Six million children live with relatives. Four and a half million of these children live with grandparents. Most of these families do not get the support so many need.

Your participation in this action will help these heroic family caregivers.  Although the federal policy recognizes placement with a relative or a legal guardian as a good permanency option for children in foster care, the government makes no funds available on a continuing basis to help those relatives care for the children. Legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives would address this problem.

You can contact your Members of Congress today to encourage them to co-sponsor bills that would provide federal funding to support guardianship placements.  Please, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Kinship Caregivers Support Act, a proposed bill currently in the U.S. Senate. more...

Sample Letter for Campaign

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

As a member of your constituency, I urge you to support the Kinship Caregivers Support Act, Senate Bill 661.

This bill would allow states, for the first time, to use federal Title IV-E foster care funds to help provide subsidized guardianship assistance payments to relatives so that the children they care for will not have to remain in foster care.

Kinship care is a situation in which an adult family member, such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other relative, provides a caring home for a child who is not able to live with his or her parents.

One in seven children in San Francisco live in such a household. Subsidized guardianship is another important permanency option for relatives who care for children. The number of states implementing guardianship programs reflects growing national interest in the use of guardianship as an alternative permanency option for some children in foster care, particularly for children who are placed with relatives, who cannot be safely reunified with birth parents, and who cannot, or do not, wish to be adopted.

Kinship care and subsidized guardianship programs allow qualified relatives or qualified non-relatives to step in and provide care they may not have been able to provide otherwise because of the financial burdens such a role requires. Additionally, these relative placements may offer an emotional and cultural benefit to children who cannot return safely to their parents and for whom adoption is not an appropriate option.

The federal government makes no funds available on a continuing basis to help those relatives care for the children.

Again, I urge you to co-sponsor and support the Kinship Caregiver Support Act in the Senate.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
April 16, 2007