II 117th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 639 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 9, 2021 Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To establish a National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Grandfamilies Technical Assistance Center Act . 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.