I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8555 
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for 
better protections for children raised in kinship families outside of the 
foster care system. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 23, 2024 
Ms. SCANLON (for herself and Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 
to provide for better protections for children raised in 
kinship families outside of the foster care system. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Help Grandfamilies 
Prevent Child Abuse Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds as follows: 
(1) More than 2,400,000 children are being 
raised in kinship families or ‘‘grandfamilies’’ by rel-
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atives or close family friends without their parents 
in the home, and the vast majority of such children 
are raised outside of the foster care system. 
(2) The majority of kinship caregivers are 
grandparents. 
(3) For every child in foster care living with rel-
atives, there are 18 being raised by relatives outside 
of the foster care system. 
(4) More than one-third of all children placed 
in foster care because of parental drug or alcohol 
use are placed with relatives. 
(5) Children who have been exposed to sub-
stance misuse in the home may also experience 
abuse and neglect, and research indicates that chil-
dren in family foster care because of substance use 
are more likely to be placed with relatives than with 
nonrelatives. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO CAPTA. 
(a) ADVISORY BOARD ON CHILD ABUSE AND NE-
GLECT.—Section 102(c) of the Child Abuse Prevention 
and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5102(c)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 
inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (14), by striking the period 
and inserting a semicolon; and 
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(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(15) organizations providing services to kin-
ship families; and 
‘‘(16) birth parents, kinship caregivers, and fos-
ter care alumni.’’. 
(b) NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE FOR INFORMATION 
RELATING
TO CHILD ABUSE.—Section 103(b) of the 
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
5104(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (8)(B), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(10) coordinate with the Grandfamilies & Kin-
ship Support Network: A National Technical Assist-
ance Center to disseminate information about evi-
dence-based, evidence-informed and exemplary prac-
tices used to support children being raised in kinship 
families within, or outside of, the child welfare sys-
tem.’’. 
(c) GRANTS TO STATES, INDIAN TRIBES OR TRIBAL 
ORGANIZATIONS, AND PUBLIC
OR PRIVATE AGENCIES 
AND ORGANIZATIONS.—Section 105(a)(4) of the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
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5106(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Such procedures used by recipients of a grant 
pursuant to this paragraph shall reflect equity for children 
placed with kin, recognize their unique circumstance, and 
include plans for prioritizing placement with kin as the 
first placement, identifying and engaging kin as supports 
for children throughout the child’s involvement with the 
child welfare system, making it a priority to license kin 
as foster parents, supporting permanent families for chil-
dren placed with kin, and creating a strong community 
network to support kin families.’’. 
(d) GRANTS TO STATES FOR CHILD ABUSE OR NE-
GLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS.—Sec-
tion 106 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (B)(iv), by inserting 
‘‘, and for how kinship placements will be 
prioritized’’ before the semicolon; and 
(B) in subparagraph (D)(v), by inserting 
‘‘kinship navigators,’’ after ‘‘substance abuse 
treatment agencies,’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d)(3)— 
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(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 
and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec-
tively; 
(B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 
the following: 
‘‘(B) the number that did not receive serv-
ices during the year under the State program 
funded under this section or an equivalent State 
program because the child was diverted from 
the child welfare system to live with kin outside 
of the foster care system;’’; and 
(C) in subparagraph (D), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘families’’ and inserting 
‘‘parents’’. 
(e) COMMUNITY-BASED GRANTS FOR THE PREVEN-
TION OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT.— 
(1) PURPOSE.—Section 201(b)(1) of the Child 
Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 
5116(b)(1)) is amended— 
(A) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘; 
and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) in subparagraph (H), by adding ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(I) support the unique needs of kinship 
families raising children inside or outside the 
foster care system;’’. 
(2) LOCAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—Section 
205(a) of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treat-
ment Act (42 U.S.C. 5116e(a)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and to 
parents who are adult former victims of domes-
tic violence or child abuse or neglect’’ and in-
serting ‘‘to parents who are adult former vic-
tims of domestic violence or child abuse or ne-
glect, and to families where children are being 
raised by kin because their parents cannot raise 
them’’; 
(B) in paragraph (3)(B)— 
(i) in clause (viii), by striking ‘‘and’’; 
(ii) in clause (ix), by striking the pe-
riod and inserting a semicolon; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(x) training to meet the specific 
needs of kinship caregivers, including 
training on caring for children with behav-
ioral or mental health challenges and how 
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to access services for which such caregivers 
may be eligible; and 
‘‘(xi) training on understanding sub-
stance use disorders and the impact of 
trauma on children;’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘, kin-
ship caregivers, and foster care alumni’’ after 
‘‘parents’’. 
Æ 
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