II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2706

To establish kinship navigator programs, to establish kinship guardianship 

assistance payments for children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2004

Mrs. CLINTON (for herself, Ms. SNOWE, and Mr. DASCHLE) 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: 

10 (1) The 2000 decennial census states that—
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1 (A) more that 4,500,000 children in the 

2 United States are living in grandparent-headed 

3 households, a 30 percent increase from 1990 to 

4 2000; and 

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

6 United States are living in households headed 

7 by other relatives. 

8 (2) In the 2000 decennial census, over 

9 2,400,000 grandparents reported that they were pri10 marily responsible for meeting the basic needs of 

11 their grandchildren, and parents were not present in 

about 1 12 ⁄3 of the families involved. 

13 (3) According to the 2000 decennial census, almost 1 14 ⁄5 of grandparents responsible for their grand15 children live in poverty. 

16 (4) Kinship caregivers (as defined in section 

17 103) often face a variety of unnecessary barriers, in18 cluding difficulties enrolling children in school, au19 thorizing medical treatment, maintaining public 

20 housing leases, obtaining affordable legal services, 

21 obtaining custody of children or otherwise achieving 

22 permanency for children in their care, and accessing 

23 a variety of Federal benefits and services. 

24 (5) Kinship caregivers can help to keep children 

25 from entering the foster care system, and provide 
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1 safe and permanent homes, but need services and 

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

3 insurance, respite care, child care, special education, 

4 housing, and other benefits. 

5 (6) Surveys and research on the needs of kin6 ship caregivers report that one of their greatest chal7 lenges in raising children is getting accurate infor8 mation about—

9 (A) the benefits and services that are avail10 able to their families, such as health and mental 

11 health care, assistance provided under the pro12 gram of block grants to States for temporary 

13 assistance for needy families established under 

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

15 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), kinship or foster care, kin16 ship assistance and adoption assistance, child 

17 care and early education, special education, and 

18 other services for children with disabilities; and 

19 (B) the legal authority, responsibilities, 

20 and rights of kinship caregivers. 

21 (7) Funding for kinship navigator programs 

22 can—

23 (A) help kinship care families better use 

24 existing programs and services; and 
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1 (B) increase the capacity of public and pri2 vate not-for-profit agencies, including commu3 nity-based and faith-based agencies, and includ4 ing agencies carrying out related Federal pro5 grams, such as the National Family Caregiver 

6 Support Program under part E of title III of 

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

8 3030s et seq.), to better serve the needs of kin9 ship care families. 

10 SEC. 102. PURPOSE. 

11 The purposes of this Act are—

12 (1) to establish kinship navigator programs in 

13 States, large metropolitan areas, and tribal areas to 

14 assist kinship caregivers in navigating their way 

15 through programs and services, to help the care16 givers learn about and obtain assistance to meet the 

17 needs of the children they are raising and their own 

18 needs; and 

19 (2) to promote effective partnerships among 

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

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

22 the agencies described in this paragraph more effec23 tively and efficiently serve kinship care families and

24 address the fragmentation that creates barriers to 

25 meeting the needs of those families. 
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1 SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this title: 

3 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist4 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary for 

5 Children and Families of the Department of Health 

6 and Human Services. 

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

8 care family’’ means a family with a kinship care9 giver. 

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

11 caregiver’’ means a grandparent or stepgrandparent 

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

13 or adoption, who—

14 (A) lives with the child; 

15 (B) is the primary caregiver of the child 

16 because the biological or adoptive parent of the 

17 child is unable or unwilling to serve as the pri18 mary caregiver of the child; and 

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

20 is raising the child informally. 

21 (4) LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term 

22 ‘‘large metropolitan area’’ means a metropolitan sta23 tistical area, as defined by the Bureau of the Cen24 sus, with a population of not less than 1,000,000. 

25 (5) METROPOLITAN AGENCY.—The term ‘‘met26 ropolitan agency’’ means an agency serving a large 
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1 metropolitan area, or a county or political subdivi2 sion of a large metropolitan area. 

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

4 the several States, the District of Columbia, the Vir5 gin Islands of the United States, the Commonwealth 

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

7 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

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

9 means the area served by a tribal organization. 

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

11 organization’’—

12 (A) means a tribal organization, as defined 

13 in section 658P of the Child Care and Develop14 ment Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

15 9858n); and 

16 (B) includes a consortium of tribal organi17 zations described in subparagraph (A). 

18 SEC. 104. GRANTS. 

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

20 make grants to eligible entities to pay for the Federal 

21 share of the cost of carrying out kinship navigator pro22 grams. 

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

24 grant under this section, an entity shall be a State agency, 
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1 metropolitan agency, or tribal organization, with experi2 ence in—

3 (1) addressing the needs of kinship caregivers 

4 or children; and 

5 (2) connecting the children or caregivers with 

6 appropriate services and assistance, such as services 

7 and assistance provided by—

8 (A) an area agency on aging under the 

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

10 et seq.); or 

11 (B) an agency with jurisdiction over child 

12 welfare, income-based financial assistance, 

13 human services, or health matters, or a public 

14 entity that links family resource and support 

15 programs, for the State, large metropolitan 

16 area, or Indian tribe involved. 

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

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

19 the Assistant Secretary shall use not less than 50 percent 

20 to make grants to State agencies. 

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

22 grants, the Assistant Secretary shall make grants—

23 (1) in fiscal year 2005, for periods of 3 years; 

24 (2) in fiscal year 2006, for periods of 2 years; 

25 and 
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1 (3) in fiscal year 2007, for periods of 1 year. 

2 SEC. 105. FEDERAL SHARE. 

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

4 carrying out a kinship navigator program under a grant 

5 shall be—

6 (1) 100 percent in the first year of the grant 

7 period; 

8 (2) 75 percent in the second year (if any) of the 

9 grant period; and 

10 (3) 50 percent in the third year (if any) of the 

11 grant period. 

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

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

14 percent of the non-Federal share of the cost may be pro15 vided in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, 

16 or services. 

17 SEC. 106. APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

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

21 containing such information as the Assistant Secretary 

22 may require, including, at a minimum, the information de23 scribed in subsection (b). 

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

25 following: 
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1 (1) A description of the steps the entity will 

2 take during the first 6 months of the grant period 

3 to— 

4 (A) identify gaps in services for kinship 

5 care families in the State, large metropolitan 

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

7 activities that are needed to bridge the gaps; 

8 (B) convene a group of partners to assist 

9 in the operation of the kinship navigator pro10 gram funded through the grant; 

11 (C) utilize or develop relevant technology; 

12 (D) conduct outreach to kinship caregivers 

13 about the kinship navigator program; and 

14 (E) develop a plan for reaching kinship 

15 caregivers, ensuring that the caregivers can ac16 cess the kinship navigator program, and fol17 lowing up to ensure that the caregivers actually 

18 receive necessary services and supports. 

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

20 least the core activities specified in paragraphs (1) 

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

22 through the kinship navigator program. 

23 (3) A description of the activities the entity ex24 pects to offer over the grant period and the entity’s 
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1 initial projection of the number of children and kin2 ship caregivers likely to be served. 

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

4 in the planning and operation of the kinship navi5 gator program, on an ongoing basis—

6 (A) kinship caregivers; 

7 (B) youth raised or being raised by kinship 

8 caregivers; 

9 (C) representatives of kinship care support 

10 organizations; 

11 (D) relevant government agencies (includ12 ing agencies with jurisdiction over matters re13 lating to aging, mental health, mental retarda14 tion or developmental disabilities, substance 

15 abuse treatment, health, youth services, human 

16 services, education, income-based financial as17 sistance, child welfare, child custody, guardian18 ship, adoption, or child support enforcement); 

19 (E)(i) not-for-profit service providers, in20 cluding community-based and faith-based agen21 cies; and 

22 (ii) educational institutions; and 

23 (F) other State or local agencies or sys24 tems that promote service coordination or pro25 vide information and referral services, including 
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1 the entities that provide the 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 in2 formation systems where applicable. 

3 (5) A description of—

4 (A) how the entity will coordinate its ac5 tivities with other State or local agencies or sys6 tems that promote service coordination or pro7 vide information and referral services for chil8 dren, families, or older individuals, including 

9 the entities that provide the 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 in10 formation systems where applicable, so as to 

11 avoid duplication of services and the fragmenta12 tion of services that prevents kinship care fami13 lies from getting the help the families need; and 

14 (B) how the entity will encourage regional 

15 cooperation among agencies, particularly agen16 cies serving border communities that may cross 

17 jurisdictional lines, to ensure that kinship care 

18 families will get help. 

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

20 least annually to the Assistant Secretary, in a man21 ner prescribed by the Assistant Secretary, to ensure 

22 comparability of data across States, on— 

23 (A) activities established with the funds 

24 made available through grants made under this 

25 title; 
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1 (B) the numbers and ages of the children 

2 and caregivers assisted through the grants; 

3 (C) the types of the assistance provided; 

4 (D) the outcomes achieved with the assist5 ance; and 

6 (E) the barriers identified to meeting the 

7 needs of kinship care families and plans for ad8 dressing the barriers. 

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

10 3 months after the end of the final year of the grant 

11 period, will submit a final report to the Administra12 tion for Children and Families that describes— 

13 (A) the numbers and ages of the children 

14 and caregivers assisted through the grants; 

15 (B) the types of assistance provided; 

16 (C) the outcomes achieved with the assist17 ance; 

18 (D) the barriers to meeting the needs of 

19 kinship care families that were addressed 

20 through the grants; 

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

22 kinship navigator program after the grant pe23 riod has ended; 

24 (F) lessons learned during the grant pe25 riod; and 
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1 (G) recommendations about the consider2 ations that should be taken into account as the 

3 program carried out under this title is expanded 

4 throughout the Nation. 

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

6 title, the Assistant Secretary shall give preference to agen7 cies or organizations that can demonstrate that the agen8 cies and organizations will offer the full array of activities 

9 described in section 107(b). 

10 SEC. 107. USE OF GRANT FUNDS. 

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

12 under this title may use the funds made available through 

13 the grant directly, or through grants or contracts with 

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

15 community-based or faith-based agencies, that have expe16 rience in connecting kinship caregivers with appropriate 

17 services and assistance. 

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

19 under this title may use the funds made available through 

20 the grant for activities that help to connect kinship care21 givers with the services and assistance required to meet 

22 the needs of the children the caregivers are raising and 

23 their own needs, such as— 

24 (1) establishing and maintaining information 

25 and referral systems that— 
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1 (A) assist, through toll free access that in2 cludes access to a live operator, kinship care3 givers, kinship care service providers, kinship 

4 care support group facilitators, and others to 

5 learn about and link to— 

6 (i) local kinship care service providers, 

7 support groups, respite care programs, and 

8 special services for incarcerated parents; 

9 (ii) eligibility and enrollment informa10 tion for Federal, State, and local benefits, 

11 such as—

12 (I) education (including pre13 school, elementary, secondary, post14 secondary, and special education); 

15 (II) family support services, early 

16 intervention services, mental health 

17 services, substance abuse prevention 

18 and treatment services, services to ad19 dress domestic violence problems, 

20 services to address HIV or AIDS,

21 legal services, child support, housing 

22 assistance, and child care; 

23 (III) the disability insurance ben24 efits program established under title 
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1 II of the Social Security Act (42 

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

3 (IV) the program of block grants 

4 to States for temporary assistance for 

5 needy families established under part 

6 A of title IV of the Social Security 

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

8 (V) the supplemental security in9 come program established under title 

10 XVI of the Social Security Act (42 

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

12 (VI) the medicaid program estab13 lished under title XIX of the Social 

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

15 (VII) the State children’s health 

16 insurance program established under 

17 title XXI of the Social Security Act 

18 (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.); 

19 (VIII) the program of Federal 

20 payments for foster care and adoption 

21 assistance established under part E of 

22 title IV of the Social Security Act (42 

23 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), including the pro24 gram of kinship guardianship assist-
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1 ance payments for children established 

2 under section 472A of that Act; and 

3 (IX) the food stamp program es4 tablished under the Food Stamp Act 

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

6 (iii) relevant training to assist kinship 

7 caregivers in obtaining benefits and serv8 ices and performing their caregiving activi9 ties; and 

10 (iv) relevant legal assistance and help 

11 in obtaining access to legal services, includ12 ing access to legal aid service providers 

13 and statewide elder law hotlines; 

14 (B) provide outreach to kinship care fami15 lies, in collaboration with schools, pediatric care 

16 clinics, kinship care organizations, senior citizen 

17 centers, agencies with jurisdiction over child 

18 welfare or human services, and others to link 

19 the families to the kinship navigator program 

20 and to services and assistance; and 

21 (C) establish, distribute, and regularly up22 date kinship care resource guides, websites, or 

23 other relevant outreach materials; 
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1 (2) promoting partnerships between public and 

2 private not-for-profit agencies, including community3 based and faith-based agencies—

4 (A) to help the agencies described in this 

5 paragraph more effectively and efficiently meet 

6 the needs of kinship care families; and 

7 (B) to familiarize the agencies about the 

8 special needs of kinship care families, policies 

9 that affect their eligibility for a range of edu10 cation, health, mental health, social, child care, 

11 and child welfare services, income-based finan12 cial assistance, legal assistance, and other serv13 ices and benefits, and the means for making 

14 policies more supportive of kinship care fami15 lies; 

16 (3) establishing and supporting a kinship care 

17 ombudsman who has the authority to actively inter18 vene with State agency staff or service providers 

19 with which the State agency contracts to help en20 sure, through various appropriate means including 

21 working with individual families in an ongoing man22 ner, that kinship caregivers get the services they 

23 need and for which they are eligible; and 

24 (4) supporting other activities that are designed 

25 to assist kinship caregivers in obtaining benefits, 
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1 services, and activities designed to improve their 

2 caregiving. 

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

4 (b)(4), the entity may not use any of the funds made avail5 able through the grant for direct services to children in 

6 kinship care families or to kinship caregivers. 

7 SEC. 108. ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROGRAM. 

8 (a) CONSULTATION.—In administering the program 

9 carried out under this title, the Assistant Secretary for 

10 Children and Families shall periodically consult with the 

11 Assistant Secretary for Aging of the Department of 

12 Health and Human Services. 

13 (b) REGULATIONS AND GUIDANCE.—Not later than 

14 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assist15 ant Secretary for Children and Families shall issue regula16 tions or guidance that announces the availability of funds 

17 under this title and specifies the procedures for applying 

18 for the funds. 

19 SEC. 109. RESERVATION. 

20 The Assistant Secretary may reserve not more than 

21 1 percent of the funds made available under this title for 

22 a fiscal year to provide technical assistance to the recipi23 ents of grants under this title related to the purposes of 

24 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 2005, $50,000,000 

4 for fiscal year 2006, and $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. 

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) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

17 (1) STATE PLAN REQUIREMENT.—Section 

18 471(a)(20)(A) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 671(a)(20)) is 

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

20 striking ‘‘foster or adoptive parent before the foster 

21 or adoptive parent may be finally approved for place22 ment of a child on whose behalf foster care mainte23 nance payments or adoption assistance payments’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘foster parent, adoptive parent, or rel25 ative guardian before the foster parent, adoptive 
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1 parent, or relative guardian may be finally approved 

2 for placement of a child on whose behalf foster care 

3 maintenance payments, adoption assistance pay4 ments, or kinship guardianship assistance pay5 ments’’. 

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

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

8 (A) in paragraph (3)(B), by striking ‘‘fos9 ter or adoptive parents and the members of the 

10 staff of State-licensed or State-approved child 

11 care institutions providing care to foster and 

12 adopted children receiving assistance under this 

13 part, in ways that increase the ability of such 

14 current or prospective parents, staff members, 

15 and institutions to provide support and assist16 ance to foster and adopted children,’’ and in17 serting ‘‘foster parents, adoptive parents, or rel18 ative guardians and the members of the staff of 

19 State-licensed or State-approved child care in20 stitutions providing care to foster children, 

21 adoptive children, or children living with a rel22 ative guardian receiving assistance under this 

23 part, in ways that increase the ability of such 

24 current or prospective parents, relative guard25 ians, staff members, and institutions to provide 
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1 support and assistance to foster children, adop2 tive children, or children living with a relative 

3 guardian,’’; 

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

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

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

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

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

9 of the total amount expended during such quarter as 

10 kinship guardianship assistance payments under sec11 tion 472A pursuant to kinship guardianship assist12 ance agreements.’’. 

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

14 (42 U.S.C. 675(1)) is amended by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

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

17 whom the permanency plan is placement with a 

18 relative and receipt of kinship guardianship as19 sistance payments under section 472A, a de20 scription of—

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

22 taken to determine that it is not appro23 priate for the child to be returned home or 

24 adopted; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) the reasons why a permanent 

2 placement with a fit and willing relative 

3 through a kinship guardianship assistance 

4 arrangement is in the child’s best interests; 

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

6 meets the eligibility requirements for a kin7 ship guardianship assistance payment; 

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

9 to discuss adoption by the child’s relative 

10 foster parent as a more permanent alter11 native to legal guardianship and, in the 

12 case of a relative foster parent who has 

13 chosen not to pursue adoption, documenta14 tion of the reasons therefor; and 

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

16 agency to secure the consent of the child’s 

17 parent or parents to the kinship guardian18 ship assistance arrangement, or the rea19 sons why the efforts were not made.’’. 

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

21 this section take effect on October 1, 2004. 

22 SEC. 202. KINSHIP GUARDIANSHIP DEMONSTRATION 

23 PROJECTS. 

24 (a) AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT PROJECTS.—The Sec25 retary shall enter into agreements with eligible entities to 
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1 conduct demonstration projects for the purpose of pro2 viding kinship guardianship assistance payments on behalf 

3 of children to grandparents and other relatives who have 

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

5 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 675(7)) of the chil6 dren for whom they have cared as foster parents and for 

7 whom they have committed to care for on a permanent 

8 basis in large metropolitan areas located in States that 

9 have not elected the option to provide kinship guardian10 ship assistance payments for children under section 472A 

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

12 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The terms and condi13 tions applicable to demonstration projects conducted 

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

15 Secretary determines appropriate, with the terms and con16 ditions applicable to the State option to provide kinship 

17 guardianship assistance payments for children under sec18 tion 472A of the Social Security Act. 

19 (c) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2006, and 

20 annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a report 

21 to Congress on the demonstration projects conducted 

22 under this section.

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
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1 necessary to conduct demonstration projects under this 

2 section for fiscal years beginning with fiscal year 2005. 

3 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’ means—

6 (A) a metropolitan agency, as defined in 

7 section 103(5); and 

8 (B) any other entity that the Secretary de9 termines is qualified to conduct a demonstra10 tion project under this section. 

11 (2) LARGE METROPOLITAN AREA.—The term 

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

13 that term in section 103(4). 

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

15 the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

16 TITLE III—NOTICE OF CHILDREN 

17 ENTERING FOSTER CARE 

18 SEC. 301. NOTICE TO RELATIVES WHEN CHILDREN ENTER 

19 FOSTER CARE. 

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

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

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

23 ‘‘that—

24 ‘‘(A) the State’’; 

25 (2) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; and 
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

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

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

4 parents, the State shall identify and give notice 

5 to all adult grandparents and other adult rel6 atives of the child (including any other adult 

7 relatives suggested by the parents), subject to 

8 exceptions due to family or domestic violence, 

9 that—

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

11 or is being removed from the custody of 

12 the child’s parent or parents; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) explains the options the relative 

14 has under Federal, State, and local law to 

15 participate in the child’s care and place16 ment, including any options that may be 

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

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

19 this section take effect on October 1, 2004.

Æ