Grandfamilies Technical Assistance Center Act
Bill: S.639 | Sponsor: Sen. Casey, Robert P., Jr. (D-PA)
Policy area: Families

Summary:
Grandfamilies Technical Assistance Center Act  This bill provides additional FY2021 funding for the Administration for Community Living to establish a National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families. The center must provide technical assistance to government agencies, nonprofits, and other community-based organizations that support kinship caregiver families. The focus must be on families in which the primary caregiver is 55 years or older or the child has one or more disabilities.

To establish a National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies 
                          and Kinship Families

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Grandfamilies Technical Assistance 
Center Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER ON GRANDFAMILIES AND 
              KINSHIP FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--In addition to amounts otherwise available, there 
is appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting 
through the Administrator of the Administration for Community Living, 
out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 
$10,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to remain available through September 
30, 2025, to establish, directly or through grants or contracts, a 
National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship 
Families (in this section referred to as the ``Center'') to provide 
training, technical assistance, and resources for government programs, 
nonprofit and other community-based organizations, and Indian Tribes, 
Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations, that serve 
grandfamilies and kinship families to support the health and well-being 
of members of grandfamilies and kinship families, including caregivers, 
children, and their parents. The Center shall focus primarily on 
serving grandfamilies and kinship families in which the primary 
caregiver is an adult age 55 or older, or the child has one or more 
disabilities.
    (b) Activities of the Center.--The Center shall--
            (1) engage experts to stimulate the development of new and 
        identify existing evidence-based, evidence-informed, and 
        exemplary practices or programs related to health promotion 
        (including mental health and substance use disorder treatment), 
        education, nutrition, housing, financial needs, legal issues, 
        disability self-determination, caregiver support, and other 
        issues to help serve caregivers, children, and their parents in 
        grandfamilies and kinship families;
            (2) encourage and support the implementation of the 
        evidence-based, evidence-informed, and exemplary practices or 
        programs identified under paragraph (1) to support 
        grandfamilies and kinship families and to promote coordination 
        of services for grandfamilies and kinship families across 
        systems that support them;
            (3) facilitate learning across States, territories, Indian 
        Tribes, Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organizations 
        for providing technical assistance, resources, and training 
        related to issues described in paragraph (1) to individuals and 
        entities across systems that directly work with grandfamilies 
        and kinship families;
            (4) help government programs, nonprofit and other 
        community-based organizations, and Indian Tribes, Tribal 
        organizations, and urban Indian organizations, serving 
        grandfamilies and kinship families, to plan and coordinate 
        responses to assist grandfamilies and kinship families during 
        national, State, Tribal, territorial, and local emergencies and 
        disasters; and
            (5) assist government programs, and nonprofit and other 
        community-based organizations, in promoting equity and 
        implementing culturally and linguistically appropriate 
        approaches as the programs and organizations serve 
        grandfamilies and kinship families.
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