•HRES 694 IH 
to step forward to raise children they did not expect nor 
plan to raise; 
Whereas nearly one-third (31 percent) of all children in out- 
of-home care in the United States are placed with rel-
atives without a parent in the home, and there is consid-
erable variation in that percentage across States, ranging 
from a low of 5 percent to a high of 46 percent in kin-
ship care; 
Whereas, nationally, more than 133,405 children in foster 
care are formally placed in kinship foster care and more 
than 2,667,000 additional children are supported by kin 
caregivers outside of the foster care system in informal 
kinship arrangements; 
Whereas because there are approximately 20 children in in-
formal kinship care arrangements for every 1 child in for-
mal foster kinship care, grandparents, siblings, members 
of Tribes, godparents, stepparents, or fictive kin care-
givers keep the foster care system from being over-
whelmed and save taxpayers more than $4,000,000,000 
annually; 
Whereas kinship families comprised of grandparents, siblings, 
members of Tribes, stepparents, or fictive kin are not 
provided the same level of assistance and support as chil-
dren placed in nonrelative or nonkin foster care; 
Whereas COVID–19 both heightened the challenges for exist-
ing kinship caregivers and created new kinship caregivers 
due to parents dying or becoming disabled due to the 
virus leaving behind children who have been taken in by 
their kinship families; 
Whereas Black children make up 14 percent of all children 
in the United States but comprise over 25 percent of all 
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•HRES 694 IH 
children raised by grandparents and 23 percent of all 
children in foster care; 
Whereas American Indian/Alaska Native children make up 1 
percent of all children in the United States but comprise 
over 8 percent of all children raised by grandparents and 
2 percent of all children in foster care; 
Whereas kinship care enables children— 
(1) to maintain family relationships and family her-
itage; 
(2) to remain in their community; and 
(3) to thrive; 
Whereas research shows that living with relatives and fictive 
kin benefits children in a number of ways including— 
(1) kinship care minimizes trauma; 
(2) kinship placements improve behavioral and men-
tal health outcomes; 
(3) kinship care promotes sibling and other family 
ties; 
(4) kinship families provide higher levels of perma-
nency; and 
(5) kinship care reduces the risk of homelessness 
and criminal involvement by providing an important and 
emotionally sustaining bridge for older youth; 
Whereas kinship caregivers report tremendous satisfaction in 
caring for and raising children but face substantial chal-
lenges in accessing resources they need to care for their 
families, to avoid living in poverty, and to prevent chil-
dren from entering foster care; 
Whereas much remains to be done to ensure that all children 
have a safe, loving, nurturing, and permanent family, re-
gardless of age or special needs; 
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•HRES 694 IH 
Whereas there are Federal child welfare laws recognizing kin-
ship care, and more than 40 States and the District of 
Columbia have over 300 laws related to kinship 
caregiving, making it clear that kinship care is acknowl-
edged as the nationally accepted term for grandparents, 
siblings, members of Tribes, godparents, stepparents, or 
fictive kin caregivers who are successfully caring for and 
raising children; 
Whereas over 40 States are implementing kinship navigator 
programs and services that support grandparents, sib-
lings, members of Tribes, godparents, stepparents, or fic-
tive kin caregivers who are not foster parents; 
Whereas the House of Representatives is proud to recognize 
the many kinship families in which children are raised by 
grandparents, siblings, members of Tribes, godparents, 
stepparents, or fictive kin caregivers; 
Whereas the House of Representatives wishes to honor the 
many grandparents, siblings, members of Tribes, god-
parents, stepparents, and fictive kin caregivers who 
throughout the history of the United States have pro-
vided loving homes for children to thrive; 
Whereas National Kinship Care Month provides an oppor-
tunity to urge people in every State to join in recognizing 
and celebrating kinship families and the tradition of 
grandparents, siblings, members of Tribes, godparents, 
stepparents, or fictive kin caregivers in the United States 
helping raise children; and 
Whereas States are increasingly relying on grandparents, sib-
lings, members of Tribes, godparents, stepparents, or fic-
tive kin caregivers as foster parents, and are working to 
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•HRES 694 IH 
increase the percentages of children in supported kinship 
foster families: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘National Kin-
ship Care Month’’; 
(2) encourages the Congress to enact policies to 
improve the lives of vulnerable children by sup-
porting kinship families in the best interests of such 
children; 
(3) honors the commitment and dedication of 
kinship caregivers and the advocates and allies who 
work tirelessly to provide assistance and services to 
kinship-caregiving families; and 
(4) reaffirms the need to continue working to 
improve the outcomes of all vulnerable children 
through parts B and E of title IV of the Social Se-
curity Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and other pro-
grams designed— 
(A) to support vulnerable families; 
(B) to invest in prevention and reunifica-
tion services; and 
(C) to ensure that grandparents, siblings, 
members of Tribes, godparents, stepparents, or 
fictive kin caregivers who take on the role of 
kinship caregivers receive the necessary sup-
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•HRES 694 IH 
ports, including but not limited to Kinship Nav-
igator programs. 
Æ 
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