42 U.S.C. § 627 (THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE)
§ 627. Family connection grants
(a) In general
The Secretary of Health and Human Services may make matching grants to State, local, or tribal child welfare agencies, private nonprofit organizations that have experience in working with foster children or children in kinship care arrangements, and institutions of higher education (as defined under section 1001 of title 20), for the purpose of helping children who are in, or at risk of entering, foster care reconnect with family members through the implementation of—
(1) a kinship navigator program to assist kinship caregivers in learning about, finding, and using programs and services to meet the needs of the children they are raising and their own needs, and to promote effective partnerships among public and private agencies to ensure kinship caregiver families are served, which program—
(A) shall be coordinated with other State or local agencies that promote service coordination or provide information and referral services, including the entities that provide 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 information systems where available, to avoid duplication or fragmentation of services to kinship care families;
(B) shall be planned and operated in consultation with kinship caregivers and organizations representing them, youth raised by kinship caregivers, relevant government agencies, and relevant community-based or faith-based organizations;
(C) shall establish information and referral systems that link (via toll-free access) kinship caregivers, kinship support group facilitators, and kinship service providers to—
(i) each other;
(ii) eligibility and enrollment information for Federal, State, and local benefits;
(iii) relevant training to assist kinship caregivers in caregiving and in obtaining benefits and services; and
(iv) relevant legal assistance and help in obtaining legal services;
(D) shall provide outreach to kinship care families, including by establishing, distributing, and updating a kinship care website, or other relevant guides or outreach materials;
(E) shall promote partnerships between public and private agencies, including schools, community based or faith-based organizations, and relevant government agencies, to increase their knowledge of the needs of kinship care families and other individuals who are willing and able to be foster parents for children in foster care under the responsibility of the State who are themselves parents to promote better services for those families;
(F) may establish and support a kinship care ombudsman with authority to intervene and help kinship caregivers access services; and
(G) may support any other activities designed to assist kinship caregivers in obtaining benefits and services to improve their caregiving;
(2) intensive family-finding efforts that utilize search technology to find biological family members for children in the child welfare system, and once identified, work to reestablish relationships and explore ways to find a permanent family placement for the children;
(3) family group decision-making meetings for children in the child welfare system, that—
(A) enable families to make decisions and develop plans that nurture children and protect them from abuse and neglect, and
(B) when appropriate, shall address domestic violence issues in a safe manner and facilitate connecting children exposed to domestic violence to appropriate services, including reconnection with the abused parent when appropriate; or
(4) residential family treatment programs that—
(A) enable parents and their children to live in a safe environment for a period of not less than 6 months; and
(B) provide, on-site or by referral, substance abuse treatment services, children’s early intervention services, family counseling, medical, and mental health services, nursery and pre-school, and other services that are designed to provide comprehensive treatment that supports the family.
(b) Applications
An entity desiring to receive a matching grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including—
(1) a description of how the grant will be used to implement 1 or more of the activities described in subsection (a);
(2) a description of the types of children and families to be served, including how the children and families will be identified and recruited, and an initial projection of the number of children and families to be served;
(3) if the entity is a private organization—
(A) documentation of support from the relevant local or State child welfare agency; or
(B) a description of how the organization plans to coordinate its services and activities with those offered by the relevant local or State child welfare agency; and
(4) an assurance that the entity will cooperate fully with any evaluation provided for by the Secretary under this section.
(c) Limitations
(1) Grant duration
The Secretary may award a grant under this section for a period of not less than 1 year and not more than 3 years.
(2) Number of new grantees per year
The Secretary may not award a grant under this section to more than 30 new grantees each fiscal year.
(d) Federal contribution
The amount of a grant payment to be made to a grantee under this section during each year in the grant period shall be the following percentage of the total expenditures proposed to be made by the grantee in the application approved by the Secretary under this section:
(1) 75 percent, if the payment is for the 1st or 2nd year of the grant period.
(2) 50 percent, if the payment is for the 3rd year of the grant period.
(e) Form of grantee contribution
A grantee under this section may provide not more than 50 percent of the amount which the grantee is required to expend to carry out the activities for which a grant is awarded under this section in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services.
(f) Use of grant
A grantee under this section shall use the grant in accordance with the approved application for the grant.
(g) Reservations of funds
(1) Evaluation
The Secretary shall reserve 3 percent of the funds made available under subsection (h) for each fiscal year for the conduct of a rigorous evaluation of the activities funded with grants under this section.
(2) Technical assistance
The Secretary may reserve 2 percent of the funds made available under subsection (h) for each fiscal year to provide technical assistance to recipients of grants under this section.
(h) Appropriation
Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of making grants under this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 427, as added Pub. L. 110–351, title I, § 102(a), Oct. 7, 2008, 122 Stat. 3953; amended Pub. L. 113–183, title II, § 221(a)–(d), Sept. 29, 2014, 128 Stat. 1942, 1943; Pub. L. 118–258, title I, § 110(b)(1), Jan. 4, 2025, 138 Stat. 2960.)
heading: Amendment of Section
text: Pub. L. 118–258, title I, §§ 110(b)(1), 117, 138 Stat. 2960, 2969, made numerous amendments to this section, effective Oct. 1, 2025, and applicable to payments under this part for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, with delay permitted if either State legislation or tribal action is required to meet additional requirements. After such effective date, this section will read as follows:
§ 627. Kinship navigators
(a) In general
The Secretary of Health and Human Services may make matching grants to State, local, or tribal child welfare agencies, private nonprofit organizations that have experience in working with foster children or children in kinship care arrangements, and institutions of higher education (as defined under section 1001 of title 20), for the purpose of helping children who are in, or at risk of entering, foster care reconnect with family members through the implementation of a kinship navigator program to assist kinship caregivers in learning about, finding, and using programs and services to meet the needs of the children they are raising and their own needs, and to promote effective partnerships among public and private agencies to ensure kinship caregiver families are served, which program—
(1) shall be coordinated with other State or local agencies that promote service coordination or provide information and referral services, including the entities that provide 2–1–1 or 3–1–1 information systems where available, to avoid duplication or fragmentation of services to kinship care families;
(2) shall be planned and operated in consultation with kinship caregivers and organizations representing them, youth raised by kinship caregivers, relevant government agencies, and relevant community-based or faith-based organizations;
(3) shall establish information and referral systems that link (via toll-free access) kinship caregivers, kinship support group facilitators, and kinship service providers to—
(A) each other;
(B) eligibility and enrollment information for Federal, State, and local benefits;
(C) relevant training to assist kinship caregivers in caregiving and in obtaining benefits and services;
(D) relevant legal assistance and help in obtaining legal services; and
(E) connections to individualized assistance, as needed;
(4) shall provide outreach to kinship care families, including by establishing, distributing, and updating a kinship care website, or other relevant guides or outreach materials;
(5) shall promote partnerships between public and private agencies, including schools, community based or faith-based organizations, and relevant government agencies, to increase their knowledge of the needs of kinship care families and other individuals who are willing and able to be foster parents for children in foster care under the responsibility of the State who are themselves parents to promote better services for those families;
(6) may establish and support a kinship care ombudsman with authority to intervene and help kinship caregivers access services; and
(7) may support any other activities designed to assist kinship caregivers in obtaining benefits and services to improve their caregiving.
(b) Applications
An entity desiring to receive a matching grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require, including—
(1) a description of how the grant will be used to implement the activities described in subsection (a);
(2) a description of the types of children and families to be served, including how the children and families will be identified and recruited, and an initial projection of the number of children and families to be served;
(3) a description of how the entity will directly fund, or provide data to the Secretary for, an evaluation which will publish and submit information to the clearinghouse described in section 676(d)(2) of this title and which is designed to meet the requirements of section 671(e)(4)(C) of this title, or a description of how the funds will be used to help the State transition to a program for which the State will seek reimbursement under section 674(a)(7) of this title;
(4) if the entity is a private organization—
(A) documentation of support from the relevant local or State child welfare agency; or
(B) a description of how the organization plans to coordinate its services and activities with those offered by the relevant local or State child welfare agency;
(5) an assurance that the entity will cooperate fully with any evaluation provided for by the Secretary under this section; and
(6) if the entity is a State, local or tribal child welfare agency—
(A) documentation of support from a relevant community-based organization with experience serving kinship families when applicable; or
(B) a description of how the organization plans to coordinate its services and activities with those offered by the relevant community-based organizations.
(c) Limitations
(1) Grant duration
The Secretary may award a grant under this section for a period of not less than 1 year and not more than 3 years.
(2) Number of new grantees per year
The Secretary may not award a grant under this section to more than 30 new grantees each fiscal year.
(d) Federal share
An entity to which a grant is made under this section may use the grant to pay not more than 75 percent of the cost of the activities to be carried out by the entity pursuant to this section.
(e) Form of grantee contribution
A grantee under this section may provide not more than 50 percent of the amount which the grantee is required to expend to carry out the activities for which a grant is awarded under this section in kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services.
(f) Use of grant
A grantee under this section shall use the grant in accordance with the approved application for the grant.
(g) Reservation of funds for technical assistance
The Secretary may reserve 2 percent of the funds made available under section 629g(b)(6) of this title for each fiscal year to provide technical assistance to recipients of grants under this section.
See 2025 Amendment notes below.
heading: Editorial Notes
heading: Prior Provisions
text: A prior section 627, act Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 427, as added June 17, 1980, Pub. L. 96–272, title I, § 103(b), 94 Stat. 519; amended Dec. 19, 1989, Pub. L. 101–239, title X, § 10401(a), 103 Stat. 2487, related to foster care protection required for additional payments, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 103–432, title II, § 202(c), (e), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4454, effective with respect to fiscal years beginning on or after Apr. 1, 1996.
heading: Amendments
text: 2025—Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(A), substituted “Kinship navigators” for “Family connection grants” in section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(B)(ii), (iv)–(viii), struck out dash after “implementation of” and par. (1) designation before “a kinship navigator program”; redesignated subpars. (A) to (G) of former par. (1) as pars. (1) to (7), respectively; redesignated cls. (i) to (v) of former par. (1)(C) as subpars. (A) to (E), respectively, of par. (3); realigned margins; substituted “caregiving.” for “caregiving;” at end; and struck out former pars. (2) to (4) which related to implementation of intensive family-finding efforts, family group decision-making meetings, and residential family treatment programs, respectively.
Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(B)(i), substituted “administering programs to help” for “helping” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (a)(1)(C)(v). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(B)(iii), added cl. (v), which was subsequently redesignated subpar. (E) of par. (3).
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(C)(i), struck out “1 or more of” after “used to implement”.
Subsec. (b)(3) to (5). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(C)(ii), added par. (3) and redesignated former pars. (3) and (4) as (4) and (5), respectively.
Subsec. (b)(6). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(C)(iii)–(v), added par. (6).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(D), added subsec. (d) and struck out former subsec. (d) which related to federal contribution of a grant payment.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(E), substituted “Reservation of funds for technical assistance” for “Reservations of funds” in heading, struck out par. (2) designation and heading “Technical assistance” before “The Secretary may reserve”, substituted “section 629g(b)(6) of this title” for “subsection (h)”, and struck out par. (1). Prior to amendment, text of par. (1) read as follows: “The Secretary shall reserve 3 percent of the funds made available under subsection (h) for each fiscal year for the conduct of a rigorous evaluation of the activities funded with grants under this section.”
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 118–258, § 110(b)(1)(F), struck out subsec. (h). Text read as follows: “Out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, there are appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of making grants under this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 through 2014.”
2014—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 113–183, § 221(b), struck out “and” before “private” and inserted “and institutions of higher education (as defined under section 1001 of title 20),” after “arrangements,” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (a)(1)(E). Pub. L. 113–183, § 221(c), inserted “and other individuals who are willing and able to be foster parents for children in foster care under the responsibility of the State who are themselves parents” after “kinship care families”.
Subsec. (g)(1) to (3). Pub. L. 113–183, § 221(d), redesignated pars. (2) and (3) as (1) and (2), respectively, and struck out former par. (1). Prior to amendment, text of par. (1) read as follows: “The Secretary shall reserve $5,000,000 of the funds made available under subsection (h) for each fiscal year for grants to implement kinship navigator programs described in subsection (a)(1).”
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 113–183, § 221(a), substituted “2014” for “2013”.
heading: Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
heading: Effective Date of 2025 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 118–258 effective Oct. 1, 2025, and applicable to payments under this part for calendar quarters beginning on or after such date, with delay permitted if either State legislation or tribal action is required to meet additional requirements, see section 117 of Pub. L. 118–258, set out as a note under section 622 of this title.
heading: Effective Date of 2014 Amendment
text: Pub. L. 113–183, title II, § 221(e), Sept. 29, 2014, 128 Stat. 1943, provided that: “The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect as if enacted on October 1, 2013.”
heading: Effective Date
text: Section effective Oct. 7, 2008, and applicable to payments under this part and part E of this subchapter for quarters beginning on or after such date, with delay permitted if State legislation is required to meet additional requirements, see section 601 of Pub. L. 110–351, set out as an Effective Date of 2008 Amendment note under section 671 of this title.