 

8 and Human Services. 

9 (2) KINSHIP CARE FAMILY.—The term ‘‘kinship 

10 care family’’ means a family with a kinship care11 giver. 

12 (3) KINSHIP CAREGIVER.—The term ‘‘kinship 

13 caregiver’’ means a grandparent or stepgrandparent 

14 of a child, or a relative of a child by blood, marriage, 

15 or adoption, who— 

16 (A) lives with the child; 

17 (B) is the primary caregiver of the child 

18 because the biological or adoptive parent of the 

19 child is unable or unwilling to serve as the pri20 mary caregiver of the child; and 

21 (C) has a legal relationship to the child or 

22 is raising the child informally. 

23 (4) LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term 

24 ‘‘large metropolitan area’’ means a metropolitan staVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:00 Feb 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661

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1 tistical area, as defined by the Bureau of the Cen2 sus, with a population of not less than 1,000,000. 

3 (5) METROPOLITAN AGENCY.—The term ‘‘met4 ropolitan agency’’ means an agency serving a large 

5 metropolitan area, or a county or political subdivi6 sion of a large metropolitan area. 

7 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of 

8 the several States, the District of Columbia, the Vir9 gin Islands of the United States, the Commonwealth 

10 of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the 

11 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

12 (7) TRIBAL AREA.—The term ‘‘tribal area’’ 

13 means the area served by a tribal organization. 

14 (8) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 

15 organization’’— 

16 (A) means a tribal organization, as defined 

17 in section 658P of the Child Care and Develop18 ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

19 9858n); and 

20 (B) includes a consortium of tribal organi21 zations described in subparagraph (A). 

22 SEC. 104. GRANTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary may 

24 make grants to eligible entities to pay for the Federal 


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1 share of the cost of carrying out kinship navigator pro2 grams. 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

4 grant under this section, an entity shall be a State agency, 

5 metropolitan agency, or tribal organization, with experi6 ence in— 

7 (1) addressing the needs of kinship caregivers 

8 or children; and 

9 (2) connecting the children or caregivers with 

10 appropriate services and assistance, such as services 

11 and assistance provided by— 

12 (A) an area agency on aging under the 

13 Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3001 

14 et seq.); or 

15 (B) an agency with jurisdiction over child 

16 welfare, income-based financial assistance, 

17 human services, or health matters, or a public 

18 entity that links family resource and support 

19 programs, for the State, large metropolitan 

20 area, or Indian tribe involved. 

21 (c) ALLOCATION OF GRANTS.—Of the funds made 

22 available for grants under this section for each fiscal year, 

23 the Assistant Secretary shall use not less than 50 percent 

24 to make grants to State agencies. 


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1 (d) DURATION OF THE GRANTS.—In making the 

2 grants, the Assistant Secretary shall make grants— 

3 (1) in fiscal year 2008, for periods of 3 years; 

4 (2) in fiscal year 2009, for periods of 2 years; 

5 and 

6 (3) in fiscal year 2010, for periods of 1 year. 

7 SEC. 105. FEDERAL SHARE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of the cost of 

9 carrying out a kinship navigator program under a grant 

10 shall be— 

11 (1) 100 percent in the first year of the grant 

12 period; 

13 (2) 75 percent in the second year (if any) of the 

14 grant period; and 

15 (3) 50 percent in the third year (if any) of the 

16 grant period. 

17 (b) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share 

18 of the cost may be provided in cash. Not more than 50 

19 percent of the non-Federal share of the cost may be pro20 vided in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, 

21 or services. 

22 SEC. 106. APPLICATIONS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

24 under this title, an entity shall submit an application to 

25 the Assistant Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 


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1 containing such information as the Assistant Secretary 

2 may require, including, at a minimum, the information de3 scribed in subsection (b). 

4 (b) CONTENTS.—The application shall include the 

5 following: 

6 (1) A description of the steps the entity will 

7 take during the first 6 months of the grant period 

8 to— 

9 (A) identify gaps in services for kinship 

10 care families in the State, large metropolitan 

11 area, or tribal area to be served and the specific 

12 activities that are needed to bridge the gaps; 

13 (B) convene a group of partners to assist 

14 in the operation of the kinship navigator pro15 gram funded through the grant; 

16 (C) utilize or develop relevant technology; 

17 (D) conduct outreach to kinship caregivers 

18 about the kinship navigator program; and 

19 (E) develop a plan for reaching kinship 

20 caregivers, ensuring that the caregivers can ac21 cess the kinship navigator program, and fol22 lowing up to ensure that the caregivers actually 

23 receive necessary services and supports. 

24 (2) An assurance that the entity will provide at 

25 least the core activities specified in paragraphs (1) 


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1 and (2) of section 107(b) for kinship care families 

2 through the kinship navigator program. 

3 (3) A description of the activities the entity ex4 pects to offer over the grant period and the entity’s 

5 initial projection of the number of children and kin6 ship caregivers likely to be served. 

7 (4) A description of how the entity will involve 

8 in the planning and operation of the kinship navi9 gator program, on an ongoing basis— 

10 (A) kinship caregivers; 

11 (B) youth raised or being raised by kinship 

12 caregivers; 

13 (C) representatives of kinship care support 

14 organizations; 

15 (D) relevant government agencies (includ16 ing agencies with jurisdiction over matters re17 lating to aging, mental health, mental retarda18 tion or developmental disabilities, substance 

19 abuse treatment, criminal justice, health, youth 

20 services, human services, education, income21 based financial assistance, child welfare, child 

22 custody, guardianship, adoption, or child sup23 port enforcement); 


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1 (E)(i) not-for-profit service providers, in2 cluding community-based and faith-based agen3 cies; and 

4 (ii) educational institutions; and 

5 (F) other State or local agencies or sys6 tems that promote service coordination or pro7 vide information and referral services, including 

8 the entities that provide the 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 in9 formation systems where applicable. 

10 (5) A description of— 

11 (A) how the entity will coordinate its ac12 tivities with other State or local agencies or sys13 tems that promote service coordination or pro14 vide information and referral services for chil15 dren, families, or older individuals, including 

16 the entities that provide the 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 in17 formation systems where applicable, so as to 

18 avoid duplication of services and the fragmenta19 tion of services that prevents kinship care fami20 lies from getting the help the families need; and 

21 (B) how the entity will encourage regional 

22 cooperation among agencies, particularly agen23 cies serving border communities that may cross 

24 jurisdictional lines, to ensure that kinship care 

25 families will get help. 


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1 (6) An assurance that the entity will report at 

2 least annually to the Assistant Secretary, in a man3 ner prescribed by the Assistant Secretary, to ensure 

4 comparability of data across States, on— 

5 (A) activities established with the funds 

6 made available through grants made under this 

7 title; 

8 (B) the numbers and ages of the children 

9 and caregivers assisted through the grants; 

10 (C) the types of the assistance provided; 

11 (D) the outcomes achieved with the assist12 ance; and 

13 (E) the barriers identified to meeting the 

14 needs of kinship care families and plans for ad15 dressing the barriers. 

16 (7) An assurance that the entity, not later than 

17 3 months after the end of the final year of the grant 

18 period, will submit a final report to the Administra19 tion for Children and Families that describes— 

20 (A) the numbers and ages of the children 

21 and caregivers assisted through the grants; 

22 (B) the types of assistance provided; 

23 (C) the outcomes achieved with the assist24 ance; 


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1 (D) the barriers to meeting the needs of 

2 kinship care families that were addressed 

3 through the grants; 

4 (E) the plans of the entity to continue the 

5 kinship navigator program after the grant pe6 riod has ended; 

7 (F) lessons learned during the grant pe8 riod; and 

9 (G) recommendations about the consider10 ations that should be taken into account as the 

11 program carried out under this title is expanded 

12 throughout the Nation. 

13 (c) PREFERENCE.—In awarding grants under this 

14 title, the Assistant Secretary shall give preference to agen15 cies or organizations that can demonstrate that the agen16 cies and organizations will offer the full array of activities 

17 described in section 107(b). 

18 SEC. 107. USE OF GRANT FUNDS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—An entity that receives a grant 

20 under this title may use the funds made available through 

21 the grant directly, or through grants or contracts with 

22 other public or private not-for-profit agencies, including 

23 community-based or faith-based agencies, that have expe24 rience in connecting kinship caregivers with appropriate 

25 services and assistance. 


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1 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant 

2 under this title may use the funds made available through 

3 the grant for activities that help to connect kinship care4 givers with the services and assistance required to meet 

5 the needs of the children the caregivers are raising and 

6 their own needs, such as— 

7 (1) establishing and maintaining information 

8 and referral systems that— 

9 (A) assist, through toll free access that in10 cludes access to a live operator, kinship care11 givers, kinship care service providers, kinship 

12 care support group facilitators, and others to 

13 learn about and link to— 

14 (i) local kinship care service providers, 

15 support groups, respite care programs, and 

16 special services for incarcerated parents; 

17 (ii) eligibility and enrollment informa18 tion for Federal, State, and local benefits, 

19 such as— 

20 (I) education (including pre21 school, elementary, secondary, post22 secondary, and special education); 

23 (II) family support services, early 

24 intervention services, mental health 

25 services, substance abuse prevention 


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1 and treatment services, services to ad2 dress domestic violence problems, 

3 services to address HIV or AIDS, 

4 legal services, child support, housing 

5 assistance, and child care; 

6 (III) the disability insurance ben7 efits program established under title 

8 II of the Social Security Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 401 et seq.); 

10 (IV) the program of block grants 

11 to States for temporary assistance for 

12 needy families established under part 

13 A of title IV of the Social Security 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

15 (V) the supplemental security in16 come program established under title 

17 XVI of the Social Security Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

19 (VI) the medicaid program estab20 lished under title XIX of the Social 

21 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 

22 (VII) the State children’s health 

23 insurance program established under 

24 title XXI of the Social Security Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.); 


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1 (VIII) the program of Federal 

2 payments for foster care and adoption 

3 assistance established under part E of 

4 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), including the pro6 gram of kinship guardianship assist7 ance payments for children established 

8 under section 472A of that Act; and 

9 (IX) the food stamp program es10 tablished under the Food Stamp Act 

11 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); 

12 (iii) relevant training to assist kinship 

13 caregivers in obtaining benefits and serv14 ices and performing their caregiving activi15 ties; and 

16 (iv) relevant legal assistance and help 

17 in obtaining access to legal services, includ18 ing access to legal aid service providers 

19 and statewide elder law hotlines; 

20 (B) provide outreach to kinship care fami21 lies, in collaboration with schools, pediatric care 

22 clinics, kinship care organizations, senior citizen 

23 centers, agencies with jurisdiction over child 

24 welfare or human services, and others to link 


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1 the families to the kinship navigator program 

2 and to services and assistance; and 

3 (C) establish, distribute, and regularly up4 date kinship care resource guides, websites, or 

5 other relevant outreach materials; 

6 (2) promoting partnerships between public and 

7 private not-for-profit agencies, including community8 based and faith-based agencies— 

9 (A) to help the agencies described in this 

10 paragraph more effectively and efficiently meet 

11 the needs of kinship care families; and 

12 (B) to familiarize the agencies about the 

13 special needs of kinship care families, policies 

14 that affect their eligibility for a range of edu15 cation, health, mental health, social, child care, 

16 and child welfare services, income-based finan17 cial assistance, legal assistance, and other serv18 ices and benefits, and the means for making 

19 policies more supportive of kinship care fami20 lies; 

21 (3) establishing and supporting a kinship care 

22 ombudsman who has the authority to actively inter23 vene with State agency staff or service providers 

24 with which the State agency contracts to help en25 sure, through various appropriate means including 


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1 working with individual families in an ongoing man2 ner, that kinship caregivers get the services they 

3 need and for which they are eligible; and 

4 (4) supporting other activities that are designed 

5 to assist kinship caregivers in obtaining benefits, 

6 services, and activities designed to improve their 

7 caregiving. 

8 (c) LIMITATION.—Except as provided in subsection 

9 (b)(4), the entity may not use any of the funds made avail10 able through the grant for direct services to children in 

11 kinship care families or to kinship caregivers. 

12 SEC. 108. ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM. 

13 In administering the program carried out under this 

14 title, the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families 

15 shall periodically consult with the Assistant Secretary for 

16 Aging of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

17 SEC. 109. RESERVATION. 

18 The Assistant Secretary may reserve not more than 

19 1 percent of the funds made available under this title for 

20 a fiscal year to provide technical assistance to the recipi21 ents of grants under this title related to the purposes of 

22 the grants. 


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1 SEC. 110. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this title $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $50,000,000 

4 for fiscal year 2009, and $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

5 TITLE II—SUBSIDIZED GUARD6 IANSHIP OPTION FOR TITLE 

7 IV–E 

8 SEC. 201. KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS 

9 FOR CHILDREN. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part E of title IV of the Social 

11 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670–679b) is amended by insert12 ing after section 472 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 472A. KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY14 MENTS FOR CHILDREN. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State with a plan approved 

16 under this part may, at State option, enter into kinship 

17 guardianship assistance agreements to provide kinship 

18 guardianship assistance payments on behalf of children to 

19 grandparents and other relatives who have assumed legal 

20 guardianship (as defined in section 475(7)) of the children 

21 for whom they have cared as foster parents and for whom 

22 they have committed to care for on a permanent basis. 

23 ‘‘(b) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE AGREE24 MENT.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to receive pay26 ments under section 474(a)(5), a State shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) negotiate and enter into a written 

2 kinship guardianship assistance agreement with 

3 the prospective relative guardian of a child who 

4 meets the requirements of subsection (d); 

5 ‘‘(B) provide the prospective relative 

6 guardian with a copy of the agreement; and 

7 ‘‘(C) certify that any child on whose behalf 

8 kinship guardianship assistance payments are 

9 made under such an agreement shall be pro10 vided medical assistance under title XIX in ac11 cordance with section 1902(a)(10)(A)(i)(I). 

12 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—The agree13 ment shall specify, at a minimum— 

14 ‘‘(A) the amount of, and manner in which, 

15 each kinship guardianship assistance payment, 

16 if any, will be provided under the agreement; 

17 ‘‘(B) the additional services and assistance 

18 that the child and relative guardian will be eli19 gible for under the agreement; 

20 ‘‘(C) the procedure by which the relative 

21 guardian may apply for additional services as 

22 needed, provided the agency and relative guard23 ian agree on the additional services as specified 

24 in the case plan; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) subject to paragraph (4), that the 

2 State will pay the nonrecurring expenses associ3 ated with obtaining legal guardianship of the 

4 child. 

5 ‘‘(3) INTERSTATE APPLICATION.—The agree6 ment shall provide— 

7 ‘‘(A) that the agreement shall remain in 

8 effect without regard to the State residency of 

9 the relative guardian; and 

10 ‘‘(B) for the protection (under an inter11 state compact approved by the Secretary or oth12 erwise) of the interests of the child in any case 

13 where the relative guardian and the child move 

14 to another State while the agreement is in ef15 fect. 

16 ‘‘(4) NONRECURRING EXPENSES ASSOCIATED

17 WITH OBTAINING LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para19 graph (2)(D), the term ‘nonrecurring expenses 

20 associated with obtaining legal guardianship’ in21 cludes the reasonable and necessary fees, court 

22 costs, attorneys’ fees, and other expenses that 

23 are directly related to obtaining legal guardian24 ship of the child and which are not incurred in 

25 violation of Federal or State law. 


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1 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SHARE.—A State’s pay2 ment of the nonrecurring expenses associated 

3 with obtaining legal guardianship shall be treat4 ed as an expenditure made for the proper and 

5 efficient administration of the State plan under 

6 section 474(a)(3)(E). 

7 ‘‘(c) KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAY8 MENT.— 

9 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The kinship guardian11 ship assistance payment shall be— 

12 ‘‘(i) negotiated as part of the kinship 

13 guardianship assistance agreement re14 quired under subsection (b)(1)(A) between 

15 the relative guardian and the State or local 

16 agency responsible for administering such 

17 agreement; 

18 ‘‘(ii) based on consideration of the cir19 cumstances and the needs of the relative 

20 guardian and of the child; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) equal to the amount of the fos22 ter care maintenance payment for which 

23 the child would have been eligible if the 

24 child had remained in foster care. 


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1 ‘‘(B) READJUSTMENT.—The kinship 

2 guardianship assistance payment may be read3 justed periodically, with the concurrence of the 

4 relative guardian, based on relevant changes in 

5 the needs of the relative guardian and of the 

6 child. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), no kinship guardianship as10 sistance payment may be made to a relative 

11 guardian for any child who has attained 18 

12 years of age. 

13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—A kinship guardian14 ship assistance payment may be made to a rel15 ative guardian with respect to a child who— 

16 ‘‘(i) is a full-time student in a sec17 ondary school or in the equivalent level of 

18 a vocational or technical training program 

19 and has not attained 19 years of age; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) with respect to a child who the 

21 State determines has a mental or physical 

22 disability that warrants the continuation of 

23 assistance until the child attains 21 years 

24 of age. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CHILD’S ELIGIBILITY FOR A KINSHIP GUARD2 IANSHIP ASSISTANCE PAYMENT.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A child is eligible for a kin4 ship guardianship assistance payment under this 

5 section if the State agency determines the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) The child has been— 

7 ‘‘(i) removed from his or her home 

8 pursuant to a voluntary placement agree9 ment or as a result of a judicial determina10 tion to the effect that continuation in the 

11 home would be contrary to the welfare of 

12 the child; 

13 ‘‘(ii) under the care of the State agen14 cy for the 12-month period ending on the 

15 date of the agency determination; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) eligible for foster care mainte17 nance payments under section 472. 

18 ‘‘(B) Being returned home or adopted are 

19 not appropriate permanency options for the 

20 child. 

21 ‘‘(C) The child demonstrates a strong at22 tachment to the prospective relative guardian 

23 and the relative guardian has a strong commit24 ment to caring permanently for the child. 


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1 ‘‘(D) With respect to a child who has at2 tained 14 years of age, the child has been con3 sulted regarding the kinship guardianship ar4 rangement. 

5 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF SIBLINGS.—With respect 

6 to a child described in paragraph (1) whose sibling 

7 or siblings are not so described— 

8 ‘‘(A) the child and any minor sibling of the 

9 child may be placed in the same kinship guard10 ianship arrangement if the State agency and 

11 the relative agree on the appropriateness of the 

12 arrangement for the siblings; and 

13 ‘‘(B) kinship guardianship assistance pay14 ments may be paid for the child and each sib15 ling so placed.’’. 

16 (b) MAINTAINING ELIGIBILITY FOR ADOPTION AS17 SISTANCE PROGRAM.—Section 473(a) of such Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 673(a)) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(7) The adoptive parents of a child who has been 

21 determined by the State, pursuant to subsection (c), to 

22 be a child with special needs and on whose behalf kinship 

23 guardianship assistance payments have been made under 

24 section 472A shall be eligible for adoption assistance as 

25 if no kinship guardianship agreement or payments had 


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1 been made. The State shall make payments of non2 recurring adoption expenses under this section to the 

3 adoptive parents of such a child. The State may make 

4 adoption assistance payments under this section even if 

5 the child fails to meet the requirements of subparagraphs 

6 (A) and (B) of paragraph (2), if the child would meet the 

7 requirements of such subparagraphs if the child were 

8 treated as if the child were in the same financial and other 

9 circumstances the child was in at the time the kinship 

10 guardianship assistance agreement was made.’’ 

11 (c) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR FOSTER CARE

12 INDEPENDENCE PROGRAM.—Section 477(i)(2) of the So13 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677(i)(2)) is amended by 

14 striking ‘‘youths adopted from foster care after attaining 

15 age 16’’ and inserting ‘‘youths exiting from foster care to 

16 adoption or legal guardianship after attaining 16 years of 

17 age’’. 

18 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 

20 471(a)(20)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is 

21 amended, in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

22 striking ‘‘foster or adoptive parent before the foster 

23 or adoptive parent may be finally approved for place24 ment of a child on whose behalf foster care mainte25 nance payments or adoption assistance payments’’ 


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1 and inserting ‘‘foster parent, adoptive parent, or rel2 ative guardian before the foster parent, adoptive 

3 parent, or relative guardian may be finally approved 

4 for placement of a child on whose behalf foster care 

5 maintenance payments, adoption assistance pay6 ments, or kinship guardianship assistance pay7 ments’’. 

8 (2) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—Section 474(a) of 

9 such Act (42 U.S.C. 674(a)) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘fos11 ter or adoptive parents and the members of the 

12 staff of State-licensed or State-approved child 

13 care institutions providing care to foster and 

14 adopted children receiving assistance under this 

15 part, in ways that increase the ability of such 

16 current or prospective parents, staff members, 

17 and institutions to provide support and assist18 ance to foster and adopted children,’’ and in19 serting ‘‘foster parents, adoptive parents, or rel20 ative guardians and the members of the staff of 

21 State-licensed or State-approved child care in22 stitutions providing care to foster children, 

23 adoptive children, or children living with a rel24 ative guardian receiving assistance under this 

25 part, in ways that increase the ability of such 


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1 current or prospective parents, relative guard2 ians, staff members, and institutions to provide 

3 support and assistance to foster children, adop4 tive children, or children living with a relative 

5 guardian,’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the 

7 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; plus’’; and 

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

9 ‘‘(5) an amount equal to the Federal medical 

10 assistance percentage (as defined in section 1905(b)) 

11 of the total amount expended during such quarter as 

12 kinship guardianship assistance payments under sec13 tion 472A pursuant to kinship guardianship assist14 ance agreements.’’. 

15 (3) DEFINITIONS.—Section 475(1) of such Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 675(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(F) In the case of a child with respect to 

19 whom the permanency plan is placement with a 

20 relative and receipt of kinship guardianship as21 sistance payments under section 472A, a de22 scription of— 

23 ‘‘(i) the steps that the agency has 

24 taken to determine that it is not approVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:00 Feb 20, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S661.IS S661

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1 priate for the child to be returned home or 

2 adopted; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the reasons why a permanent 

4 placement with a fit and willing relative 

5 through a kinship guardianship assistance 

6 arrangement is in the child’s best interests; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the ways in which the child 

8 meets the eligibility requirements for a kin9 ship guardianship assistance payment; 

10 ‘‘(iv) the efforts the agency has made 

11 to discuss adoption by the child’s relative 

12 foster parent as a more permanent alter13 native to legal guardianship and, in the 

14 case of a relative foster parent who has 

15 chosen not to pursue adoption, documenta16 tion of the reasons therefor; and 

17 ‘‘(v) the efforts made by the State 

18 agency to secure the consent of the child’s 

19 parent or parents to the kinship guardian20 ship assistance arrangement, or the rea21 sons why the efforts were not made.’’. 

22 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

23 this section take effect on October 1, 2007. 


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1 SEC. 202. KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP DEMONSTRATION 

2 PROJECTS. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PROJECTS.—The Sec4 retary shall enter into agreements with eligible entities to 

5 conduct demonstration projects for the purpose of pro6 viding kinship guardianship assistance payments on behalf 

7 of children to grandparents and other relatives who have 

8 assumed legal guardianship (as defined in section 475(7) 

9 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(7)) of the chil10 dren for whom they have cared as foster parents and for 

11 whom they have committed to care for on a permanent 

12 basis in large metropolitan areas located in States that 

13 have not elected the option to provide kinship guardian14 ship assistance payments for children under section 472A 

15 of the Social Security Act (as added by section 201). 

16 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The terms and condi17 tions applicable to demonstration projects conducted 

18 under this section shall be consistent, to the extent the 

19 Secretary determines appropriate, with the terms and con20 ditions applicable to the State option to provide kinship 

21 guardianship assistance payments for children under sec22 tion 472A of the Social Security Act. 

23 (c) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2009, and 

24 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report 

25 to Congress on the demonstration projects conducted 

26 under this section. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

3 necessary to conduct demonstration projects under this 

4 section for fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2008. 

5 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti7 ty’’ means— 

8 (A) a metropolitan agency, as defined in 

9 section 103(5); and 

10 (B) any other entity that the Secretary de11 termines is qualified to conduct a demonstra12 tion project under this section. 

13 (2) LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term 

14 ‘‘large metropolitan area’’ has the meaning given 

15 that term in section 103(4). 

16 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

18 TITLE III—NOTICE OF CHILDREN 

19 ENTERING FOSTER CARE 

20 SEC. 301. NOTICE TO RELATIVES WHEN CHILDREN ENTER 

21 FOSTER CARE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(19) of the Social 

23 Security Act 42 U.S.C. 671(a)(19)) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘that the State’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the State’’; 

2 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(B) within 60 days of the removal of the 

5 child from the custody of the child’s parent or 

6 parents, the State shall identify and give notice 

7 to all adult grandparents and other adult rel8 atives of the child (including any other adult 

9 relatives suggested by the parents), subject to 

10 exceptions due to family or domestic violence, 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(i) specifies that the child has been 

13 or is being removed from the custody of 

14 the child’s parent or parents; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) explains the options the relative 

16 has under Federal, State, and local law to 

17 participate in the child’s care and place18 ment, including any options that may be 

19 lost by failing to respond to the notice;’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

21 this section take effect on October 1, 2007. 


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1 SEC. 302. FLEXIBILITY TO ESTABLISH SEPARATE STAND2 ARDS FOR RELATIVE FOSTER FAMILY 

3 HOMES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 471(a)(10) of the Social 

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

6 (1) by striking ‘‘which shall be responsible’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘which— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall be responsible’’; 

9 (2) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 

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

11 ‘‘(B) may— 

12 ‘‘(i) establish and maintain separate 

13 standards for foster family homes in which 

14 a foster parent is a relative of the foster 

15 child that, at a minimum, protect the safe16 ty of the child and provide for criminal 

17 records checks, as described in paragraph 

18 (20); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) apply the standards referred to 

20 in clause (i) to any such relative foster 

21 care provider to whom funds are paid pur22 suant to section 472 or part B in lieu of 

23 the standards that would otherwise apply 

24 to a foster family home;’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 this section take effect on October 1, 2007. 

Æ 


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